This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/scotland/8201188.stm
The article has changed 13 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Lockerbie bomber withdraws appeal | Lockerbie bomber withdraws appeal |
| (20 minutes later) | |
| The man convicted of the Lockerbie bombing has applied to abandon his second appeal against his conviction, his lawyers have said. | The man convicted of the Lockerbie bombing has applied to abandon his second appeal against his conviction, his lawyers have said. |
| The news comes after the BBC reported that Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi looked set to be freed on compassionate grounds next week. | The news comes after the BBC reported that Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi looked set to be freed on compassionate grounds next week. |
| The Libyan, who has terminal cancer, is serving a life sentence for the murder of 270 people in December 1988. | The Libyan, who has terminal cancer, is serving a life sentence for the murder of 270 people in December 1988. |
| Lawyers said his condition had taken a "significant turn for the worse". | Lawyers said his condition had taken a "significant turn for the worse". |
| They said he had applied to the High Court in Edinburgh two days ago to abandon his appeal against conviction. | They said he had applied to the High Court in Edinburgh two days ago to abandon his appeal against conviction. |
| A spokesman for the legal firm Taylor and Kelly said: "As the appeal hearing has commenced... leave of the court is required before the appeal can be formally abandoned." | A spokesman for the legal firm Taylor and Kelly said: "As the appeal hearing has commenced... leave of the court is required before the appeal can be formally abandoned." |
| A court hearing to discuss the application to drop the appeal will take place in Edinburgh next Tuesday. | |
| It was reported on Wednesday that Megrahi could be released on compassionate grounds. | |
| That prompted a mixed response from families of victims of the bombing. | |
| 'Right thing' | |
| Kathleen Flynn, whose son was killed, said he should "never qualify for anything compassionate". | |
| However, Martin Cadman, who also lost his son, said he believed it was the "right thing to do". | |
| The Scottish Government has insisted that no decision has yet been made on the Libyan's fate. | |
| Megrahi was convicted of murder in January 2001 at a trial held under Scottish law in the Netherlands. | |
| A first appeal against that verdict was rejected the following year. | |
| However, in 2007 the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission granted him a second appeal. | |
| It subsequently emerged he was suffering from terminal cancer but a bid to have him granted bail was refused. | |
| His second appeal got under way this year but shortly afterwards applications were made for both his transfer to a Libyan jail and release on compassionate grounds. |