Tripoli: A man whose daughter was among 270 people killed in the Lockerbie disaster, has described the death of convicted bomber Abdelbaset al Megrahi as a ‘very sad event’.
Dr Jim Swire, whose daughter Flora died, did not believe Megrahi was to blame for the 1988 bombing.
He said his conviction had been an ‘obstruction’ in the search for the truth about the attack.
“It's a very sad event. I met him in Tripoli in December last year, when he was very sick and in a lot of pain,” Sky News quoted Swire, as saying.
“But he still wanted to talk to me about how information which he and his defence team have accumulated could be passed to me after his death,” he added.
Megrahi, 60, was the only man ever convicted over the terrorist attack, despite claims that he could not have worked alone.
Meanwhile, David Ben-Ayreah, a spokesperson for the families of those killed in the Lockerbie bombing, said that Megrahi''s death was to be ‘deeply regretted.’
"His death is to be deeply regretted. As someone who attended the trial I have never taken the view that Megrahi was guilty,” Ben-Ayreah said.
“Megrahi is the 271st victim of Lockerbie,” he added.
ANI
First Published: Monday, May 21, 2012, 14:19