London, September 18: The freed Lockerbie bomber released documents online Friday which he said support his claim that he is innocent of the 1988 bombing of a plane over Scotland, which killed 270 people.
Abdelbaset Ali Mohmet al-Megrahi dropped an appeal against conviction over the atrocity shortly before he was released from a Scottish jail last month on compassionate grounds, because he is dying of prostate cancer.
“I have returned to Tripoli with my unjust conviction still in place,” the Libyan said in statement.
“As a result of the abandonment of my appeal, I have been deprived of the opportunity to clear my name through the formal appeal process.
“I have vowed to continue my attempts to clear my name.
“I will do everything in my power to persuade the public, and in particular the Scottish public, of my innocence. Through my website I have published the material which featured in the first full hearing of my appeal.”
The documents included papers giving the grounds for his appeal.
“I hope that this can assist in the understanding of my case, especially for those who have been most profoundly affected by it,” he said.
Megrahi, 57, was admitted to hospital in the Libyan capital Tripoli at the start of September, less than a fortnight after his release when he was given less than three months to live.
The former Libyan agent is the only person convicted of the murder of 270 people, most of them Americans, in the bombing of an airliner over the Scottish town of Lockerbie in 1988.
His release triggered fury from the US administration and families of the 189 US nationals who died on Pan Am flight 103 was downed over the Scottish town of Lockerbie on December 21, 1988.
The United States last week warned Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi to be mindful of American sensitivities over the Lockerbie bombing when he attends his first UN General Assembly in New York later this month.
–Agencies