Washington (CNN) -- The release of convicted Pan Am Flight 103 bomber Abdelbeset al-Megrahi from a Scottish prison last year was a "grievous mistake," a U.S. senator said Wednesday.
Sen. Robert Menendez, D-New Jersey, apologized for "inconveniencing those who would rather sweep this under the bin," but said he wanted to shed light on the "troubling circumstances" surrounding al-Megrahi's release by the Scottish government last year on the grounds that he had cancer and was not likely to live more than three more months.
Al-Megrahi is the only person convicted in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103, which exploded over Lockerbie, Scotland, in December 1988, killing 259 people on the plane and 11 on the ground.
Menendez is chairing an investigation looking into al-Megrahi's release. On Wednesday, the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations held a hearing on the circumstances of his release.
Nancy McEldowney, the deputy assistant secretary of European affairs at the State Department, told the committee that the United States never approved of the release.
CNN
