release of Abdelbaset al-Megrahi from prison on compassionate grounds was a decision by Scottish Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill . Megrahi was convicted on 31 January 2001 by a special Scottish Court in the Netherlands of the bomb attack on Pan Am Flight 103 on 21 December 1988 ( the " Lockerbie bombing " ) . On 20 August 2009 , having served 8 ½ years of a life sentence , his release was authorised by MacAskill . The decision attracted significant news coverage , engendering widespread celebration in Libya , a largely hostile reaction in the United States and a more equally divided reaction in Britain
Pan Am Flight 103
Pan Am Flight 103
Release of Abdelbaset al-Megrahi