Lockerbie victims offered some justice with trial of Libyan in US

Abu Agila Masud has denied three charges

Wreckage of Pan Am Flight 103 after it crashed onto the town of Lockerbie in Scotland, on December 21 1988. Getty Images

The upcoming trial in a US court of a Libyan national in connection with the Lockerbie bombing can help renew confidence in justice, Scotland’s most senior law officer said.

Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain said the trial of alleged bombmaker Abu Agila Masud, on three charges which he denies, can help people understand what happened to down the bombed plane.

The only person convicted in the case is former Libyan intelligence officer Abdelbaset Al Megrahi but British officials believe others helped carry out the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103.

Lord Advocate Bain acknowledged that “not everyone shares the same view” about the crime, but said next year's trial will enable the circumstances of what happened to be “fully understood”.

“The bombing of Pan Am 103 over Lockerbie was the darkest of days but the dignity of the hundreds of families so dreadfully affected has always shone as a point of light guiding the pursuit of justice,” she said.

“Scotland's prosecutors and police, working with counterparts in the United States have remained steadfast in our commitment to uncovering the truth and holding those responsible accountable.

“The original trial at the Scottish Court in the Netherlands considered Crown evidence from 227 witnesses over 72 days. Megrahi was convicted and that decision has been upheld twice at appeal.

“Despite this long-running and intense scrutiny, I am aware that not everyone shares the same view of the Crown case. I have always believed in the power of the legal process as a tool for fairness and public trust.

“The forthcoming trial in Washington will bring the facts of this case before the public again, and the circumstances of what happened can be fully understood.”

All 259 passengers and crew onboard Pan Am Flight 103 and 11 people on the ground around Lockerbie were killed when the plane exploded above the town in 1988.

Earlier this month, Scotland's prosecution service said parts of the wreckage of the downed plane were being transferred to the US as evidence ahead of the trial.

The plane exploded above Lockerbie, Dumfries and Galloway, on December 21 1988, 40 minutes into its flight from London to New York.

Al Megrahi is the only man convicted in relation to the bombing, after being found guilty of 270 counts of murder by a panel of three Scottish judges, sitting at a special court in The Hague in 2001.

He was sent to prison in Scotland but was then granted compassionate release in 2009 after being diagnosed with terminal cancer, returning home to Libya where he died in 2012.