Lockerbie bomber conviction may have been miscarriage of justice, review finds

Abdelbaset al-Megrahi’s family can now appeal conviction for 1988 terrorist attack

The conviction of Abdelbaset al-Megrahi over the Lockerbie bombing may have been a miscarriage of justice, a review has found.

The former Libyan intelligence officer was the only person convicted over the attack on Pan Am flight 103, which exploded over the Scottish town of Lockerbie in December 1988.

He was found guilty of mass murder in 2001 and jailed for 27 years after 243 passengers and 16 crew members died.

A further 11 residents were killed after debris from the plane landed on the town.

The Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission (SCCRC) considered six grounds and found a miscarriage of justice may have occurred in Megrahi’s case by reason of unreasonable verdict and non-disclosure.

Megrahi died from cancer in 2012, three years after being released from prison early on compassionate grounds, but the finding paves the way for his family to make a fresh appeal against his conviction to the high court.

The application to the SCCRC was made by lawyer Aamer Anwar on behalf of Megrahi’s family and was supported by the families of some of those who died in the 1988 disaster.

Dr Jim Swire, father of Flora Swire – who was aged 23 when she died in the bombing – and the Reverend John Mosey, whose daughter Helga Mosey, 19, also died on the flight, both supported the application.

On the issue of unreasonable verdict, the commission said a miscarriage of justice may have occurred because no reasonable trial court, relying on the evidence led at trial, could have held the case against Megrahi was proved beyond reasonable doubt.

On the issue of non-disclosure, it said the Crown should have disclosed certain information to the defence, and that its failure to disclose information about reward money bolsters the conclusion he was denied a fair trial.

Bill Matthews, chairman of the SCCRC, said: “This is the second time 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.”

Abdel Basset al-Megrahi is seen in his room at a hospital in Tripoli after he was released from prison in Scotland on compassionate grounds in 2009 (Ismail Zetouny/Reuters) (Ismail Zetouny/Reuters/File photo)

Megrahi’s first appeal against his conviction was refused by the High Court in 2002.

His case was referred back to the High Court in 2007 for a new appeal, following a review by the SCCRC.

He abandoned this appeal in 2009, shortly before his release from prison.

In 2014, a new application to the SCCRC was made on Megrahi’s behalf but the following year the commission decided it was not in the interests of justice to proceed with a review of Megrahi’s conviction, citing difficulties accessing defence documents.

The latest application to the SCCRC was lodged in 2017.

Additional reporting by Press Association.