FINAL JOURNEY FOR THE LOCKERBIE BOMBER

Friends and relatives carry the coffin containing the body of Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset al-megrahi during his funeral yesterday in a suburb of Tripoli. Megrahi, the only person convicted over the 1988 atrocity which killed 270 people, died on Sunday.

THE ONLY man convicted over the 1988 Lockerbie bombing was buried with little fanfare yesterday near the Libyan capital.

There were just under 100 family members and passers-by in attendance at the funeral of Abdelbaset al-megrahi.

The quiet funeral in Tripoli stands in stark contrast to the hero’s welcome Megrahi received three years ago from his patron, dictator Muammar Gaddafi, upon his return to Libya after serving eight years of a life sentence in Scotland.

To the outrage of victims’ relatives, Scottish authorities released Megrahi on humanitarian grounds in 2009 after doctors predicted an early death due to prostate cancer.

The mid-air attack that blew up Pan Am Flight 103 over Scotland claimed the lives of 270 people.

Until his death at 60, Megrahi claimed he was innocent.

His brother, Mohammed, echoed that sentiment during the burial at Janzour cemetery, six miles to the west of the capital.

“My brother is innocent,” he yelled at the funeral.

“He’s a hero. He’s buried among his people. “He’s buried in his own country.” He said that Megrahi had lived in “agony” due to the toll both the case and cancer had taken on him.

Megrahi has always insisted he had nothing to do with the bombing.

Those who believe him got a boost in 2007 when a three-year investigation by a Scottish tribunal found new evidence — and old evidence withheld from trial — suggesting Megrahi “may have suffered a miscarriage of justice”.

Its 800-page report prompted an appeal on Megrahi’s behalf.

However, this was dropped in a bid to clear the path for his release on compassionate grounds before he returned to Libya three years ago.

Just before his death, the man convicted of being involved in one of the world’s deadliest terror attacks had told his family he would try to restart the appeal process if his health improved, his brother said.

There were no government officials or security guards present at the funeral, just male relatives and strangers who happened to be going by.

They prayed at the grave in traditional Islamic custom.

Picture: Getty Images. Friends and relatives bury the body of Abdelbaset al-megrahi in Janzour cemetery yesterday.

Pictures: PA. Right (from top) — the picture of Megrahi released after he was indicted by Scottish and US authorities after the 1988 atrocity, the Lockerbie bomber leaving Scotland for Libya in August 2009 after his release from prison on compassionate grounds, and...