Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset al-Megrahi may have been victim of miscarriage of justice and his family can appeal his conviction over terror outrage that killed 270, Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission says
- Abdelbaset al-Megrahi was only man found guilty of the 1988 aircraft bombing
- He died in 2012 after he was allowed to return from Scotland to Libya in ill health
- US opposed the move but now his guilty verdict has been referred for appeal
A miscarriage of justice may have occurred in the conviction of Abdelbaset al-Megrahi for the Lockerbie bombing, the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission has found.
The conviction of the only man found guilty of the 1988 aircraft bombing has been referred for an appeal to Scotland’s High Court of Justiciary,
The Commission said the family of Libyan intelligence officer al-Megrahi, who died in 2012, could instruct an appeal over his conviction for the attack on Pam Am flight 103, which was blown up over the Scottish town of Lockerbie in December 1988 en route from London to New York.
A picture taken on August 20, 2009 (left) shows freed Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Ali Mohmet al-Megrahi (right, at the time of the bombing), the sole Libyan convicted over the 1988 Pan Am jetliner bombing after he was released from a Scottish jail on compassionate grounds
December 1988: Some of the wreckage of Pan Am Flight 103 after it crashed onto the town of Lockerbie in Scotland
Pictured: The terminally ill Libyan convicted over the 1988 Lockerbie bombing flew home from Scotland to a joyous reception after being freed on compassionate grounds despite fierce US opposition
The application to the SCCRC was made by lawyer Aamer Anwar on behalf of al-Megrahi’s family and was supported by some families of those who died in the 1988 disaster.
Bill Matthews, chairman of the SCCRC, said: ‘This is the second time that the commission has carried out what I believe has been a rigorous and independent review of this particular conviction, and we note that since our last review further information has become available, including within the public domain, which the commission has now been able to consider and assess.
‘As the chair of the SCCRC in 2007 said when the case was originally referred, our function is not to decide upon the guilt or innocence of an applicant.
‘Our function is to examine the grounds of review identified and to decide whether any of the grounds meet the statutory test for a potential miscarriage.’
The al-Megrahi family is now entitled to instruct an appeal against his conviction on January 31 2001 for the murders of the 243 passengers and the 16 crew on board Pan Am Flight 103 (PA 103) from London to New York, and 11 residents of Lockerbie, on December 21, 1988.
The commission has sent a statement of reasons for its decision to the High Court.
It has long been suggested that then-Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi ordered the bombing, although he denied it.
Al-Megrahi was convicted on the basis of evidence from Maltese shop keeper Tony Gauci, who died in 2016 aged 75.
Mr Gauci ran a clothes shop in Swieqi, Malta, at the time of the bombing of Pan Am flight 103 and claimed that Megrahi bought a piece of clothing found among the debris of the aircraft.
His evidence helped to secure the 2001 conviction of the former Libyan intelligence officer for the atrocity in which 270 people died, including 11 people on the ground.
But some doubts were subsequently raised about Mr Gauci’s reliability.
The trial judgment detailed how the three judges were satisfied Megrahi had walked into Mr Gauci’s shop and bought items of clothing which ended up packed around the bomb that exploded in a suitcase on board the flight.
But the SCCRC said doubt had been cast on some of the evidence which helped convict Megrahi, in particular evidence relating to the visit to Mr Gauci’s shop.
In his last interview, Megrahi insisted he had ‘never seen’ Mr Gauci and had not bought clothes from him.
In 2014 Scotland’s then Lord Advocate, Frank Mulholland, reaffirmed his belief in Megrahi’s guilt.
The following year, Scottish prosecutors revealed they have identified two Libyans as suspects over the atrocity.
Who was Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset al-Megrahi?
Former Libyian intelligence officer Abdelbaset al-Megrahi is the only person to have been convicted of involvement in the Lockerbie bombing which claimed 270 lives
Former Libyian intelligence officer Abdelbaset al-Megrahi is the only person to have been convicted of involvement in the Lockerbie bombing which claimed 270 lives.
Was jailed in 2001 for his role in the attack which brought down Pan Am flight 103 on December 21, 1988, in what became the worst terrorist attack on British soil.
The Boeing 747 jet took off from London Heathrow airport around 30 minutes before it exploded as it cruised at 31,000 feet above the Scottish borders.
Al-Megrahi was convicted on the basis of evidence from Maltese shop owner Tony Gauci, who died in 2016 aged 75.
Mr Gauci ran a clothes shop in Swieqi, Malta, at the time of the bombing of Pan Am flight 103 and claimed that Megrahi bought a piece of clothing found among the debris of the aircraft.
His evidence helped to secure the 2001 conviction of the former Libyan intelligence officer for the atrocity in which 270 people died, including 11 people on the ground.
But some doubts were subsequently raised about Mr Gauci’s reliability.
Megrahi was the only person to have been convicted of the bombing over the south of Scotland on December 21 1988.
He was jailed for life but an investigation by the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission (SCCRC) led to a finding in 2007 of six grounds where it is believed a miscarriage of justice may have occurred, paving the way for a second appeal.
The Libyan dropped that appeal in 2009 before being released from jail on compassionate grounds due to his terminal prostate cancer. He died protesting his innocence in Libya in 2012.
The trial judgment detailed how the three judges were satisfied Megrahi had walked into Mr Gauci’s shop and bought items of clothing which ended up packed around the bomb that exploded in a suitcase on board the flight.
Al-Megrahi, pictured here following his release from prison on compassionate grounds in 2009 claimed he was innocent of the crime