Pan Am Flight 103: al-Megrahi family loses appeal

The family of Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, the only person originally convicted for the Pan Am Flight 103, loses a posthumous appeal at Scotland's Court of Criminal Appeal.

The Court of Criminal Appeal, on Thursday, 14 January 2021, upheld the original trial verdict. The appeal against al-Megrahi's conviction, heard by five judges at Edinburgh's High Court, occurred in November.

A written judgement detailing reasons for the court's decision was delivered by Lord Carloway, the Lord Justice General. Lord Carloway, Scotland's most senior judge, has served as Lord President of the Court of Session and Lord Justice General since 2015.

"On the evidence at trial, a reasonable jury, properly directed, would have been entitled to return a guilty verdict," the judgement reads.

Whilst British and American investigators indicted Megrahi in 1991, Libya didn't hand over al-Megrahi until April 1999. The original trial, in 2001, unfolded at a specially convened Scottish court in the Netherlands.

The court, located at Camp Zeist, was established in a neutral country as part of a deal between Colonel Muammar Gaddafi and the British government.

Camp Zeist, even though it is a former US Air Force base, was acceptable to all parties concerned. Needing appropriate accommodations for the trial, fitting requirements, a school building on the former base was converted.

Al-Megrahi, convicted of murder by a panel of three Scottish judges, received a life term sentence.

Al-Megrahi, who died in 2012, had always maintained his innocence. The family argued Abdelbaset was the victim of a miscarriage of justice.

Kara Weipz, whose brother Richard Monetti was killed in the attack, was "pleased" with the decision.

"We have always had confidence in the system that it would turn out this way," Kara said. "I don't know how many more decisions can be made that say the conviction at trial was the correct decision. I don't know how many more judges can confirm what was decided at Camp Zeist."

Aamer Anwar, the lawyer speaking for the al-Megrahi family, issued a statement. The al-Megrahi family were "heartbroken" by the decision.

"Libya has suffered enough, as has the family for the crime of Lockerbie. They remain determined to fight for justice," Anwar said.

Claire Mitchell QC, representing the al-Megrahi family, argued the identification presented in the original trial was of "poor quality."

The family, not seeing any other choice, will seek an appeal with the UK Supreme Court. Ali al-Megrahi, Abdelbaset's son, maintains his father's innocence.

The terrorist attack, occurring Wednesday, 21 December 1988, saw all 259 passengers and crew on board the aircraft killed. Further, as a result of wreckage falling on to their homes, 11 Lockerbie residents died.

The flight, originating at Frankfurt Airport, was scheduled to make stopovers at Heathrow Airport and JFK International Airport before arriving at Detroit Metropolitan Airport.

Mohammed Abouagela Masud, on the 32nd anniversary of the bombing, was charged in the US for having built the bomb that destroyed Pan Am Flight 103. Masud had apparently been one of Gaddafi's top bomb-makers.

Masud, further to constructing the bomb, is also charged with working with Abdel Baset al-Megrahi and Lamen Khalifa Fhimah as a co-conspirator.

Al-Megrahi and Fhimah, in November 1991, were indicted by the Scottish Lord Advocate and the United States Attorney General for the bombing. Libya unsurprisingly refused to extradite the accused individuals.

Former Minister of Justice Mustafa Abdul Jalil, in 2011, claimed Colonel Muammar Gaddafi personally ordered the Lockerbie bombing.

"I have proof," Abdel-Jalil said, "that Gaddafi gave the order about Lockerbie."

Abdul Jalil's claims were later denied.

Gaddafi, in 2003, accepted Libya's responsibility for the Lockerbie bombing. Whilst compensation was paid to the victims' families, Gaddafi never admitted giving the order.