Proud Scots feel heat over Libyan bomber's release

Convicted Lockerbie bomber Abdel Basset al-Megrahi shakes the hand of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi in Tripoli in this August 21, 2009 video grab from Libya TV.

LONDON (Reuters) - Scotland, unaccustomed to the hot spotlight of international diplomacy, fought to justify its release of the Lockerbie bomber on Sunday, after a U.S. official angrily accused the country of rewarding terrorism.

Scotland, which is part of the United Kingdom but has its own devolved powers, including its own parliament and a separate legal system, has been under assault since deciding on Thursday to free Abdel Basset al-Megrahi, the Libyan who carried out the Lockerbie airline bombing, on compassionate grounds.

The head of the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation, Robert Mueller, wrote to Scotland's justice minister on Saturday accusing him of making a mockery of the rule of law and saying his much-criticized decision "rewards a terrorist."

Scotland has jurisdiction because the Pan Am jet was blown up over Scotland on December 21, 1988, killing 259 people on board -- most of them Americans -- and 11 people on the ground.

Megrahi, the only person convicted, was tried in a Scottish court and sentenced to 27 years in prison in 2001. He was released last week after a series of medical reports showed he was dying of prostate cancer.

Scotland's first minister, Alex Salmond, who effectively functions as a prime minister in the country of five million people, rejected Mueller's accusations, saying Scotland had done what it had to do according to its own legal system.

"Obviously there's a great deal of disappointment and hurt among many people in the United States about our decision to grant compassionate release to the Lockerbie bomber," Salmond told Sky News on Sunday.

"We understand that, we recognize that ... But the process of compassionate release doesn't depend on the guilt or innocence of the party. It's an evaluation based essentially on the medical condition of the prisoner.

"We have to consider a compassionate release application, not sought by us but made by Mr Megrahi, in terms of Scots law. We have to consider these incredibly difficult decisions and make a decision without fear or favor on the basis of the Scottish legal system," he said.

Under Scottish law, release can be made on compassionate grounds if a prisoner has less than three months to live.

"BOYCOTT SCOTLAND"

The British government in London has been keen to remove itself from any responsibility for Megrahi's release, repeatedly issuing statements putting the ball in Scotland's court. The British government is headed by the Labour party and Scotland's by the Scottish National Party, a long-time bitter rival.

The last thing Britain and its prime minister, Gordon Brown, want to do is create any ruptures in their good relations with Washington, especially over a sensitive issue like Libya.

But Britain has not entirely escaped attention either. Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and his son, Saif, have both intimated that Megrahi's release was to an extent tied to business deals between Libya and Britain.

Several major British energy companies, including BP and Shell, are pursuing oil and gas projects in Libya, which has the largest proven oil reserves in Africa.

Gaddafi thanked both Brown and Queen Elizabeth after Megrahi's return to Tripoli, while a letter released by Brown's office on Saturday, in which he addressed Gaddafi as "Dear Muammar," showed the warm relations between the two leaders.

The Lockerbie bombing killed 189 Americans and it is the families of the American victims who have been most angered by Scotland's decision to release Megrahi. Before Mueller's letter, President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had expressed their disappointment at Scotland's move.

A website launched in recent days, www.boycottscotland.com, shows the extent of anger toward the small Celtic country. But Britain is not immune to censure either. When that website is accessed, the first thing it says is: "Boycott Scotland and the United Kingdom. Don't Free Abdel Basset al-Megrahi!"

(Reporting by Luke Baker; Editing by Richard Williams)