EDINBURGH, Scotland - A decision on whether the Lockerbie bomber will be handed over to Libyan authorities will be made in the next few weeks, Scottish government officials said Wednesday.
They spoke after Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi met in private with Scottish justice minister Kenny MacAskill for more than 30 minutes at Greenock prison near Glasgow earlier in the day. The meeting was part of the senior lawmaker's review of the case.
The final decision whether to allow al-Megrahi's transfer lies with MacAskill.
Al-Megrahi, a former Libyan secret service agent, is serving a life sentence for the bombing of Pan Am 103 over the Scottish town of Lockerbie in December 1988. The attack killed 270 people -- most of them Americans.
"We will be making a decision and statement on the status of Mr. Megrahi some time in the next couple of weeks," said Fiona Wilson, a spokeswoman for MacAskill. Wilson said she could not be more precise about the date.
MacAskill has already met with U.S. Attorney-General Eric Holder and privately with families from the U.S. and Britain to discuss the possible transfer of Megrahi to a Libyan jail, Wilson said.
There is "a two-pronged effort" to get Megrahi released, Wilson added.
Firstly, al-Megrahi has terminal prostate cancer and has applied to be released on compassionate grounds. If he succeeded, he would be released from prison and be free to return home to Libya.
On May 5, Tripoli also requested the transfer of Megrahi to a Libyan jail under the terms of a new Prisoner Transfer Agreement with Britain. A 90-day deadline for a decision under the terms of the deal has already expired.
Al-Megrahi cannot be transferred to a Libyan jail under the transfer agreement unless he drops an appeal against his conviction currently being heard before three judges at the Court of Appeal in Edinburgh.
Megrahi, 57, was convicted in 2001 at a special Scottish court without jury held in the Netherlands, through a special agreement between the British and Libyan governments. The Libyan government requested the arrangement as it did not believe Megrahi would receive a fair trial by jury in Scotland.
He has always maintained his innocence.
British and U.S. families are divided over Megrahi's involvement in the bombing. The U.K. families believe he is innocent and blame the atrocity on either Iranian or Palestinian terrorists.
The Rev. John Mosey of Britain, whose daughter Helga, 19, was on board Flight 103, said: "I think this man has suffered enough. It is clear he is terminally ill and very sick. He should be allowed to go home to his family."
But Kathleen Flynn from Cherry Hill N.J., whose son J.P. died on the flight, told the British Broadcasting Corporation: "Someone who has committed a crime as serious as this should be punished in the country that he performed the crime in."
Megrahi's lawyer Tony Kelly was not available for comment on Wednesday.
MacAskill arrived at Greenock Prison in a ministerial car at about 9.30am. He refused to make any comment on the meeting when he left about an hour later.
