[This is the heading over a statement issued today by the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (the body responsible for the Scottish public prosecution system). It reads as follows:]
A section of the aircraft from the Lockerbie bombing is being transported to the US ahead of a Libyan suspect’s trial in Washington DC.
The transfer forms part of an evidence sharing agreement between Scottish law enforcement authorities and American counterparts.
Families and next of kin have been informed of the development in the approach to the 36th anniversary of the terrorist attack on 21 December. Abu Agila Mas’ud is scheduled to go on trial in May next year for several charges, including destruction of an aircraft resulting in death.
Abdelbaset al-Megrahi was convicted in 2001 of the murders of 270 people by the introduction of an explosive device onto a civilian aircraft. It has always been the Crown’s contention that Megrahi acted with others in the commission of his crime.
The Lord Advocate, Dorothy Bain KC, said:
“The trial court held that this act of state-sponsored terrorism was orchestrated by the Libyan government and that Megrahi was involved with others. That verdict has been subject of intense scrutiny and has been upheld twice in the appeal court.
“The transfer of evidence for the trial in the US is a strong expression of the commitment that Scottish prosecutors and officers of Police Scotland have to bringing all those responsible for this terrible act to justice.”
Chief Constable Jo Farrell said:
“My thoughts remain with the families and friends of those who lost loved ones in 1988 and who continue to show incredible dignity and strength.
“Police Scotland remains committed to working with the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service and our law enforcement colleagues in the United States to support the investigation and bring those responsible for the bombing of Pan Am flight 103 to justice, no matter the passage of time.”
Laura Buchan, who is head of a team of prosecutors from the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service working on the case, said:
“Since Mas’ud was taken into custody by the US in 2022, Scottish prosecutors and police have been engaged in a formal evidence sharing process with the US Department of Justice.
“The transfer of physical items of evidence from Scotland into US custody is beginning. The transfer includes parts of the fuselage of Pan Am 103 which are a production in the criminal investigation. We understand that the fuselage will hold significance for many of the families of those who lost their lives and they have been informed of the transfer plans.”
The bombing of Pan Am 103 is the deadliest terrorist attack on UK soil and the largest homicide case Scotland’s prosecutors have ever encountered, both in terms of scale and of complexity. The Crown case at the Scottish court in the Netherlands in spanned 72 days and evidence from 227 witnesses.
This was far from solely a Scottish disaster – 243 passengers, 16 crew members as well as 11 residents of Lockerbie were killed. In total the victims came from 21 different countries.
[A BBC News report about this development can be read here.]
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