'Missing' Lockerbie bomber finally contacted
US Senate hearings on whether BP influenced Lockerbie bomber decision postponed
Wednesday, 16, Dec 2009 10:37
By Richard James.
The Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset al-Megrahi has finally been contacted today after fears were raised he had gone missing.
The Times newspaper had earlier attempted to contact the Libyan but had received no answer from the hospital where he has been receiving treatment or at his home.
The paper said the bomber had not been contacted on Sunday or Monday and monitors in Scotland had been unable to reach him by telephone.
East Renfrewshire council has spoken to Megrahi every two weeks since his controversial release from Scottish prison in August.
However when prompted by the Times to contact him the council was unable to get hold of him.
Concerns were then raised Megrahi had breached the terms of his release earlier this year on compassionate grounds.
However, this morning the council finally managed to get hold of the Libyan.
"In the last five minutes the criminal justice team have spoken to Megrahi at home in Tripoli," a spokesman for East Renfrewshire council is quoted by the Guardian as saying.
Megrahi was released from a Scottish prison on August 20th this year on compassionate grounds after being diagnosed with prostate cancer.
Doctors in Scotland gave the Libyan less than three months to live and the decision was taken by the Scottish government to release him and allow him to return home.
The decision sparked international outrage, especially when he received a hero's welcome on his return to Libya.
The bombing of Pam Am Flight 103 in December 1988 killed 270 people. Megrahi is the only person to ever be convicted in connection with the bombing.