Relatives of those who died in the bombing of a US plane over Lockerbie voiced anger as the man convicted（定罪） of the attack was welcomed home in Libya.
Crowds in Tripoli greeted Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi, after he was freed from prison on compassionate grounds.
The son of Libyan leader Col Muammar Gaddafi called his release（放松） a courageous step by Scotland and Britain.
But there was angry reaction from families of those killed in the bombing and from US President Barack Obama.
Most of the 270 people who died when Pan Am Flight 103 blew up over Lockerbie in 1988 were Americans.
Mr Obama said Megrahi's release, eight years into his life sentence, was "a mistake".
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He said his administration had told the Libyan government that Megrahi, who has terminal cancer, should not receive a hero's welcome and should be placed under house arrest.
British Foreign Secretary David Miliband said the sight of Megrahi being welcomed in the Libyan capital was very disturbing for families of those who died in the bombing.
"Obviously the sight of a mass murderer getting a hero's welcome in Tripoli is deeply upsetting, deeply distressing," he told the BBC.
Hundreds of people turned out to meet Megrahi's plane as it landed in Tripoli, many waving flags.
Megrahi, who had changed from the tracksuit he wore to leave Greenock prison in Scotland into a dark suit, was met by Col Gaddafi's son.
"I would like to thank the Scottish government for its courageous decision and understanding of a special human situation," Seif al-Islam Gaddafi was quoted as saying.
There was a considerable amount of new evidence to show that he was innocent, he is reported to have added.
Megrahi was then taken to his family home where his wife, Aisha, said she was "overjoyed".
"It is a great moment, which we have been waiting for for nine years," she said. "The house is full to bursting, everyone who loves Abdelbaset is with us."'An insult'
But relatives of those who died voiced growing anger and outrage at the decision to release him.
Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi has always denied the charges against himStephanie Bernstein, whose husband was killed in the bombing, said the Scottish Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill was "naive" in taking the decision to release Megrahi.
"Thinking that somehow this shows that they are better people for being compassionate? This shows not compassion, it shows weakness," she told the BBC.
But other relatives reacted differently to the news.
British relatives' spokesman Dr Jim Swire, who lost his daughter Flora in the atrocity, reiterated his view that Megrahi had "nothing to do with" the bombing.
Have Your Say I am ashamed to be Scottish. Where is the justice for the victims?
Ross MacDonald, EdinburghSend us your comment "I don't believe for a moment that this man was involved in the way that he was found to have been involved," he said.
Megrahi was convicted of murder in January 2001 at a trial held under Scottish law in the Netherlands but has always denied being behind the bombing.
Mr MacAskill announced the release order on Thursday morning, saying Megrahi probably had about three months to live.
The fact that Megrahi's victims were shown no compassion was "not a reason for us to deny compassion to him and his family in his final days", he said.
Mr Miliband said that the decision to release Megrahi had been a choice for the Scottish justice secretary（秘书长） alone. He added that the world would be closely watching the way that Libya responded.
"It's very important that Libya knows that how the Libyan government handles itself in the next few days will be very significant in the way the world views Libya's re-entry into the civilised community of nations," Mr Miliband said.
The BBC's Christian Fraser in Tripoli says that in the short time Megrahi is believed to have left to live, he is likely to be feted as a national hero in Libya.
But when he does die, says our correspondent, he will go to the grave a convicted murderer.(本文由在线英语听力室) |