Lockerbie bomber may be freed

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Reports from Scotland suggest the man jailed for the Lockerbie bombing 20 years ago may be released to return home to Libya, leading to sharp debate among victims' relatives.

Speculation is mounting.

Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi, the man convicted of the 1988 Lockerbie bombing, in which 270 people died could be released from prison in Scotland on compassionate grounds.

He is terminally ill with prostate cancer.

Scotland's government dismissed the reports as speculation.

Kenny Macaskill, Scottish Justice Minister, said, "He is a sick man, but as I say, I have to weigh in the scales of justice and decide, both the interests of Mr Megrahi and indeed the interests of those who lost their relatives in a heinous incident that took place above the town of Lockerbie."

The former Libyan secret service agent is the sole person convicted for the Lockerbie bombing.

He was arrested in 1991 in Libya, and sentenced to life in prison in 2001.

Relatives of the victims are sharply divided over the news of al-Megrahi's possible release.