Schumer Floats Trading Libyan Aid For Lockerbie Bomber

Sen. Chuck Schmer (D-N.Y.) called on the U.S. State Department on Wednesday to withhold aid to Libya’s opposition political group unless it gives up Abdel Baset al-Megrahi, the Libyan terrorist convicted of the 1988 bombing of Pan-Am flight 103, which killed 189 Americans when it exploded over Lockerbie, Scotland.

al-Megrahi spent eight years in a Scottish prison before being released on compassionate grounds in 2009 and handed back to the regime of Libyan ruler Moammar Gaddafi. CNN reported earlier this year that although he was diagnosed at the time with terminal cancer and was told he had three months to live, al-Megrahi was comatose, and under the care of family in the capital of Tripoli.

In a statement, Schumer demanded that Transitional National Council leaders bring al-Megrahi back to Scotland to finish serving his original life sentence.

“If the new Libyan government continues to shield this convicted terrorist from justice, then they should not get one more cent of support from the United States,” he said. “We put American lives and money on the line to help the Libyan people secure their freedom. It’s time the Libyan government lives up to its commitment to create a free and accountable society by handing over al-Megrahi so that justice can finally be done.”

Schumer also wrote to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, urging her to withhold pledging financial assistance, including access to some of Gaddafi’s frozen assets, to the TNC.

“The opposition movement that has demonstrated its goal to live in a free and accountable Libya must demonstrate its commitment to justice by ensuring that a global terrorist like al-Megrahi face those he has victimized and be returned to jail…There is no justifiable basis for the rebels’ decision to shield this convicted terrorist.”