UPDATE: May 20, 2012, 11:46 a.m.

Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, the only person ever convicted of the 1988 Pan Am Flight 103 bombing that killed 270 people, including 35 Syracuse University students, has died.

Al-Megrahi, a former Libyan intelligence officer, was charged in the Dec. 21, 1988 bombing of the New York-bound Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. Thirty-five SU students were on board, returning from study abroad trips in London and Florence, Italy, respectively. Al-Megrahi’s son, Khaled al-Megrahi, confirmed his father died in Tripoli on Sunday but did not provide more detail, according to an Associated Press article published Sunday morning. He was 60 years old.

On Aug. 20, 2009, after serving eight years in prison, al-Megrahi was released from a life sentence for the bombing after he was diagnosed with terminal prostate cancer. Al-Megrahi outlived the three-month timetable doctors expected him to live, deepening the frustrations of those who condemned his release.

In February, Susan Cohen, mother of SU victim Theodora, told The Daily Orange she wished for al-Megrahi’s death after learning the former intelligence officer intended to publish memoirs proclaiming his innocence.

‘I wish he would die already so that he, like Gaddafi, will not have the pleasure of enjoying life,’ she said in an email. ‘I am tired of seeing Megrahi on his so called ‘death bed’ for the last 2 1/2 years.’

In October 2011, al-Megrahi was seen at a televised rally supporting Moammar al Gadhafi, who was killed by rebel forces during the Libyan civil war. Throughout, al-Megrahi maintained he was innocent.

Kevin Quinn, senior vice president for public affairs at SU, issued a statement Sunday, offering support to those affected by the bombing.   

‘As we learn of the death of Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, we continue to remember our students and all who were lost in the Pan Am 103 tragedy, and the grief and sense of loss all of their families and friends still bear,’ Quinn said in the statement. 

SU has established traditions honoring the students who perished in the 1988 bombing. Remembrance Week is held annually during the fall semester, culminating in a rose laying ceremony. Thirty-five Remembrance Scholarships and two Lockerbie Scholarships are also awarded annually.

dbtruong@syr.edu

Published on May 20, 2012 at 12:00 pm

Contact Debbie: dbtruong@syr.edu | @debbietruong