UK Government Did 'All It Could' To Facilitate Release Of Lockerbie Bomber

ROBERT BARR

LONDON — Britain's previous government did "all it could" to help Libya win the release of the only man convicted of the Pan Am bombing in Scotland in 1988, though it insisted the decision was made entirely by Scottish officials, Britain's senior civil servant said Monday.

However, Sir Gus O'Donnell, the head of the Cabinet Office, also said he found no evidence that the central government had put any pressure on Scottish authorities to grant the release.

Abdel Baset al-Megrahi, the only man convicted in the terrorist attack, was granted a compassionate release from a Scottish prison in August 2009 on the ground that he was suffering from prostate cancer and would die soon.

He is still alive.

The bombing of the U.S.-bound Pan Am jumbo jet killed 270 people, most of them Americans, and al-Megrahi's release has been criticized by members of the U.S. Congress.

Prime Minister David Cameron, leader of the British coalition government that took power in May, asked O'Donnell to conduct the review. Cameron has strongly criticized al-Megrahi's release in the past.

Cameron's office said he discussed the issue with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Saturday at a security conference in Munich and that they had "strongly agreed" the prisoner release was a mistake.

"He was convicted of the biggest mass murder in British history, and in my view he should have died in jail," Cameron told the House of Commons.

O'Donnell said British policy regarding al-Megrahi developed after former Prime Minister Tony Blair negotiated a prisoner transfer agreement with Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi in 2007.
Advertisement


Policy then developed that the government should "do all it could" to facilitate an appeal by the Libyans to the Scottish government for Megrahi's transfer to be released under the prisoner transfer agreement or on compassionate grounds, O'Donnell said.

"Nonetheless, once Mr. Megrahi had been diagnosed with terminal cancer in September 2008, (government) policy was based upon an assessment that U.K. interests would be damaged if Mr. Megrahi were to die in a U.K. jail," O'Donnell said.

"The development of this view was prompted, following Mr. Megrahi's diagnosis of terminal illness, by the extremely high priority attached to Mr. Megrahi's return by the Libyans, who had made clear that they would regard his death in Scottish custody as a death sentence and by actual and implicit threats made of severe ramifications for U.K. interests if Mr. Megrahi were to die in prison in Scotland."

Blair's successor, Gordon Brown, met Gadhafi in July 2009, a month before the release, and had said he could not interfere in the Scottish decision, O'Donnell said.

The U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee held hearings last year on whether the British-based oil company BP had sought al-Megrahi's release to help get a $900 million exploration agreement with Libya moving. Former BP Chief Executive Tony Hayward refused to testify before the committee last year.

BP has acknowledged that it had urged the British government to sign a prisoner transfer agreement with Libya, but stressed it didn't specify al-Megrahi's case. O'Donnell said he found no evidence that BP pressured the Scottish government to release al-Megrahi.

"It's clear to me, those who think there was some sort of conspiracy cooked up between BP, the British government and the Scots ... that's not right," Cameron said.

The bombing aboard the Pan Am 747 jumbo jet on Dec. 22, 1988 killed all 259 people aboard the aircraft and 11 people on the ground in Lockerbie town, where much of the wreckage fell.

Al-Megrahi was convicted by a Scottish court in 2001 and sentenced to 27 years in jail.

O'Donnell said Blair's and Brown's governments had been "primarily motivated by a desire to build on previous success in normalizing relations with Libya and to safeguard the substantial gains made in recent years, and specifically to avoid harm to U.K. nationals, to British commercial interests and to cooperation on security issues."

"The desire to see such a result developed and intensified over time as Mr. Megrahi's health declined and the imminence of his death appeared greater," O'Donnell said.

___

AP writer David Stringer contributed to this report

Lockerbie bomber may beat cancer, say family

By Sam Greenhill and Peter Allen
Last updated at 1:53 AM on 27th February 2010

Freed from his life sentence, the Lockerbie bomber was sent home by the Scots on compassionate grounds because he had 'just three months' to live.

But six months later, Abdelbaset Ali Mohamed al-Megrahi is still living - and doing it in the lap of luxury.

Yesterday, his elderly father even held out the prospect of him beating the prostate cancer that doctors said would kill him by last Christmas.


Home comforts: Al-Megrahi with his family at their villa last year after he was freed on compassionate grounds

Mr Ali al-Megrahi believes that good genes, 'positive thinking' and alternative medicines could explain his son's remarkable survival.

Megrahi, 57, no longer receives hospital treatment after ending a course of chemotherapy.

Last night, the British cancer specialist who gave the three-month prognosis was forced to defend his prediction.


He insisted that Megrahi remained gravely ill and was not expected to live much longer.

He said the patient's survival may be due to his excitement over his reunion with family.

But Tory MP Daniel Kawczynski, chairman of the Commons all-party Libya group, yesterday tabled a Parliamentary question demanding Megrahi's medical records be published in full.

He said: 'He's still alive and we were told he had no more than three months to live. The Scottish Executive have a lot to answer for.'

Earlier this month it emerged that Libya was on the brink of agreeing £5billion in investment in Britain.

Critics believe Downing Street colluded with the Scots to pave the way by having Megrahi freed.

The news of Megrahi's survival has provoked consternation among those relatives of victims of the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 who suspect he was never as sick as he claimed to be.

They believe it was an unforgivable mistake for the Scottish Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill to release him last August.

The Libyan - who days earlier had dropped an appeal against his conviction for the 270 deaths caused when Flight 103 exploded over Lockerbie - flew home to a hero's welcome.

It later emerged he had a £2million fortune stashed in a Swiss bank account.

His father, who is in his early 80s and keeps a vigil at his son's side in the family's plush villa in the capital Tripoli, still believes a 'miracle' could happen.

He said: 'A close relative was diagnosed with a similar disease and he was treated and recovered completely. We hope that Abdelbaset recovers his health as well.

'I think that the sick are not just cured by medicine, but also by having a high morale and a sense of freedom, and these were not available to Abdelbaset in prison.'

Megrahi receives 24-hour nursing care and, though often heavily sedated, receives well-wishers.

The relaxed, peaceful atmosphere has enabled him to more than double his original survival prognosis, and he says he is 'inspired and feeling very positive' thanks to the support of family and friends.


The 1988 bombing of Flight 103 over Lockerbie killed 270 people

Mr Megrahi said his son was working on his autobiography, and was determined to prove that he had nothing to do with the Lockerbie bombing.

The Tripoli Medical Center, where Megrahi was treated following his initial release, said it would be 'quite normal' for him to use 'alternative medicine and positive thinking' to prolong his life, and that a good family medical history would also act in his favour.

East Renfrewshire council, which is in weekly contact with Megrahi under the terms of his licence, speculated he could even 'last a year or two years'. A spokesman said: 'Nobody knows. It was never that he was supposed to be dead by now, it was never a certainty, it was just the opinion of the experts.'

Megrahi's life expectancy was crucial because under Scottish rules, prisoners can be freed on compassionate grounds if they are considered to have fewer than three months to live.

Last July, the Libyan government paid for Megrahi to be examined by three cancer specialists, among them British expert Professor Karol Sikora. It was their prognosis that won his freedom.

Professor Sikora told the Mail: 'I am very surprised that he is still alive. He is not receiving any active treatment. The latest information I have from Tripoli is that he is not a well man, and I suspect he will be dead within a month or so.'

Professor Sikora said he suspected Megrahi was hanging on because he had received a ' psychological' boost from being reunited with his family and countrymen.

Indeed the former Libyan secret service agent and his wife and five adult children are treated like royalty in Libya.

Frank Duggan, president of the Victims of Pan Am 103, which represents U.S. relatives, said: 'His people tried to have us believe he had one foot in the grave.

'Then to hear that he is doing quite well medically and is living in a luxury villa makes them all the more frustrated.'

Megrahi's lawyer in Scotland, Tony Kelly, declined to comment.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Yup they let this bomber free for an oil deal, like I said before!

Megrahi release: Obama hits out at Brown

Published Date: 11 September 2009
By Tom Peterkin
US PRESIDENT Barack Obama last night expressed his "disappointment" at the decision to release the Lockerbie bomber during a 40-minute phone call with Gordon Brown.
In their first direct discussions on the matter, the two leaders "exchanged views" on the release of Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi.

A spokesman for the Prime Minister said Mr Brown made it clear the decision had been a matter for the Scottish Government.

Following their conversation, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said: "The president expressed his disappointment over the Scottish Executive's decision to release convicted Pan Am 103 bomber al-Megrahi back to Libya."

When Megrahi returned to a hero's welcome in Libya last month, Mr Obama described the decision by the Scottish justice secretary, Kenny MacAskill, acting in his quasi-judicial role, to grant the bomber compassionate release as a "mistake".

But last night was the first time that he has expressed his disapproval to the Prime Minister in person.

Although it was a Scottish decision to free Megrahi, Mr Brown has come under fire for failing to indicate whether or not he supported the move.

The controversy has also been fanned by suggestions that the man, convicted of killing the 270 victims of Pan Am flight 103 when it exploded over Lockerbie, was a pawn in trade negotiations between the UK and Libya.

Mr Obama and Mr Brown spoke by telephone to discuss preparations for a Group of 20 economic summit to be held in Pittsburgh later this month and also discussed the economic situation.

A spokesman for the Prime Minister admitted Lockerbie had been mentioned during the conversation.

The spokesman said: "It did come up, and the Prime Minister made it clear that it was a matter for the Scottish Government."

The spokesman declined to say whether Mr Obama or Mr Brown had raised the matter, but claimed that the call between the two men was "warm and substantive".

The release of Megrahi, who is suffering from terminal cancer, outraged the relatives of American victims of the atrocity, who are convinced that the former Libyan intelligence agent is guilty of the worst mass murder in British legal history.

Mr Obama's displeasure has led to speculation that Britain's handling of the case and its involvement in trade discussions with Libya could harm the "special relationship" between the UK and the United States.

Mr Brown's spokesman denied that was the case.

"The two leaders concluded that the special relationship was as strong as ever and that there continued to be good co-operation across the full global agenda," the No 10 spokesman said.

Earlier yesterday it emerged that the UK Justice Secretary, Jack Straw, will be questioned over the Megrahi's release by the Commons justice committee.

The cross-party group of MPs will question Mr Straw on the decision not to exclude Megrahi from a prisoner transfer agreement between the UK and Libya.

Last night the American relatives said they were "very pleased" that Mr Obama had made his feelings clear to Mr Brown and claimed that the special relationship was now under severe stress.

A backlash against the UK and Scotland has been seen across the US ever since Mr MacAskill took the decision to send Megrahi home.

The sight of Scottish saltires flying as Megrahi landed in Tripoli in front of cheering crowds was especially embarrassing to the UK and Scottish governments.

The Scottish Government has always insisted that the decision to release the bomber was the right one given that medical advice suggested Megrahi had just three months to live.

The American families have always said that his release went against an agreement struck between the US and Britain that said he should serve his entire life sentence in Scotland.

"I think the (US] administration's feeling is one of more than disappointment," said Frank Duggan, the Washington-based lawyer, who is president of Victims of Pan Am 103.

"I think the administration is really angry.

"People have been asking me 'what does this mean for the special relationship?' Well, I think it is in tatters."

http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/uk/Megrahi-release-Obama--.5638572.jp#4415509

SNP defeated over bomber release

Megrahi flew back to Libya after being freed from prison

Read Brian Taylor's blog
'No double dealing' over Megrahi


The Scottish Government has suffered a defeat in parliament over its handling of the Lockerbie case.

Opposition parties united in a vote to condemn the decision to free terminally-ill Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi on compassionate grounds.

The move fell short of a vote of no-confidence in the SNP government.

As the vote took place, a hospital official told the BBC Megrahi had undergone chemotherapy and was now in a cancer ward in Tripoli.

In a further development, a lawyer who represents the families of Lockerbie victims in the US is planning legal action to force the US government to publish details of its correspondence with London and Edinburgh in the run-up to Megrahi's release.

During a debate at the Scottish Parliament, a government motion which said Scottish Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill's decision to release the bomber was taken in accordance with the justice system was amended by a combined Labour, Conservative and the Liberal Democrat vote.
The plot thickens - deals were clearly being done
Bill Aitken
Scottish Conservative justice spokesman


MSPs voted by 73 to 50 with one abstention to pass amendments criticising the Scottish Government.

A Tory amendment said the possibility of releasing Megrahi to a location in Scotland was not adequately explored.

A Liberal Democrat amendment criticised Mr MacAskill for announcing his decision to free Megrahi at a news conference, rather than in parliament.

The Labour amendment accused Mr MacAskill of mishandling the process, and disagreed with the decision to return Megrahi to Libya on compassionate early release.

Scottish Labour leader Iain Gray said after the vote: "The Scottish Parliament has made clear its opposition to both the decision to release Megrahi to Libya and the woeful handling of the decision and announcement."

Annabel Goldie, leader of the Scottish Conservatives said: "Tonight's vote is a clear message to Alex Salmond that the SNP Government's decision to release Mr Megrahi back to Libya is not in the Parliament's name, nor is it in Scotland's name. Mr Salmond's boast that he stands up for Scotland is in tatters."

The debate came a day after the Scottish Government released a list of documents on the case, which revealed that Foreign Office minister Bill Rammell had told the Libyans the prime minister and foreign secretary did not want the Lockerbie bomber to die in a Scottish prison.

Mr Rammell confirmed having made the remarks but denied having discussed this with Gordon Brown.
Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill again defended his decision


Speaking later in Birmingham, the prime minister insisted: "There was no conspiracy, no cover-up, no double dealing, no deal on oil, no attempt to instruct Scottish ministers, no private assurances by me to [Libyan leader] Colonel Gaddafi."

Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond said the disclosures highlighted Labour's "totally and absolutely ridiculous" position over the release of the Lockerbie bomber.

"The argument is not that the foreign secretary and the prime minister did anything wrong by revealing through the foreign minister to the Libyan government that they did not want Mr Al Megrahi to die in a Scottish prison," he later told parliament.

"What's wrong is that, while they were doing it, Labour in Scotland - either knowing or not knowing about it - tabled a motion attacking the justice secretary."

'Fundamental errors'

During the debate, Kenny MacAskill again defended his decision to release the bomber and reject an application to return Megrahi to Libya under a prisoner transfer deal.

He said he was required to hold his controversial meeting with Megrahi in prison while the case was being considered, and again dismissed opposition claims that the minister had failed to seek sufficient medical advice on the condition of the Lockerbie bomber, who has prostate cancer.

But Scottish Labour justice spokesman Richard Baker said the Scottish Government must be held to account for the decision to release Megrahi, which has split opinion at home and abroad.

"I believe we should make clear that there were fundamental errors in the management of this process and therefore the decision to release Mr al-Megrahi on compassionate grounds to Libya is one we cannot agree with," said Mr Baker.

The Scottish Conservatives' Bill Aitken said freeing Megrahi was a "mistake of international proportions" while Scottish Liberal Democrat justice spokesman Robert Brown said "considerable doubt" remained over whether Megrahi fulfilled the criteria for compassionate release.

Megrahi served eight years of a life sentence in Scotland for the bombing of Pan Am flight 103 over the town of Lockerbie in December 1988.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/8232734.stm

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thank you, Scottish Parliament. All political parties get arrogant from time to time and think they do not have to answer to anyone but their own. No heads rolled so everyone lives to try again. That is democracy in action.
-Beth Maxwell Boyle

Lockerbie's dirty secret

The Guardian, Wednesday 31 March 2004 02.05 BST
Article history
As he basks in the success of his controversial visit to Libya, the prime minister has to grapple at once with an awkward letter. It was delivered on Monday by UK Families Flight 103 representing most of the British families bereaved by the 1988 Lockerbie bombing. The letter starts by reminding Blair that the families supported his visit to Libya in the expectation that the talks with Colonel Muammar Gadafy would lead to more information about the bombing. Moreover, the letter says, their support for the visit was widely used by ministers to justify the visit to Libya. Yet the visit has not led to any more information about the bombing.

And recent letters to the secretary of the group, Pamela Dix - whose brother died at Lockerbie - from Baroness Symons, minister of state at the Foreign Office, and from the Crown Office in Edinburgh, have argued that any further questions to the Libyans about Lockerbie would not be helpful. In short, ministers took the credit of the families' support without asking a single question about Lockerbie to justify that support. In a sense of deep outrage, the families are asking the prime minister for a meeting to discuss Lockerbie as a matter of urgency.

More people died at Lockerbie than in Madrid, and you would have thought that the government, if only as proof of its horror at terrorism, would be keen to question its new friends in Tripoli about the bombing. Not so, apparently. So the only hard information the families have is that Abdul Basset al-Megrahi, a Libyan official, apparently working in intelligence, was convicted in January 2001 of bombing the airliner. How he accomplished this feat is still a mystery. The details of the crime did not emerge at the trial, which was held by Scottish judges sitting without a jury in Holland. It lasted 18 months and cost an estimated £50m.

Megrahi's co-accused was acquitted, so the prosecution's suggestion that the two men conspired to bomb the plane cannot be right. Indeed, the crucial evidence that the bomb was put on a feeder flight at Malta and was transferred twice, at Frankfurt and at Heathrow, was so thin it was derisory.

No one knows whether anyone else took part in this sophisticated crime of terror. One man has been convicted. The Libyan government has forked out many millions in compensation. And that, apparently, is the end of the matter. Many of the bereaved relatives, including Dix, are increasingly disturbed at the behaviour of ministers who talk business and politics to the Gadafy regime, but are not remotely interested in pressing anyone in it to tell the whole story about Lockerbie.

There is, in my opinion (not necessarily shared by the families), an explanation for all this, an explanation so shocking that no one in high places can contemplate it. It is that the Lockerbie bombing was carried out not by Libyans at all but by terrorists based in Syria and hired by Iran to avenge the shooting down in the summer of 1988 of an Iranian civil airliner by a US warship. This was the line followed by both British and US police and intelligence investigators after Lockerbie. Through favoured newspapers like the Sunday Times, the investigators named the suspects - some of whom had been found with home-made bombs similar to the one used at Lockerbie.

This line of inquiry persisted until April 1989, when a phone call from President Bush senior to Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher warned her not to proceed with it. A year later, British and US armed forces prepared for an attack on Saddam Hussein's occupying forces in Kuwait. Their coalition desperately needed troops from an Arab country. These were supplied by Syria, which promptly dropped out of the frame of Lockerbie suspects. Libya, not Syria or Iran, mysteriously became the suspect country, and in 1991 the US drew up an indictment against two Libyan suspects. The indictment was based on the "evidence" of a Libyan "defector", handsomely paid by the CIA. His story was such a fantastic farrago of lies and fantasies that it was thrown out by the Scottish judges.

In Britain, meanwhile, Thatcher, John Major and Blair obstinately turned down the bereaved families' requests for a full public inquiry into the worst mass murder in British history.

It follows from this explanation that Megrahi is innocent of the Lockerbie bombing and his conviction is the last in the long line of British judges' miscarriages of criminal justice. This explanation is also a terrible indictment of the cynicism, hypocrisy and deceit of the British and US governments and their intelligence services. Which is probably why it has been so consistently and haughtily ignored.

comment@guardian.co.uk

Gordon Brown: There Was No "Double-Dealing" Over Lockerbie Bomber

EDINBURGH, Scotland — Scottish lawmakers held a symbolic vote Wednesday to disapprove of the Lockerbie bomber's release, as the British government emphatically denied that Abdel Baset al-Megrahi's freedom was motivated by economic or diplomatic reasons.

The Scottish government had asked the parliament to endorse the decision as "consistent with the principles of Scottish justice." But by a 73-50 vote with one abstention, legislators backed an opposition amendment condemning Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill's decision as mishandled – and saying they disagreed with the government's actions in freeing the Libyan convicted in the 1988 explosion that killed 270 people.

"Releasing the Lockerbie bomber was a bad decision, made badly," Annabel Goldie, a Conservative Party member in the Scottish Parliament.

The vote is largely symbolic and was not an attempt to topple the Scottish government. MacAskill has said he released al-Megrahi because the Libyan was dying of terminal prostate cancer and compassionate releases are a key part of Scottish justice.

Criticism over the Lockerbie bomber's Aug. 20 release intensified Wednesday, despite the disclosure of confidential British and Scottish documents and denials that the release was linked to Britain's growing ties to Libya.

After keeping silent for days, Prime Minister Gordon Brown offered his strongest denial yet that no promises had been made to Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi over the fate of the 57-year-old al-Megrahi – the only man convicted in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103.

There was no conspiracy, no cover up, no double dealing, no deal on oil, no attempt to instruct Scottish ministers," Brown said emphatically. "We made absolutely clear to the Libyans and everybody else that this was a decision for the Scottish government."

Questions are now turning to everything that still hasn't been said – or disclosed.
Story continues below


Britain's opposition Conservative Party wants an inquiry into al-Megrahi's release, but the results will unlikely appease the families of bombing victims.

Countering the compassionate release argument, critics point to the lives lost during the 1988 Lockerbie bombing. Some have also questioned why Brown hasn't come out in support or against the release.

The British government released the documents Tuesday in an attempt to quell speculation that it had pushed al-Megrahi's release to boost economic cooperation with Libya. But the documents fanned more resentment in the United States, where al-Megrahi's release was vehemently opposed.

Although the documents contain several references to British authorities deferring to Scotland on a potential release, they also contain repeated mentions of how important U.K.-Libyan relations had become. One document also showed that the British justice secretary did not want to exclude al-Megrahi from a possible prisoner transfer agreement – another way that al-Megrahi could have been released if Scotland didn't free him on compassionate grounds.

Britain has regional governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland that are responsible for local issues but retains power over foreign policy.

Foreign Secretary David Miliband confirmed details in the documents that suggested Britain had not sought to have al-Megrahi serve out his life sentence in a Scottish prison.

"We did not want him to die in prison, no, we weren't seeking his death in prison," Miliband told the BBC on Wednesday.

Miliband did not elaborate, but some in the Arab world would have been suspicious about any death in custody.

In Tripoli, Libya, al-Megrahi was reportedly taken to intensive care Wednesday, according to family members who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.

Al-Megrahi was sentenced to life in prison in 2001 for the explosion, Britain's worst terrorist attack. He has long maintained his innocence.

Lawyers have said the evidence used to convict him was largely circumstantial – prosecutors said he bought clothes from a shop on the Mediterranean island of Malta that were packed around the bomb before it was placed on the plane.

Just days before Scotland approved his release on compassionate grounds, al-Megrahi's attorneys dropped his appeal against his conviction so he could be eligible for release.

Analysts at the time of the bombing pointed fingers toward Iran and Syria, not Libya, and said evidence was weak.

___

Associated Press writers David Stringer and Jill Lawless in London and Alfred De Montesquiou in Tripoli, Libya, contributed to this report.


Real Time Follow HuffPost on Twitter...

Chafing After 40 Years, Qaddafi Baffles the West

By MICHAEL SLACKMAN
Published: August 25, 2009

CAIRO — Once the mad dog of the Middle East, as Ronald Reagan called him, Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi, the Libyan leader, has focused on shedding his outlaw status: He heads the African Union, attended a Group of 8 economic conference in Rome and is courted by Western powers hungry for Libyan oil.

But if the world thought the colonel had changed his views after 40 years in power, he proved otherwise with the hero’s welcome he gave Abdel Basset Ali al-Megrahi, the only person convicted in the Lockerbie bombing of 1988.

“He likes to rub it in to the West that he was vindicated, that he’s becoming an internationally recognized figure again,” said Dirk J. Vandewalle, associate professor of government at Dartmouth College.

It was signature Colonel Qaddafi, extracting a concession from Western powers, offering thanks, then appearing to mock them for caving in. On his visit to Paris in 2007, he lectured the French on human rights. In Rome this year, he pinned a photograph to his chest of the 1931 arrest by Italian troops of the Libyan guerrilla leader Omar al-Mokhtar, whom the Italians later hanged.

But this time, Colonel Qaddafi appears to have overreached (even if Mr. Megrahi’s homecoming, indeed his entire case, may not be as straightforward as many perceive).

Instead of enhancing Colonel Qaddafi’s standing, as he had hoped, Mr. Megrahi’s release has highlighted inherent conflicts in his re-engagement with the outside world, experts said. Colonel Qaddafi’s revolutionary ideology still clashes with Western expectations. He has failed to use his nation’s opening to make political and economic improvements at home. There may even be a degree of naïveté on the part of Colonel Qaddafi, who has expressed shock at the full-throated response from Washington and London.

Indeed, experts said, officials in Libya believed they had heeded requests to keep the celebrations relatively low-key. After all, Colonel Qaddafi did not himself greet Mr. Megrahi at the airport.

In that way, this case forces the West and Libya to face up to differences in perceptions that have hung over the courtship since reconciliation began.

The West sees the current situation as clear-cut: Libya honoring a convicted terrorist who helped to blow up a jetliner over Lockerbie, Scotland. But Libya experts said that it was far more nuanced, explaining in part why Libya acted as it did, and why it was so surprised by the reaction. There are several reasons, the experts said, chief among them that the government never accepted Mr. Megrahi’s guilt.

“When Megrahi was found guilty there was an immediate sense in Libya that a great miscarriage of justice had taken place,” said George Joffe, a lecturer at the Center of International Studies at Cambridge University. “And even on the day of the sentence, Qaddafi said that he would do everything to reverse it. Right from the beginning they did not accept the sentence.”

Still, this does not completely explain Colonel Qaddafi’s behavior.

“Libya is highly authoritarian, but he still has a domestic audience he needs to appeal to,” said Dana Moss, a visiting fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. “In the aftermath of giving up nukes and re-engaging the U.S. he wants to show he is no puppet of the West and that he made his decisions independently.”

In the days since Scottish officials released Mr. Megrahi, Colonel Qaddafi’s son Saif al Islam el-Qaddafi seemed to go out of his way to incite vitriol aimed at the very people he was thanking — officials in Scotland. Most damaging was his suggestion that British officials had agreed to release Mr. Megrahi as part of a business deal.

Saif al Islam el-Qaddafi, who accompanied Mr. Megrahi home from Scotland, is thought to be engaged in a succession contest with his brother Moatessem-Billah el-Qaddafi. Saif al Islam el-Qaddafi was widely seen as using the Megrahi case to try to burnish his credentials, especially among the old guard who do not trust him.

But Libyan officials say his comments were misconstrued, that Libya was simply using any leverage it had, including during trade talks, to free Mr. Megrahi.

Perhaps the central element, however, which cannot be overlooked, is Colonel Qaddafi’s personal ambition.

He gained the international status he craved when he became head of the African Union and he has used his position to promote his top goal — creation of a United States of Africa with one army, one passport, one currency and one leader. He hoped that bringing Mr. Megrahi home would elevate his status among African leaders.

From the beginning, it was almost inevitable that this case would end in hostility and recriminations. For those whose relatives died in the 1988 bombing, forcing Libya to pay millions to each family and putting Mr. Megrahi in prison for life amounted to a shred of justice.

But to Libya, that money was a business deal, a small price for a ticket to re-engage with the West and attract foreign investment. Libya did not admit guilt. It assumed responsibility for “the actions of its officials.” The resolution cost Libya about $2.7 billion. The next year Libya’s foreign investment reached $8 billion.

In the gap of perception over Mr. Megrahi’s homecoming, where the West expressed outrage, Colonel Qaddafi saw hypocrisy, experts said. When in 2007 Libya released five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor sentenced to death on charges they had infected children with the virus that causes AIDS, they were greeted by the Bulgarian president and prime minister, the French president’s wife and the foreign affairs commissioner of the European Union.

Colonel Qaddafi agreed to send them to Bulgaria to serve out prison terms, but they were immediately pardoned by the Bulgarian president.

“Why didn’t we hear these objections, on the exoneration of this condemned team?” Colonel Qaddafi asked last week. “Are we donkeys, but they are humans?”

His parallel was dismissed in the West, where health officials argued that his charges were fabricated. But Libyans believed that Mr. Megrahi was a political prisoner, and some experts assert that those sentiments are not without some justification.

“I remember talking to one of the judges from the panel that convicted him,” said Mr. Vandewalle, of Dartmouth. “He said there was enormous pressure put on the court to get a conviction.”

Next Tuesday, Libya will celebrate the 40th anniversary of the coup that brought Colonel Qaddafi to power. Mr. Megrahi may again be on display.

“The very concept of anti-imperialism is still at the heart of Qaddafi’s discourse,” Ms. Moss said. “His ideological prism has not changed. He has to show, or wants to show, that he is not backing down.”

Mona el-Naggar contributed reporting.