TRIPOLI, Libya, Aug. 22 (UPI) -- Released Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi was met by Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi on live state television, witnesses said Saturday.
The meeting was shown on national television despite requests by Britain and the United States that Gadhafi not celebrate the release of the terminally ill al-Megrahi from a Scottish prison on humanitarian grounds, the BBC reported.
State media reported Gadhafi said he hoped the release of the man convicted of orchestrating the 1988 bombing of a Pan American jet that killed 270 people would improve relations between Britain and Libya.
"I praise (the Scottish government's) courage for having proved their independence in decision making, despite the unacceptable and illogical pressures that opposed them," Gadhafi reportedly said.
Seif al-Islam, Gadhafi's son, told Libyan TV that al-Megrahi's release was raised during international talks over oil and gas, but Britain's Foreign Office told the BBC it strongly denies any connections between the al-Megrahi case and trade deals with Libya.
