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Lockerbie bomber freed, returns to cheers in Libya
(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-08-21 12:02

Lockerbie bomber freed, returns to cheers in Libya

Abdel Basset al-Megrahi walks up the stairs to a waiting jet at Glasgow airport August 20, 2009. The Scottish government decided on Thursday to free Lockerbie bomber Abdel Basset al-Megrahi from prison on compassionate grounds as he is suffering from advanced prostate cancer and he will return home to Libya. [Agencies]
Lockerbie bomber freed, returns to cheers in Libya

TRIPOLI, Libya: The only man convicted of the Lockerbie bombing returned home Thursday to a cheering crowd after his release from a Scottish prison -- an outrage to many relatives of the 270 people who perished when Pan Am Flight 103 exploded.

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US President Barack Obama said the Scottish decision to free terminally ill Abdel Baset al-Megrahi on compassionate grounds was a mistake and said he should be under house arrest. Obama warned Libya not to give him a hero's welcome.

Despite the warning, thousands of young men were on hand at a Tripoli airport where al-Megrahi's plane touched down. Some threw flower petals as he stepped from the plane. He wore a a dark suit and a burgundy tie and appeared visibly tired.

He was accompanied by Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi's son, Saif al-Islam Gadhafi, who was dressed in a traditional white robe and golden embroidered vest. The son pledged last year to bring al-Megrahi home and raised his hand victoriously to the crowd as he exited the plane. They then sped off in a convoy of white sedans.

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