The terminally ill Libyan convicted over the 1988 Lockerbie bombing flew home from Scotland to a joyous reception Thursday after being freed on compassionate grounds despite US anger over the decision.
Hundreds of young people waving Libyan and Scottish flags greeted the aircraft carrying Abdelbaset Ali Mohmet al-Megrahi as it landed in Tripoli amid heavy security.
He emerged from the plane wearing a dark suit, his hand held by Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi's son Seif al-Islam, who was in the delegation that flew to Scotland to bring him home.
Lockerbie bomber freed Abdel Basset al-Megrahi returns home to Libya after being released from Scotland on compassionate grounds.
Loudspeakers pumped out patriotic songs ahead of a celebration in the heart of the Libyan capital that Megrahi was expected to attend.
The only person found guilty of blowing up a US Boeing 747 airliner and killing 270 people, Megrahi said earlier he was "very relieved" to be freed but described his original conviction as a "disgrace."
US President Barack Obama called his release a "mistake."
"We have been in contact with the Scottish government, indicating that we objected to this, and we thought it was a mistake," Obama said. Many of the victims on Pan Am Flight 103 were American.
Obama added that "we're now in contact with the Libyan government and want to make sure that if, in fact, this transfer has taken place, that he's not welcomed back in some way, but instead, should be under house arrest."
US Attorney General Eric Holder repudiated the legal basis of the Scottish decision.
"There is simply no justification for releasing this convicted terrorist whose actions took the lives of 270 individuals, including 189 Americans," he said.
The Cairo-based Arab League welcomed Megrahi's release.
"The Arab League welcomes the Scottish court decision to release Megrahi, taking into consideration his serious health condition," Assistant Secretary General Ahdmed Bin Hilli was quoted as saying by the official MENA news agency.
He said the decision came after lengthy Libyan diplomatic efforts.
Bin Hilli also voiced hope that "Libya would receive compensation for its suffering during the years of ongoing sanctions as a result of this crisis."
In 2003, Libya agreed to pay 2.7 billion dollars in compensation to Lockerbie relatives, paving the way for a thawing of relations with the West.
Four hours before his arrival home, dressed in white from head to toe and covering his face with a scarf, the 57-year-old walked unaided up the steps of the Libyan jet sent from Tripoli to collect him.
His release from a prison near Glasgow came barely an hour after Scotland's justice minister announced Megrahi was being freed because he has advanced prostate cancer and was expected to die in less than three months.
"Scotland will forever remember the crime that has been perpetrated against our people and those from many other lands," Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill said, defending his decision.
"Our justice system demands that judgment be imposed but compassion be available. Our beliefs dictate that justice be served, but mercy be shown."
In a statement issued by his lawyers after his departure, Megrahi said he was "obviously very relieved to be leaving my prison cell at last" -- but called his 2001 conviction "nothing short of a disgrace."
"This horrible ordeal is not ended by my return to Libya, it may never end for me until I die. Perhaps the only liberation for me will be death," he said.
Megrahi's wife Aisha said she was "very, very happy" at his release, which comes just in time for the start of the Islamic holy fasting month of Ramadan.
"I am overjoyed; it is indescribable. It is a great moment which we have been waiting for for nine years. The house is full to bursting; everyone who loves Abdelbaset is with us," she told AFP. Continued…
Memorial of , at Dryfesdale Cemetery 
, the only individual convicted in connection with the bombing of  in 1988, has been released by Scottish  , on compassionate grounds.

Megrahi is suffering from   and will be allowed to return to his home country of Libya.

270 people were killed when, on December 21, 1988, the  flight from London's Heathrow Airport to New York's  was destroyed by a bomb whilst in flight over southern Scotland.

A police convoy escorted Megrahi from his former prison home in  to , where he boarded an  flight to . He was told he could not remain in Scotland on security grounds.

In announcing the release on compassionate grounds, Justice Secretary MacAskill stated, "Al-Megrahi now faces a sentence imposed by a higher power. It is one that no court in any jurisdiction could revoke or overrule. It is terminal, final and irrevocable. He is going to die".

The conviction remains controversial. Last year then-president of US group ''Victims of Pan Am Flight 103'' told ''Wikinews'' that the vast majority were satisfied in Megrahi's guilt. ''UK Families Flight 103'' painted a very different picture to ''Wikinews'' of the opinions in Britain: "UK Families have different views about Megrahi's guilt or innocence.  Certainly some, including my husband and I, believe that we are not in a position to make a judgment about whether he was involved in some way or not," said group coordinator Jean Berkley, whose son was killed. "Much of the evidence at the trial was circumstantial and confusing and it is a fact that the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission, after considering the matter for three years, came to the conclusion that there were grounds for appeal. The UK families are united in believing that the full independent inquiry for which we have been asking since 1989 should now take place, to deal with the many unanswered questions and enable the evidence which would have emerged from the now abandoned appeal to be made public." This is in sharp contrast to '''', which earlier reported that the majority of British families felt Megrahi was innocent.

The United States government had been strongly opposed to any possible release. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had previously called the possibility "absolutely wrong". MacAskill sought to justify the decision by commenting that "Compassion and mercy are about upholding the beliefs that we seek to live by, remaining true to our values as a people - no matter the severity of the provocation or the atrocity perpetrated."

Megrahi issued a statement shortly before leaving HMP Greenock in which he maintained his innocence. "The remaining days of my life are being lived under the shadow of the wrongness of my conviction. I have been faced with an appalling choice: to risk dying in prison in the hope that my name is cleared posthumously or to return home still carrying the weight of the guilty verdict, which will never now be lifted. The choice which I made is a matter of sorrow, disappointment and anger, which I fear I will never overcome," said Megrahi.

Robert Gibbs, press secretary for the White House, said "The United States deeply regrets the decision by the Scottish Executive to release Abdel Basset Mohamed al-Megrahi. As we have expressed repeatedly to officials of the government of the United Kingdom and to Scottish authorities, we continue to believe that Megrahi should serve out his sentence in Scotland." Many US victims have also reacted with anger. 

Many US victims' families have reacted with anger. One relative commented that "This might sound crude or blunt, but I want him returned from Scotland the same way my wife Lorraine was and that would be in a box." Dr. , a UK victim, disagreed, saying Megrahi had "nothing to do with" the disaster and calling the earlier dropping of the appeal "a blow to those of us who seek the truth."

Megrahi's plane was greeted by crowds in Tripoli waving both Libyan and Scottish flags. , son of Libyan leader , held his hand as he exited the aircraft amid heavy security. Loudspeakers broadcast patriotic music and it is reported that celebrations are ongoing in Tripoli.