The man convicted in the deadly 1988 Lockerbie bombing will be released to his native country of Libya to die.

Scotland's Justice Secretary, Kenny MacAskill, announced that he would allow Abdel Baset al-Megrahi's release from prison on compassionate grounds. Al-Megrahi, who was serving a 27-year sentence in a Scottish prison, has terminal prostate cancer and is not expected to live more than a few months.

The bombing of Pan Am Flight 103, which blew up over Lockerbie, Scotland, killed 259 people in the plane and 11 more on the ground. Al-Megrahi was convicted in 2001.

MacAskill said that his decision reflected the Scottish legal requirement that "justice be served but mercy be shown," adding that al-Megrahi now faces judgement from "a higher power."

svs/AP/dpa/AFP

Editor: Susan Houlton