The man convicted of planting the bomb that blew up Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie in 1988, Libyan agent Abdul Basset al-Megrhi, was on 24 November sentenced to 27 years in gaol for his part in the bombing, which killed 270 people. Al-Megrahi, who was convicted in a Scottish court sitting in the Netherlands in January 2001, was sentenced to life imprisonment - a sentence that carries a minimum of twenty years incarceration - in a Scottish gaol. Under new EU laws, UK authorities were obliged to tell Al-Magrahi exactly how long he must serve in gaol before he can consider bail (MEED 25:11:03).
Separately, the US State Department on 24 November renewed a travel ban to Libya for all US passport holders. The ban was extended for 90 days. 'I have determined that Libya continues to be a country 'where there is imminent danger to the public health or physical safety of United States travelers,'' US Secretary of State Colin Powell wrote in the Federal Register. 'Accordingly, all US passports shall remain invalid for travel to, in, or through Libya unless specifically validated for such travel under the authority of the Secretary of State.' The shorter, 90-day extension - as opposed to the one-year extension - has been interpreted by some analysts as a softening in policy against Libya.
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