LONDON (Reuters) - Scotland, unaccustomed to the hot spotlight of international diplomacy, fought to justify its release of the Lockerbie bomber on Sunday, after a U.S. official angrily accused the country of rewarding terrorism.
Scotland, which is part of the United Kingdom but has its own devolved powers, including its own parliament and a separate legal system, has been under assault since deciding on Thursday to free Abdel Basset al-Megrahi, the Libyan who carried out the Lockerbie airline bombing, on compassionate grounds.