London, August 13: Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Ali Mohmet al-Megrahi, who has prostate cancer, is to be freed from a British jail on compassionate grounds, media has reported.
Megrahi is serving life with a minimum term of 27 years over the downing of Pan Am flight 103 over the Scottish village of Lockerbie, which killed 270 people in 1988.
The former Libyan agent is expected to return to his homeland following an announcement by Scottish Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill next week, the BBC and Sky News television said, without quoting sources.
A spokesman for Scotland’s First Minister Alex Salmond played down the reports, saying, “No decision has been taken, either on the application for compassionate release or the application under the prisoner transfer agreement and so it is entirely speculation.”
The Scottish government said last month that it had received an application for his release on compassionate grounds.
In May, Libya applied for him to be transferred to his homeland under a prisoner transfer treaty between Libya and Britain.
Megrahi also launched a second appeal against his conviction earlier this year.
–Agencies