Schumer: Withhold Libya Aid Over Lockerbie Bomber

U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer wants the State Department withhold aid to Libya if its new rebel government doesn't send a convicted plotter of the 1988 Lockerbie plane bombing back to prison.     

Schumer made his statement as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton prepares for a conference in Paris on Libya this week.

Lockerbie plotter Abdel Baset al-Megrahi is the only person convicted in the terror strike that killed 270 people over Scotland days before Christmas. Many of the passengers were New Yorkers.     

He was released from a Scottish prison in 2009 for humanitarian reasons. He remains in Libya.     

Physicians said he was near death then, but he has lived on and recently attend a rally former Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi.    

"If the new Libyan government continues to shield this convicted terrorist from justice, then they should not get one more cent of support from the United States," said Schumer. “We put American lives and money on the line to help the Libyan people secure their freedom. It’s time the Libyan government lives up to its commitment to create a free and accountable society by handing over al-Megrahi so that justice can finally be done.”