Libyan Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, the only person ever convicted of perpetrating the Dec. 21, 1988, terrorist bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 that killed 35 Syracuse University students returning from studying abroad, remains alive after being released from prison on compassionate grounds in 2009.

Al-Megrahi was diagnosed with terminal prostate cancer approximately eight and half years into his life sentence and was given three months to live by doctors. Despite the prognosis, al-Megrahi was seen televised at a pro-Gadhafi rally as the Libyan civil war raged, drawing criticism from many.

A month later in August, an article by the Associated Press cited findings from Roger Kirby, a London prostate cancer specialist, that said al-Megrahi is taking cutting-edge hormone treatment that could extend his life by several years.

In late August, al-Megrahi was reportedly comatose, days from his death. A Reuters reporter found al-Megrahi still on his supposed deathbed in early October, frail-looking, though without an oxygen tank, according to an Oct. 3 New York Daily News article.

Said al-Megrahi: ‘Please leave me alone. I only have a few more days, weeks or months.’

—Compiled by Debbie Truong, asst. news editor, dbtruong@syr.edu