Gaddafi meets with Lockerbie family members in NYC
'He was very friendly and cordial to us,' says sister of plane bombing victim after meeting Libyan leader
A woman whose brother died in the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, says she and another victim's relative met in New York City with Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi, whose country has been blamed for the attack.
Colorado Springs, Colorado, attorney Lisa Gibson said the meeting with Gaddafi at the Libyan Mission to the United Nations on Wednesday was arranged through a Libyan ambassador.
"He generally said he was sorry for the loss, but we didn't go into any details about the bombing," Gibson said of the 10-minute meeting with Gaddafi, who is making his first visit to the US to attend the UN General Assembly.
Gibson's brother was stationed in the Army in Berlin and was going home for Christmas when the plane blew up, killing 270 people.
Last month, a Scottish magistrate ordered the release of convicted Lockerbie bomber Abdel Baset al-Megrahi after he was diagnosed with fatal prostate cancer. Though Libyan security forces cleared away most of the thousands gathered at the airport, hundreds remained to greet al-Megrahi upon his arrival, infuriating the victims' families.
Gibson said she gave the Libyan leader a pen and a card, in which she told him she had been praying for him.
"He was very friendly and cordial to us," Gibson said. "Honestly, I think he was touched by us being there."
