British newspapers have published an interview with convicted Lockerbie bomber Abdel Baset al-Megrahi, in which he claims his innocence and says he has new evidence that will clear his name.
The interview, which al-Megrahi says will be his last, was conducted by a friend, George Thomson, and was reported in British papers Thursday. In the interview, al-Megrahi again claims his innocence. He says he is about to die and asks to be left in peace with his family.
Al-Megrahi was convicted of the 1988 terror attack on Pan Am Flight 103, which exploded over Lockerbie, Scotland, killing 270 people, most of them Americans. The Libyan was convicted of the attack in 2001, but was released from prison on compassionate grounds in 2009, after doctors said he had just three months to live.
Al-Megrahi says he has collaborated on a new book on the case, which he says contains new evidence. He disputes prosecution evidence that he bought clothes from a man in Malta that were later wrapped around the bomb. Al-Megrahi denies ever buying clothes from the man, saying he had never been to his shop and had never seen him before he came to court.