LIBYA: Doctor says Lockerbie bomber Abdel Basset al-Megrahi has died of cancer at his home

Record ID: 859988

  • Title: LIBYA: Doctor says Lockerbie bomber Abdel Basset al-Megrahi has died of cancer at his home
  • Date: 21st May 2012
  • Summary: LIBYA, TRIPOLI (MAY 20, 2012) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF OFFICE OF DOCTOR MOHAMMED AL-SHABSHOUBI OF THE LIBYAN HEALTH MINISTRY WHO OBTAINED ABDEL BASSET AL-MEGRAHI'S MEDICAL RECORDS DOCTOR MOHAMMED AL-SHABSHOUBI SEATED IN HIS OFFICE, TALKING TO REPORTER CLOSE OF LIBYAN FLAG (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) DOCTOR MOHAMMED AL-SHABSHOUBI OF THE LIBYAN HEALTH MINISTRY, SAYING: "The reason for (Megrahi's) death was cancer, the patient was suffering from this disease for a long time according to the physician's report. He passed away today at 1300 (1100GMT), the cancer was in a terminal phase and has spread to his bones and across his body until it became untreatable." SHABSHOUBI TALKING TO REPORTER (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) DOCTOR MOHAMMED AL-SHABSHOUBI OF THE LIBYAN HEALTH MINISTRY, SAYING: "He was in a coma before 1300 and at home when he passed away." INTERVIEW IN PROGRESS
  • Embargoed: 5th June 2012 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Libya
  • City:
  • Country: Libya
  • Topics: Crime,Obituaries
  • Reuters ID: LVA2XOND4XOY320CM3NBJZMT0JX0
  • Aspect Ratio:
  • Story Text: Abdel Basset al-Megrahi, the Libyan convicted of the 1988 bombing of a PanAm flight over Lockerbie, died from complications from prostate cancer at his home in Tripoli on Sunday (May 20) a Libyan health ministry official told Reuters.
    "The reason for (Megrahi's) death was cancer, the patient was suffering from this disease for a long time according to the physician's report. He passed away today at 1300 (1100GMT), the cancer was in a terminal phase and has spread to his bones and across his body until it became untreatable," Doctor Mohammed al-Shabshoubi of Libya's National Transitional Council (NTC), who obtained Megrahi's medical files, said.
    "He was in a coma before 1300 at his home when he passed away," Shabshoubi added.
    Megrahi died at the age of 60 leaving many questions on the attack and its aftermath unanswered.
    The convicted Lockerbie bomber, who said he was not responsible for bringing the jumbo jet down on the Scottish town and killing 270 people, was found guilty in 2001 but was freed in 2009 and returned to Libya because he had terminal cancer and was not expected to live long.
    His brother Mohammed said the funeral would take place on Monday (May 21).
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2012. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
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