The man convicted of killing 270 innocent people on Pan Am Flight 103 on 21 December 1988 has returned home to die. Although Gordon Brown had written to Colonel Gaddafi asking that Libya “act with sensitivity” on his return, al-Megrahi appears to have been welcomed back as a hero, his return being described by Foreign Secretary David Miliband as “deeply distressing.”

Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi was found guilty of mass murder by a court in the Netherlands after a trial held under Scottish law over ten years after the bombing. His judges recommended a minimum sentence of twenty years “in view of the horrendous nature of this crime”. He appealed against his conviction, lost in 2002, but continued to appeal, insisting on his innocence.

In 2008 he was diagnosed with prostate cancer that was in an “advanced stage” and, having dropped his second appeal against the conviction, was released “on compassionate grounds.”

Should he have been released? Here’s an answer:

A man bombs 259 innocent people out of the sky and crushes 11 more to death. All the victims die in fear and pain. Hundreds of relatives are given life sentences of grief and loss. Having shown no mercy, no remorse, no compassion to them, when his own life nears its end – an end for which he is given rather more preparation and palliation than he gave his victims – he is freed to die in peace and dignity with his friends and family and is welcomed home like some military hero. In the words of one relative, “It is an utter insult and utterly disgusting”.

Here’s another answer:

A man kills 270 innocent people. He is convicted and imprisoned but, when his own life nears its end, the Scottish government decides to show him the clemency which distinguishes a civilised, humane society from the kind of society that the man himself epitomises. They were not bound by his lack of compassion. Theirs was a decision which shows that humanity can flourish in spite of wickedness. In the words of Scottish Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill, “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.”

And here is a third answer:

The Scottish government’s decision has nothing to do with compassion and everything to do with political expediency. Since Libya came in from the cold it has become an important ally, not only in helping combat terrorism and nuclear proliferation, but also in its economic potential. According to David Blair, writing in The Daily Telegraph, Libya has 42 billion barrels of proven oil reserves and a similar amount of natural gas. Perhaps not surprisingly, BP’s biggest exploration project in the world is now under way inside Col. Gaddafi's domain. In Blair’s words:

“Britain needs to make sure that nothing interferes with what diplomats call ‘our bilateral relationship’ with Libya. If that means sending one 57-year-old prisoner back to his homeland, particularly if he happens to be terminally ill – so allowing him to be released on ‘compassionate grounds’ – then so be it.”

Or in the words of the Human Rights lawyer, Jason McCue, “The intended beneficiary of all this is Anglo-Libyan trade.”

But this is just cynical.

Isn’t it?

Dr Elizabeth Lee is a former civil servant.