(RTTNews) - Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi, the Libyan man convicted for blowing up Pan Am Flight 103 over Scotland in 1988, has withdrawn his second appeal against his conviction, said his lawyers on Friday.
A spokesman for the legal firm Taylor and Kelly, which is representing al-Megrahi in the case, said Friday that his lawyers had applied to the High Court in Edinburgh two days ago to abandon his appeal against the conviction. The court hearing on the issue is scheduled for Tuesday next in Edinburgh.
"As the appeal hearing has commenced, leave of the court is required before the appeal can be formally abandoned," said the spokesman for Taylor & Kelly. "Since his diagnosis with inoperable prostate cancer, Mr. Megrahi's health has deteriorated. His condition has taken a significant turn for the worse in recent weeks."
Al-Megrahi, who was diagnosed to be terminally ill with prostate cancer last year, is currently serving a life sentence with a minimum term of 27 years in the Greenock prison in Scotland after being found guilty of blowing up Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie in 1988. All 259 people on board were killed along with 11 on the ground. Most of the victims were Americans.
The announcement about al-Megrahi's appeal withdrawal triggered speculations about his eminent release as al-Megrahi is required to drop all legal proceedings against his conviction before being eligible for the transfer. Megrahi had launched a second appeal against his conviction earlier this year after he lost an earlier appeal in 2002.
The announcement came just a day after Scottish ministers rejected media reports that Al-Megrahi is to be released from a Scottish prison on compassionate grounds as early as next week, stating that they are yet to take such a decision.
The earlier British media reports about al-Megrahi's imminent release emerged after Scottish justice secretary Kenny MacAskill visited the Libyan at Greenock Prison earlier in the week. However, MacAskill said on Scottish Television Wednesday evening that his government is yet to take a decision on the issue, adding that a number of other options are under consideration.
Earlier, a couple of British news agencies, including the BBC, had reported that the Scottish ministers have reached a consensus on al-Megrahi's release. It was also reported that Scotland has agreed on sending him back to Libya for Ramadan, the Islamic holy month which begins next week.
In May, Libya lodged a formal request with the government of Scotland for the transfer of al-Megrahi back to his home country to serve out his remaining sentence in a prison in Tripoli. The Libyan transfer request came just days after Libya signed a new prisoner transfer deal with Britain. Though the deal allows the transfer of al-Megrahi to Libya, any such move will have to be approved by the Scottish ministers first.
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The Lockerbie memorial
Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi was revealed today to have requested his second appeal to be dropped. Al-Megrahi was convicted of planting a bomb on Pan Am Flight 103, which detonated as the aircraft flew over Lockerbie, Scotland in 1988 killing all 259 people on board and eleven more on the ground.

Megrahi had been offered transfer to his home of Libya if he dropped the appeal, but had previously stated he would not return unless his conviction was overturned. He has terminal prostate cancer and it is thought that he is due to be released shortly on compassionate grounds, having served eight years of his minimum term of 27 years in Greenock prison.

Megrahi lost his first appeal in 2002, but a review found that there was reason to believe there may have been a miscarriage of justice. The decision to drop his second appeal comes as a surprise, with some victims' relatives expecting the proceedings to continue even after his death. A court hearing to consider the request is due on Tuesday.

Opinions about the conviction are split, with the families of most British victims considering the man to be innocent while those in the United States are satisfied with his guilt. Briton Martin Cadman, whose son Bill was among the dead, told ''The Daily Telegraph'' "It's been nearly 21 years since the event and where are we? Nowhere." Last year, on the twentieth anniversary of the disaster the head of the US group Victims of Pan Am Flight 103, Kara Weipz, told ''Wikinews'' that "There is no difference between the truth as we see it and the official version of events. The facts are the facts, Mr. Megrahi is guilty."