A Libyan convicted of bombing an airliner over the Scottish town of Lockerbie in 1988, killing 270 people, was denied bail by a Scottish court today.
Lawyers for Abdel Basset al-Megrahi earlier this month asked the court to free him on bail because he has cancer, pending the outcome of an appeal against his conviction.
Megrahi (56) was convicted of blowing up a Pan Am jumbo jet as it flew from London to New York on December 18th, 1988, killing all 259 people on board, including 189 Americans. Eleven residents of the town of Lockerbie were killed by falling wreckage.
The former Libyan intelligence agent was convicted in 2001 after a trial held in the Netherlands under Scottish law and sentenced to life in prison. An initial appeal was rejected in 2002.
A Scottish criminal review body decided last year that Megrahi was entitled to another appeal on the grounds that he might have been the victim of a miscarriage of justice.
Reuters