Friday, August 21, 2009

Victims' Families Criticize Release of Lockerbie Bombing

Relatives of Americans killed when Pan Am Flight 103 was blown up over Lockerbie, Scotland in 1988 are considering their next move after the convicted bomber was freed from prison on humanitarian grounds.
Among the 270 people killed in the bombing were several people from Western Pennsylvania including 21 year old Beth Johnson and her friend Elyse Saraceni, both students at Seton Hill College in Greensburg; University of Pittsburgh Professor David Gould; Army Major Charles McKee, who grew up in Wilkinsburg and Trafford; and, Barry Valentino who grew up in Pleasant Hills.
The group, "Victims of Pan Am Flight 103," plans a conference call tonight to discuss their options. The group's leader Frank Dugan says one possibility is joining protests when Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi visits the United Nations next month. Many victims' relatives voiced rage and disgust after Abdel Baset al-Megrahi was released yesterday after serving 8 years of a minimum 27 year sentence in a Scottish prison. Scottish officials says the former Libyan intelligence officer had advanced prostate cancer and has only months to live. The families' anger grew when al-Megrahi was greeted by cheering crowds upon his return home.

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