Abdel Basset Ali al-Megrahi

. He has always maintained his innocence and, following the rejection of his first appeal in 2002, was granted leave in 2007 for a second appeal against conviction.

His co-accused, Al Amin Khalifa Fhimah was found not guilty and was acquitted. [ [http://i-p-o.org/Lockerbie_Verdict-31Jan2001.htm Fhimah was found "not guilty"] ]

Background

In November 1991, Megrahi and Fhimah were indicted by the US Attorney General and the Scottish Lord Advocate for the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103. Libya refused to extradite the two accused, but held them under house arrest in Tripoli.

Seven years after the 1988 attack, as United States fugitives from justice, on March 23, 1995 he and Fhimah were each listed as the 441st and 442nd additions to the FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list, which offered a $4 million reward from the U.S. Air Line Pilots Association, Air Transport Association, and Department of State, and $50,000 from the FBI, for information leading to their arrest. Protracted negotiations with the Libyan leader, Colonel Muammar al-Gaddafi, and the imposition of United Nations economic sanctions against Libya eventually brought the two accused to trial in a neutral country (see Pan Am Flight 103 bombing trial). Finally, eleven years after the bombing, Megrahi and Fhimah were placed under arrest at Camp Zeist in the Netherlands on April 5, 1999.

Convicted

Megrahi's appeal against his conviction at the Pan Am Flight 103 bombing trial in January 2001 was refused on March 14, 2002 by a panel of five Scottish Judges at Camp Zeist in the Netherlands. [ [http://www.terrorismcentral.com/Library/Legal/HCJ/Lockerbie/Lockerbieappealjudgement.html Lockerbie Appeal Judgment] ] According to a report by the "BBC" [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/1872996.stm UN monitor decries Lockerbie judgment] ] , Dr Hans Köchler, one of the UN observers at the trial, expressed serious doubts about the fairness of the proceedings and spoke of a "spectacular miscarriage of justice". [ [http://i-p-o.org/nr-lockerbie-14Oct05.htm Statement by Dr Hans Köchler, international observer at the Lockerbie trial] ]

On November 24, 2003 Megrahi appeared at the High Court in Glasgow, in front of the three Judges who originally sentenced him at Camp Zeist, to learn that he would have to serve at least 27 years in jail – back-dated to April 1999 when he was extradited from Libya – before he could be considered for parole. This court hearing was the result of the incorporation into Scots law of the European Convention of Human Rights in 2001, nine months after Megrahi's sentence was imposed, which required him to be told the extent of the "punishment part" of his life term. On May 31, 2004 he was granted leave to appeal against his 27-year sentence. [ [http://www.guardian.co.uk/Lockerbie/Story/0,,1228631,00.html Leave to appeal against sentence] ] The appeal against sentence was scheduled to be heard in Edinburgh by a panel of five Judges on July 11, 2006. However, the Scottish Court of Criminal Appeal decided to postpone the July hearing to allow consideration of whether the appeal against sentence ought to be heard at Camp Zeist rather than in Edinburgh. [ [http://news.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=184&id=850342006 July 2006 hearing postponed] ]

Review

On September 23, 2003 lawyers acting for Megrahi applied to the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission (SCCRC) for a review of the case (both sentence and conviction), arguing that there had been a miscarriage of justice. On November 1, 2006 Megrahi was reported to have dropped his demand for the new appeal to be held at Camp Zeist. [ [http://news.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=184&id=1613972006 Appeal can be held in Edinburgh] ] In an interview with "The Scotsman" newspaper of January 31, 2006, retired Scottish Judge Lord MacLean – one of the three who convicted Megrahi in 2001 – said he believed the SCCRC would return the case for a further appeal against conviction::"They can't be working for two years without producing something with which to go to the court."MacLean added that any new appeal would indicate the flexibility of Scots law, rather than a weakness::"It might even be the strength of the system – it is capable of looking at itself subsequently and determining a ground for appeal."

In January 2007, the SCCRC announced that it would issue its decision on Megrahi's case by the end of June 2007. [ [http://www.sccrc.org.uk/ViewFile.aspx?id=175 SCCRC ruling by the end of June 2007] ] On June 9, 2007 rumours of a possible prisoner swap deal involving Megrahi were strenuously denied by prime minister, Tony Blair. [ [http://news.scotsman.com/politics.cfm?id=904402007 PM says no deal over Megrahi] ] Later in June, "The Observer" confirmed the imminence of the SCCRC ruling and reported::"Abdelbaset al-Megrahi never wavered in his denial of causing the Lockerbie disaster: now Scottish legal experts say they believe him." [ [http://observer.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,2104982,00.htm Evidence that casts doubt on who brought down Flight 103] ]

econd appeal

On June 28, 2007 the SCCRC concluded its four-year review and, having uncovered evidence that a miscarriage of justice could have occurred, the Commission granted Megrahi leave to appeal against his Lockerbie bombing conviction for a second time. [ [http://www.sccrc.org.uk/ViewFile.aspx?id=293 SCCRC referral of Megrahi case] ] The second appeal at the Court of Criminal Appeal is unlikely to be heard before the latter part of 2008.

Megrahi's legal team, who conducted their own investigation of the case in parallel to the SCCRC's review, are expected to tell the appeal judges that the entire case is flawed. His solicitor, Tony Kelly, said::"There's not one aspect of the case that's been left untouched." [ [http://www.guardian.co.uk/Lockerbie/Story/0,,2114463,00.html Libyan jailed over Lockerbie wins right to appeal] ]

New information casting fresh doubts about Megrahi's conviction was examined at a procedural hearing at the Judicial Appeal Court (Court of Session building) in Edinburgh on October 11, 2007:
#His lawyers claim that vital documents, which emanate from the CIA and relate to the Mebo timer that allegedly detonated the Lockerbie bomb, were withheld from the trial defence team. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/7023397.stm 'Secret' Lockerbie report claim] BBC News October 2, 2007]
#Tony Gauci, chief prosecution witness at the trial, is alleged to have been paid $2 million for testifying against Megrahi. [ [http://www.guardian.co.uk/Lockerbie/Story/0,,2182343,00.html Fresh doubts on Lockerbie conviction] "The Guardian" October 3, 2007]
#Mebo's owner, Edwin Bollier, has claimed that in 1991 the FBI offered him $4 million to testify that the timer fragment found near the scene of the crash was part of a Mebo MST-13 timer supplied to Libya. [ [http://i-p-o.org/IPO-nr-Lockerbie-5Oct07.htm Lockerbie trial: an intelligence operation? New revelation about financial offer to key witness from Switzerland] ]
#Former employee of Mebo, Ulrich Lumpert, swore an affidavit in July 2007 that he had stolen a prototype MST-13 timer in 1989, and had handed it over to "a person officially investigating the Lockerbie case". [ [http://observer.guardian.co.uk/world/story/0,,2160655,00.html Vital Lockerbie evidence 'was tampered with'] ]

On November 1, 2007 Megrahi invited Robert Black to visit him at Her Majesty's Prison, Greenock. After a 2-hour meeting, Black stated "that not only was there a wrongful conviction, but the victim of it was an innocent man. Lawyers, and I hope others, will appreciate this distinction." [ [http://lockerbiecase.blogspot.com/2007/11/prison-visit.html Robert Black meets Mr al-Megrahi in jail] ]

Prior to Megrahi's second appeal, another four procedural hearings in the Edinburgh Appeal Court were scheduled to have been heard between December 2007 and June 2008 [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/7144552.stm Major appeal cases back in court] ] [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/south_of_scotland/7414359.stm Concern at Lockerbie lawyer claim] ]

In the June 2008 edition of the Scottish lawyers' magazine "The Firm", the UN Observer at the Lockerbie trial, Professor Hans Köchler, referred to the 'totalitarian' nature of Megrahi's second appeal process saying it "bears the hallmarks of an 'intelligence operation'." [ [http://www.thefirmmagazine.com/news/901/UN_Observer_to_the_Lockerbie_Trial_says_%E2%80%98totalitarian%E2%80%99_appeal_process_bears_the_hallmarks_of_an_%E2%80%9Cintelligence_operation%E2%80%9D_.html UN Observer to the Lockerbie Trial says 'totalitarian' appeal process bears the hallmarks of an "intelligence operation"] ] [ [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/scotland/article4138649.ece Lockerbie bomber hearing 'flawed'] ] Pointing out an error on the FCO's website and accusing the British government of "delaying tactics" in relation to Megrahi's second Lockerbie appeal, UN Observer at the Lockerbie trial Dr Hans Köchler wrote to Foreign Secretary David Miliband on 21 July 2008 saying: [ [http://www.mathaba.net/rss/?x=599526 "Lockerbie Appeal : Making Haste Slowly", "Mathaba Net News", 23 July 2008] ]

As international observer, appointed by the United Nations, at the Scottish Court in the Netherlands I am also concerned about the Public Interest Immunity (PII) certificate which has been issued by you in connection with the new Appeal of the convicted Libyan national. Withholding of evidence from the Defence was one of the reasons why the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission has referred Mr. Al-Megrahi’s case back to the High Court of Justiciary. The Appeal cannot go ahead if the Government of the United Kingdom, through the PII certificate issued by you, denies the Defence the right (also guaranteed under the European Convention on Human Rights) to have access to a document which is in the possession of the Prosecution. How can there be equality of arms in such a situation? How can the independence of the judiciary be upheld if the executive power interferes into the appeal process in such a way?

The FCO corrected the error on its website and wrote to Köchler on 27 August 2008: [cite web|url=http://i-p-o.org/IPO-nr-Lockerbie-FCO-01Sept08.htm |title=FCO reply dated 27 August 2008|accessdate=2008-09-02]

"Ultimately, it will be for the Court to decide whether the material should be disclosed, not the Foreign Secretary."

Call for Megrahi's release

On 14 September 2008, the Arab League Ministerial Council passed a resolution calling for the 'political hostage' Megrahi to be released from prison in Scotland. The resolution demanded that the UK government should hand over the documents, which the SCCRC had identified, to Megrahi's defence lawyers saying that Britain's refusal to do so represented a 'miscarriage of justice'. The Arab League also endorsed Libya's right to compensation for the damage done to its economy by UN sanctions which were in force from 1991 until 1999. [cite web
title=Arab League Ministerial Council Re New Call for Al Megrahi Release
date=2008-09-14
publisher=The Tripoli Post
url=http://tripolipost.com/articledetail.asp?c=1&i=2356
accessdate=2008-09-14]

Family

Megrahi is married to Aisha, and has one son, Khaleb, who attended the trial; and a daughter, Ghada. According to British newspaper articles published during his trial, he was born in Tripoli, and was educated in the United States and the United Kingdom.

On 19 September 2008, armed police escorted Megrahi from Greenock prison to Inverclyde Royal Hospital, where he was expected to undergo medical treatment. [cite web|title=Operation Megrahi|date=2008-09-19|publisher=The Scottish Sun|url=http://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/scotsol/homepage/news/article1707719.ece |accessdate=2008-09-19]

ee also

*Pan Am Flight 103
*Investigation into the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103
*Pan Am Flight 103 bombing trial
*Hans Köchler's Lockerbie trial observer mission
*Alternative theories into the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103

References

Further reading

* [http://www.terrorismcentral.com/Library/Legal/HCJ/Lockerbie/TheJudges.html Pan Am 103 - Lockerbie: the judges]
* [http://i-p-o.org/lockerbie_observer_mission.htm Trial and appeal reports by Dr Hans Köchler, international observer appointed by the United Nations]