LONDON — Britain released documents Tuesday detailing confidential exchanges over the Lockerbie bomber’s release — letters it hoped will end speculation that Abdel Baset al-Megrahi’s freedom was used to sweeten economic and political deals between Libya and the U.K.
But the documents are likely to stir more anger in the United States, which was opposed to freeing al-Megrahi all along.
The letters show that British authorities deferred to Scotland on whether to release the only man convicted in the 1988 airline bombing, but those same officials also repeatedly stressed the importance of growing U.K.-Libyan interests. There was no evidence that British officials warned of a diplomatic fallout with the United States if al-Megrahi were released.
Al-Megrahi, 57, was convicted in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, that killed 270 people — many of whom were American college students returning for Christmas.
Scotland freed al-Megrahi on compassionate grounds Aug. 20 after doctors said he had three months to live because of advanced prostate cancer.
Bob Monetti, whose 20-year-old brother, Richard, of Cherry Hill, N.J., was among those killed, said the letters confirmed families’ suspicions.
“The fix has been in for a while,” he said. “The U.K. has put incredible pressure on Scotland to do this thing, and they finally caved in.”
U.S. State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said: “It won’t be the first disagreement we’ve had with a close ally, and it won’t be the last.”
As the British and Scottish governments released more than a dozen documents, Libya celebrated the 40th anniversary of the coup that brought Col. Moammar Khadafy to power — an extravaganza meant to celebrate the return of the former pariah state into the international fold after terrorism.
British talk shows late Tuesday buzzed with suggestions that al-Megrahi’s release was no coincidence during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and ahead of Kha dafy’s lavish celebrations.
The released letters from 2007 to 2009 showed that British officials warned Scotland that excluding al-Megrahi from a prisoner-transfer agreement could damage U.K.-Libyan relations.
The release follows claims in the British press that the government struck a deal with Libyan authorities because it was in Britain’s best interests at a time when a major oil deal was being negotiated.
