Lockerbie victim's dad visits man convicted

VALLETTA, Malta — The man convicted of the Lockerbie bombing "remains a sick man" but was in better shape than expected when the father of one of the victims visited him in Tripoli, Libya.

Jim Swire, whose daughter Flora, 24, was on the Pan Am airliner when it was blown up over Lockerbie, Scotland, in 1988, held a one-hour meeting with Abdel Baset al-Megrahi in Libya on Tuesday, The Sunday Times of Malta reported.

It was the first time that the Scottish doctor had met al-Megrahi since his controversial release from a Scottish prison in August 2009.

The authorities ruled that al-Megrahi, who reportedly has prostate cancer, should be freed on grounds of compassion as medical evidence showed he had only three months to live. When he returned to Tripoli, al-Megrahi was given an official welcome amid jubilant celebrations, sparking tensions between Britain and the United States.

Al-Megrahi has kept a low profile since his release, amid media speculation about his health and whereabouts.

Swire, who has always maintained the Libyan was wrongly convicted of the crime that killed 270 people, was quick to quash media claims that the so-called "Lockerbie bomber" was not really a dying man.

"Abdel Baset remains a sick man, but he is in better shape than I had dared to hope. His mind is perfectly clear. I attribute this to the love and care of his family and community, and to some extent also to the excellent medical care he seems to be receiving," Swire, 74, told Malta's main newspaper.

He said he decided to visit Tripoli in solidarity with the Libyan, who has maintained his innocence and wants the verdict against him overturned.