Lockerbie Bombing catastrophe: What occurred on the day Pan Am Flight 103 exploded?

Lockerbie Bombing catastrophe: What occurred on the day Pan Am Flight 103 exploded?

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The father of a Lockerbie bombing sufferer has urged Sir Keir Starmer to publish all the pieces the UK is aware of concerning the tragedy.

Dr Jim Swire, whose daughter Flora died on the aircraft after it exploded over the Scottish city, claimed it was “fishy” a lot info had not been launched concerning the catastrophe.

It comes precisely 36 years for the reason that assault which claimed the lives of 270 individuals 4 days earlier than Christmas on 21 December 1988.

“Right here we’re, 36 years down the highway, and we all know quite a lot of materials has been stored out of public view,” Mr Swire informed BBC Information.

“Why isn’t it within the public curiosity to launch it after 36 years? I feel that’s one thing lots of people would assume is fairly fishy.”

In 2001, former Libyan intelligence officer Abdelbaset al-Megrahi was convicted of the murders of 270 individuals by the introduction of an explosive machine onto a civilian plane.

Nevertheless, prosecutors have all the time maintained that Megrahi acted with others in finishing up the assault.

Jim Swire (in 2007) has urged Sir Keir Starmer to publish everything the UK knows about the tragedy

Jim Swire (in 2007) has urged Sir Keir Starmer to publish all the pieces the UK is aware of concerning the tragedy (Getty Pictures)

Libyan nationwide Abu Agila Masud, who’s alleged to have helped make the bomb, is because of go on trial within the US in Might 2025 dealing with three prices, which he denies.

Right here, The Unbiased takes has put collectively a timeline of the tragedy, its aftermath and what’s identified concerning the atrocity.

21 December 1988: Pan Am Flight 103 from London to New York explodes 31,000 toes over Lockerbie, 38 minutes after take-off from London. The 259 individuals on board the Boeing 747 are killed, together with 11 individuals on the bottom.

13 November 1991: US and British investigators indict Libyans Abdelbaset al-Megrahi and Al Amin Khalifa Fhimah on 270 counts of homicide, conspiracy to homicide and violating Britain’s 1982 Aviation Safety Act.

The lads had been accused of being Libyan intelligence brokers.

Abdelbaset al-Megrahi is the only person to have been convicted in connection with the Lockerbie bombing (Crown Office/PA)

Abdelbaset al-Megrahi is the one particular person to have been convicted in reference to the Lockerbie bombing (Crown Workplace/PA) (PA Media)

15 April 1992: The UN Safety Council imposes sanctions on air journey and arms gross sales over Libya’s refusal handy the suspects over for trial in a Scottish courtroom.

August 1998: Britain and the US suggest attempting the suspects within the Netherlands below Scottish regulation.

5 April 1999: The suspects are taken into Dutch custody after flying from Tripoli to an airbase close to the Hague and are formally charged with the bombing. UN sanctions in opposition to Libya are suspended as agreed.

Wreckage of Pan Am Flight 103 near Lockerbie after it exploded just minutes after taking off from London Heathrow

Wreckage of Pan Am Flight 103 close to Lockerbie after it exploded simply minutes after taking off from London Heathrow (Getty)

3 Might 2000: The trial of Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, 48, and Al Amin Khalifa Fhimah, 44, opens at Camp Zeist, a specifically convened Scottish courtroom sitting within the Netherlands. Each of the accused deny homicide, exterior.

31 January 2001: Megrahi is discovered responsible of homicide after the historic trial below Scottish regulation within the Netherlands. Megrahi’s co-accused, Al Amin Khalifa Fhimah, is discovered not responsible and informed he’s free to return house.

14 August 2003: Legal professionals performing for households of the Lockerbie bombing victims say they’ve reached settlement with Libya on the fee of compensation, exterior.

The bombing claimed 270 lives, including 11 on the ground in Lockerbie (PA)

The bombing claimed 270 lives, together with 11 on the bottom in Lockerbie (PA) (PA Archive)

The deal to arrange a $2.7billion (£1.7billion) fund was struck with Libyan officers after negotiations in London.

31 October 2008: The daddy of one of many victims of the Lockerbie bombing reiterates his name for Megrahi to be launched after the killer was recognized with most cancers.

20 August 2009: The Scottish authorities releases Megrahi on compassionate grounds, exterior. He returns house to Libya aboard a jet belonging to Libyan chief Muammar Gaddafi.

20 Might 2012: Abdelbaset al-Megrahi dies at his house in Tripoli, aged 60

22 December 2020: On the thirty second anniversary of the atrocity, the US publicizes it has filed prices in opposition to a Libyan suspected of creating the bomb.

11 December 2022: It emerges that Abu Agila Mohammad Masud, the Libyan man accused of creating the bomb which destroyed Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie, is in United States custody.

9 December 2024: A part of the Pan Am flight 103 was transported to the US in preparation for the trial of Abu Agila Mohammad Masud.


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The Unbiased


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Alexander Butler , 2024-12-21 11:19:00

Lockerbie bombing: A part of Pan Am flight 103 moved to US forward of Abu Agila Mas’ud trial | UK Information

A piece of Pan Am flight 103 which exploded over Lockerbie nearly 36 years in the past is being transported to the US for the trial of a person accused of creating the bomb.

The switch of the fuselage types a part of an evidence-sharing settlement between Scottish regulation enforcement authorities and American counterparts within the case towards Abu Agila Mas’ud.

The Libyan has been accused of inflicting the destruction of an plane leading to demise and is scheduled to face trial in Washington DC subsequent Could.

An engineer from the Air Crash Investigation Unit peers out in this December 8, 1988 file photo, from the reconstructed remains of the Pan Am Boeing 747 jumbo jet that crashed into the Scottish village of Lockerbie in December 8, 1988. Libya and lawyers for families of the 1988 Lockerbie bombing victims signed an agreement August 13, 2003 to create a bank account to hold $2.7 billion in compensation in a key step toward resolving the dispute, a lawyer said. The mid-air bombing killed 259 mostly
Picture:
An engineer from an air crash investigation unit peering out of the reconstructed stays of the aircraft in 1998. Pic: Reuters

Kin of the 270 victims killed within the assault on 21 December 1988 have been stored knowledgeable.

Laura Buchan is main the workforce of prosecutors engaged on the case on the Crown Workplace and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS).

Abu Agila Mohammad Masud Kheir Al-Marimi, accused of making the bomb that blew up Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie in Scotland in 1988, is shown in this Alexandria Sheriff's Office photograph taken in Alexandria,Virginia on December 11, 2022. Alexandria, VA Sheriff's Office/Handout via REUTERS
Picture:
Abu Agila Mas’ud. Pic: Alexandria Sheriff’s Workplace/Reuters

She stated: “Since Mas’ud was taken into custody by the US in 2022, Scottish prosecutors and police have been engaged in a proper evidence-sharing course of with the US Division of Justice.

“The switch of bodily objects of proof from Scotland into US custody is starting.

“The switch contains elements of the fuselage of Pan Am 103 that are a manufacturing within the prison investigation.

“We perceive that the fuselage will maintain significance for lots of the households of those that misplaced their lives and so they have been knowledgeable of the switch plans.”

The wreckage of Pan Am flight 103. Pic: Reuters
Picture:
The bombing occurred because the aircraft made its approach from London to New York. Pic: Reuters

When the Boeing 747 exploded over the Dumfries and Galloway city of Lockerbie, it killed all 259 passengers and crew on board and 11 individuals on the bottom.

The bombing – which occurred because the aircraft made its approach from London to New York – stays the UK’s worst terrorist assault.

Learn extra:
thirty fifth anniversary of the bombing of Pan Am flight 103
Father’s seek for fact

Undated file handout photo issued by the Crown Office of the late Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset al-Megrahi. Nelson Mandela's attempts to act as an intermediary over the Lockerbie bombing led to friction with Blair's Labour government, according to newly-released official documents. Files released to the National Archives at Kew, west London, showed officials in No 10 feared the former South African president's efforts to act as a go between with the Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi were "unli
Picture:
Abdelbaset al Megrahi. Pic: Crown Workplace

Following a trial at Camp Zeist within the Netherlands, Libyan intelligence officer Abdelbaset al Megrahi was discovered responsible of mass homicide in 2001 and was jailed for all times.

In 2008 he was recognized with terminal prostate most cancers and was freed the next 12 months on compassionate grounds by the Scottish authorities.

A convoy carrying Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi arrives at Glasgow Airport, for a plane bound for Tripoli, after he was released on compassionate grounds by Scottish Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill.
Picture:
Megrahi arriving at Glasgow Airport in 2009 after being launched from Greenock Jail on compassionate grounds. Pic: PA

Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi climbs the steps of a plane at Glasgow Airport, bound for Tripoli, after he was released on compassionate grounds by Scottish Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill.
Picture:
Megrahi leaving Glasgow for Tripoli in 2009. Pic: PA

Megrahi returned to Tripoli to cheering crowds and continued to protest his innocence till his demise in Could 2012.

It has at all times been the Crown’s rivalry that Megrahi acted with others within the fee of his crime.

Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain KC stated: “The trial courtroom held that this act of state-sponsored terrorism was orchestrated by the Libyan authorities and that Megrahi was concerned with others.

“That verdict has been topic of intense scrutiny and has been upheld twice within the attraction courtroom.

“The switch of proof for the trial within the US is a powerful expression of the dedication that Scottish prosecutors and officers of Police Scotland need to bringing all these liable for this horrible act to justice.”


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UK Information – The newest headlines from the UK | Sky Information


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, 2024-12-09 12:10:00