Lockerbie bomb suspect confession video 'lost or destroyed'

[This is the headline over a report published today on the BBC News website. It reads in part:]

A Lockerbie bombing suspect cannot get a fair trial because a video of his alleged confession has been "lost or destroyed", his defence lawyers have claimed.

Public defenders representing Abu Agila Mas'ud Kheir Al-Marimi in a United States court case said the disappearance of the video deprived him of evidence which could have cleared his name.

They are also arguing the case against the Libyan - also known as Masud - should be thrown out of court because it involves events which took place 37 years ago, outside US territorial jurisdiction. (...)

Masud was forcibly removed from Libya and taken into US custody in 2022, with his trial due to get under way in Washington DC this August after two postponements.

US prosecutors allege Masud admitted his role in bombing the airliner when he was interrogated in a Libyan detention facility in 2012.

According to an FBI summary of the case, he told a Libyan law enforcement officer that the bomb was hidden in an unaccompanied suitcase on a flight from Malta to Frankfurt.

The device was then transferred undetected onto a Pan Am feeder flight to Heathrow, where it was placed in the forward hold of Pan Am 103.

Masud has already claimed he was forced into making a false confession under duress and is arguing that it should be ruled inadmissible.

In a fresh line of attack, his lawyers have said his right to a fair trial has been violated because of the "bad-faith loss of material" during the long history of the case.

That material is said to include a video recording of Masud's alleged confession, made by the Libyan official who had questioned him.

According to the defence, the official claimed to have kept the video in a safe for three years before telling a colleague what had happened in 2015.

Scottish investigators heard about the alleged confession later that year and obtained copies of a written statement in 2017.

The documents were passed on to the Americans and were central to the charges against Masud, which were announced on the bombing of the anniversary in 2020.

The defence says that in 2024, the Libyan interrogator stated he had "located the recording device but could not locate the recording itself".

Federal public defender Geremy Kamens submitted that the loss of the video had deprived Masud of "potentially exculpatory evidence would could have attacked the centrepiece of the government's case against him".

"A picture is worth a thousand words, and a video comprises dozens of pictures every second," Kamens said.

"The interrogation video may have shown Mr Al-Marimi [Masud] appearing nervous, apprehensive, uncomfortable, tense, jumpy, subdued or any combination of these states at various times.

"He may have been sweating, his language may have been stilted, he may have avoided eye contact.

"Any discrepancy between the recording and the written statement or the interrogator's descriptions of the conversation would provide powerful fodder for cross-examination and impeachment.

"It was not until he [the Libyan official] was asked to provide a copy of the recording to US law enforcement in 2024 that the recording suddenly vanished."

Kamens also argued that delays in bringing Masud before a jury would deny him his right to a fair trial.

"It borders on the impossible for Mr Al-Marimi [Masud] to investigate his actions and whereabouts 30 years ago, let alone the government's allegations, whereas the government can rely on the fruits of a contemporaneous investigation and decades of preparation by an international cohort of prosecutors and police."

Kamens said Masud's defence would be hampered by his "mental and physical deterioration" and the deaths of crucial witnesses, including Al-Megrahi.

The US government is expected to respond to the defence arguments this week.

A hearing on the admissibility of the alleged confession is due to be held in Washington next month.

Father of US Lockerbie victim concerned about Masud trial delays

[What follows is excerpted from a report published yesterday on the Devon Live website:]

The dad of a Lockerbie victim has called for greater transparency on the health of the alleged bombmaker - after revealing further delays to his trial.

Libyan Abu Agila Masud, 74, has been accused of making the bomb which killed 270 victims over Lockerbie on 21 December 1988 and was originally due to go on trial in Washington in May this year.

But Paul Hudson, who lost his daughter Melina in the bombing as she flew home to New York after a semester at a school in Exeter, Devon, said it has now been delayed until May next year "at the earliest."

He has now raised concern about the health of the defendant, which he says is being held back from the public under 'privacy grounds'.

And he fears his health could be being manipulated - citing the example of Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, who was freed early in the UK under claims he had months to live - but survived for another three years.

Paul said he fears this could be being deployed as a delaying tactic for the trial, which has already been pushed back twice.

He said: "He seems to be stable as of now from what we know. But they are keeping secret his actual medical information. I find it a little strange as that is not something that is prejudicial. They are keeping it secret and the judge is saying it is based on medical privacy standards.

"It seems that should not really apply in cases like this.

"There was something similar in a different context with al-Megrahi. He was let out of prison in the UK prematurely based on claims he was going to pass away within six months. There was never any release of the medical information outside experts could evaluate. It turns out it was completely untrue and he went on to live a lot longer.

"I don't agree with that. There is not much I can do but there should be as much transparency as possible. If health of the defendant and medical issues is used to delay trial - or even accelerate it - it should not be kept secret to anyone.

"Even the judge doesn't have access to it I understand. There is only limited access to the prosecution but none at all for the public. (...)

Mr Hudson has since spent decades fighting for justice for the victims of Pan Am 103.

Masud was initially due to stand trial at a federal court in Washington in May this year accused of two counts of destruction of an aircraft resulting in death and destruction of a vehicle resulting in death.

He has denied all three charges and Paul was initially told of a delay due to his health.

After being told his health had improved and a target trial date was set for March next year, further delays have now been confirmed to the victim's families.

Paul added: "There have been more delays and I think we are probably looking at late spring or summer at the earliest for trial.

"I think it requires leadership at a higher level to make it all go forward in a good way.

"I don't trust the prosecutors, the police or judiciary, even if they wanted to.

"One of the things I am hoping for is a meeting with the US attorney general and with the chief prosecutor to make sure all the different parts are moving together to a proper conclusion and schedule.

"Reasons given for the latest delays include a change of personnel in prosecution and the defence law firms.

"They are also going through suppression hearings where the defence will try to exclude evidence the prosecution wants to present at trial.

"There is a confession the defence claims was improper and a bunch of other things they are going through.

"Motions are being filed back and forth. Hearings are mostly closed to the public and to the victims. It is really hard for any outsider to know the know to keep it from potential jurors what evidence is going to be excluded.

"I have read the paper motions but have not been able to go to the hearings before the judge to hear about the evidence in great detail.

"My feeling is I would like to see it happen sooner rather than later to never. However I would like to see it done correctly.

"So on the other hand a trial that begins prematurely could also be negative for prosecution and justice generally." (...)

Masud stands charged with two counts of destruction of an aircraft resulting in death and destruction of a vehicle resulting in death.

He has denied all three charges and claims his confession to building the bomb and taking it in a suitcase from Tripoli to Malta was made under duress.

Paul, who is now 79, said he would never stop fighting for justice. (...)

"I am hopeful, not only of a conviction here, but we may have a defendant who no doubt knows other people involved that could lead to further prosecutions."

Currently the only suspect convicted remains Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, who was jailed for life in 2001 but released by the Scottish government on compassionate grounds in 2009.

His co-defendant Lamin Khalifah Fhimah was acquitted but remains the subject of an active US arrest warrant.

Bombing accused Masud confessed in 'safest place' say US prosecutors

[What follows is excerpted from a report published yesterday on the Daily Mail website:]

A Libyan accused of building the bomb that blew up Pam Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie was in the ‘safest place’ when he ‘voluntarily’ admitted his involvement in the atrocity, prosecutors have said.

Abu Agila Masud Kheir Al-Marimi claims he was forced into making a false confession after he was held captive in Libya by men who threatened his family.

But U.S. prosecutors argue that there were no signs of coercion or torture and that the Libyan officer who interviewed him was ‘unarmed’.

In court papers, they state that the 74-year-old, known as Masud, was ‘housed in the same room’ as several other men and ‘appeared to the officer to be in good health, and to have access to necessities and to news about the outside world through a television’.

This is contrary to claims by Masud, who is due to stand trial in Washington DC in April over his role in the 1988 terror attack which killed 270 people, that he was kept in isolation.

He also claims that while in custody he witnessed others being beaten and abused.

Prosecutors, however, state: ‘Based on the officer’s observations, the facility that the defendant was held at was one of the best available during the chaos of the post-revolution period, and it was the safest place for the defendant… given the extent of street violence and anti-Gaddafi sentiment prevailing at the time.’

They add that the officer ‘observed no signs of torture or coercion’ and that Masud was interviewed in a ‘typical office-type room’ during which time he was ‘afforded a lunch break and…the proper facilities to pray’. (...)

The officer asked the defendant whether he consented to be interviewed, and he freely gave his consent.’ Masud’s defence team have filed a ‘motion to suppress statements’, saying the ‘circumstances’ of his arrest, ‘incommunicado detention’ and ‘captivity in a system well known for human rights abuses’ renders his confession ‘inadmissible’.

But prosecutors have urged the court not to accept this ‘fictitious account’.The bomb maker for the Libyan External Security Organisation was extradited to the US in 2022 after allegedly admitting to building the Lockerbie device.

Lockerbie bombing accused Masud says he was forced into false confession

 

[What follows is excerpted from a report published today on the BBC News website:]

The Libyan accused of building the bomb that brought down an American airliner over Lockerbie 36 years ago has claimed he was forced into making a false confession.

Abu Agila Mas'ud Kheir Al-Marimi, 74, has said he was in custody in Libya when three masked men ordered him to memorise information about the destruction of Pan Am 103 and another terror attack.

Referred to as Mas'ud by prosecutors, he said he repeated what he had learned to a Libyan official, under duress, after the men threatened his family.

Masud's lawyers have asked a federal court in Washington to rule the alleged confession inadmissible in advance of his trial in April next year.

Details of the alleged confession were first made public five years ago after the US department of justice announced it was charging Mas'ud over the atrocity which claimed the lives of 270 people on 21 December 1988. (...)

With just seven months to go until the scheduled start of Mas'ud's trial, public defenders acting on his behalf have lodged a motion with the district court asking a judge to rule that his confession should not be allowed as evidence.

The Libyan has pled not guilty to the charges against him. But the "motion to suppress" reveals for the first time his version of what led to the alleged jailhouse confession.

Setting the scene, the motion quotes a US Department of State report which said Gaddafi's regime had controlled Libya through extrajudicial killings and intimidation, torture, arbitrary arrest and detention.

The document says that after the revolution there was a climate of anger and retaliation against those associated or thought to be associated with Gaddafi.

Contemporary reports by US government officials recount more incidents of "arbitrary and unlawful killings, kidnappings, torture and other cruel and inhuman or degrading treatment."

The defence lawyers say: "Just as... a black man accused of killing a white man in Jim Crow-era Arkansas would fear mob violence... so would a Libyan who allegedly worked for Gaddafi have feared retaliation against himself and his family in post-revolution Libya."

It was against that background, according to Mas'ud, that he was abducted from his home by armed men, separated from his family and his medication, held incommunicado in an unofficial prison facility and denied procedural rights.

He says he saw bodies lying in the streets when he was being driven to the prison and while in custody, and encountered other inmates who had been beaten and abused.

Mas'ud has told his legal team that he was alone in a small room when three men in civilian clothes came in. They were unarmed but wearing face coverings and did not identify themselves.

He says he was certain the men, who handed him the piece of paper, were anti-Gadaffi revolutionaries.

"The single, handwritten sheet began with an order that Mr Al-Marimi confess to the Lockerbie incident, as well as another terrorist attack," his defence lawyers claim.

The men told him to read over the details and to repeat what it said when he was questioned by someone else the next day.

"They told him he had to answer the questions with what was on the paper, otherwise bad things would happen to him or his family.

"Mr Al-Marimi felt he had no choice but to comply. He had ample reason to fear for himself; before his seizure, he had personally witnessed beatings in other prisons.” (...)

The lawyers say a frightened Mas'ud did as he was told when he was questioned by another man the next evening.

They say that - when presented with similar evidence of coercion - American courts have found custodial statements involuntary and inadmissible under the fifth amendment of the US constitution, whether they were made in the United States or abroad.

The defence has asked the court to order the suppression of the alleged statements and has requested a hearing so the issue can be decided.

The FBI has said that the Libyan official who noted Mas'ud's confession in 2012 is prepared to give evidence at his trial.

Prosecutors from the US Department of Justice have not yet responded to the claims made on Mas'ud's behalf.

Father of US Lockerbie victim on DNA "breakthrough" and health of Masud

[What follows is excerpted from a report published today on the website of the Teignmouth Post and Gazette:]

The dad of a young Lockerbie victim has hailed a "significant" DNA breakthrough - and revealed the alleged bomb-maker was now 'healthy' to stand trial next year.

Paul Hudson, whose daughter Melina died aged 16 travelling home from a semester at a school in Exeter, Devon, said the link to DNA could be 'crucial' in next year's trial of the suspect.

He said he hopes proceedings are now 'on a good path' and the coming months could finally lead to some justice for the families of the tragedy.

Paul also revealed the health of Abu Agila Masud had significantly improved following a delay to proceedings - clearing the pathway for the much-anticipated trial to start in April next year.

He was speaking after forensic experts were reportedly able to extract DNA from the luggage lining that contained the bomb and an umbrella packed inside for the very first time.

Steps are now being taken to see if it is a match for the alleged bombmaker Masud, 74.

Paul, who now lives in Florida and has been campaigning for justice for the families for decades, said: "The DNA testing could be a real breakthrough if it pans out.

"Details are pretty much all kept secret but the judge will rule if it can be presented at trial.

"All I can say is DNA technology has advanced greatly in the last 30 years and they are able to get DNA residue off many things with much more sophisticated testing.

"Assuming they have DNA from the suspect and assuming they have DNA from something that was close to the bomb - that would tend to be good substantial evidence that could be used at a trial.

"Unless the confession is going to be accepted you are going to need circumstantial evidence to prove a case - and scientific findings would be a huge benefit." (...)

Mr Hudson has since spent decades fighting for justice for the victims of Pan Am 103 that claimed the life of 270 people when it exploded in mid-air in December 1988.

Masud stands charged with two counts of destruction of an aircraft resulting in death and destruction of a vehicle resulting in death.

He was previously a bomb-maker for the Libyan External Security Organisation and was extradited to the US in 2022. [RB: Masud was not extradited. He was abducted from his home by a local militia, was sold on to US authorities and then became the victim of extraordinary rendition to the United States.] He has denied all three charges and claims his confession to building the bomb and taking it in a suitcase from Tripoli to Malta was made under duress.

Paul added: "Everyone on our side would like to see the trial happen as soon as possible and - assuming he is guilty - with a conviction. But it is more important to get it right than to get it done quickly.

"I don't see the delay as being excessive in the circumstances. The defendant had some medical issues and the impression we've now been given is they've got better. His health has improved so we seem to be on a good path now."

Paul has also been campaigning for the victim's families to be allowed to access the trial remotely - and was part of an audio trial for a previous hearing.

He said: "They are not going to allow access except at certain locations in the US and the UK where people have to physically go to watch a video of the trial.

"I was part of testing for an audio only feed where victim's family members can listen in to parts that are not considered confidential.

"It seemed to work and hopefully going forward when we get to the trial and more hearings, if people can not come to one of the locations at least they can hear the audio.

"I would prefer a zoom type video but it is certainly better than not allowing any remote access other than from a government controlled location."

Paul revealed another recent revelation coming out of Libya from the abandoned archives of the Gaddafi government surrounded the testing of the bomb with this defendant being part of it.

The information was published in a book in France and used during a corruption trial.

Paul, who is now 78, said he would never stop fighting for justice.

DNA extracted from Lockerbie bomb suitcase, 37 years after atrocity

[This is the headline over a report published in today's edition of The Sunday Times. It reads in part:]

Forensic experts have extracted DNA from the suitcase containing the Lockerbie bomb for the first time and will seek to match it against swabs taken from the Libyan explosives chief accused of Britain’s worst terrorist atrocity.

Advances in technology have allowed Scottish scientists to gather DNA from the suitcase lining and an umbrella packed into the luggage before Pam Am Flight 103 exploded in mid-air in December 1988, killing 270 people.

Prosecutors hope the new evidence could match samples from Abu Agila Masud, 74, the alleged bomb-maker, who is waiting to go on trial in America.

The potential breakthrough is outlined in US court papers obtained by The Sunday Times. The documents identify a list of expert witnesses for the prosecution, including Dr Nighean Stevenson, a leading authority in DNA analysis at the Scottish Police Authority (SPA). She has re-examined exhibits retrieved from the crash site more than three decades ago. (...)

The only suspect convicted to date is Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, a former Libyan intelligence officer who was jailed for life in 2001 following a trial in the Netherlands presided over by Scottish judges.

Megrahi was released by the Scottish government on compassionate grounds in 2009 after being diagnosed with terminal cancer. He lived for another 33 months, dying at his home in Tripoli, aged 60.

A co-defendant in Megrahi’s trial, Lamin Khalifah Fhimah, another Libyan intelligence officer, 69, was acquitted. However, he remains the subject of an active US arrest warrant.

Masud’s name came up in the original investigation into the atrocity after Scottish police, aided by the FBI, established that the bomb had travelled in an unaccompanied suitcase from Malta to Heathrow, via Frankfurt, before being loaded on to Flight 103. However, investigators were unable to trace him. [RB: The theory that the bomb on Pan Am 103 was in a suitcase offloaded from the feeder flight from Frankfurt to Heathrow has been convincingly demolished by Dr Morag Kerr in her book Adequately Explained by Stupidity? Lockerbie, Luggage and Lies.]

It was only after the fall of Colonel Gadaffi, the Libyan leader, in 2011 that Masud, a bomb-maker for the Libyan External Security Organisation, the intelligence service, was detained by opposition forces.

He was extradited to the US at the end of 2022 after allegedly confessing to building the Lockerbie bomb and taking it in a suitcase from Tripoli to Malta. [RB: Masud was not extradited. He was abducted from his home by a local warlord, sold on to US authorities and then the victim of extraordinary rendition to the United States.] His defence team are set to argue that the confession was extracted in Libya under duress, and is therefore inadmissible. He has entered a not guilty plea.

That means a DNA match between items from the bomb suitcase and Masud could be highly significant.

“If you’ve got his DNA [in the suitcase] … it would knock down the building blocks of his potential defence,” said Dick Marquise, the FBI special agent who led the US end of the original investigation.

Marquise said he was not aware of any DNA evidence collected in the immediate aftermath of the bombing in 1988. “It was much too new a science,” he added. (...)

Outlining her expertise as a potential prosecution witness, US court papers state: “Dr Stevenson examined items relating to an umbrella and an item relating to the lining of a suitcase.

“These items were examined using specialised lighting, and DNA samples were taken from each. The DNA profiles obtained from these items were of varying quality and were generally commensurate with the expectations of these items.”

The document continues: “Analysis of a DNA reference sample relating to the accused nominal [Masud] has yet to be carried out. When a DNA profile relating to this individual has been generated, it will thereafter be compared to any suitable DNA profiles which have already been obtained.”

This weekend it remained unclear whether a DNA match had been found. However, software used by Stevenson’s team is able to generate a “likelihood ratio” of a “person of interest” contributing to a specific DNA profile rather than other individuals.

In theory, the tests could also prove whether Megrahi had handled items packed into the bomb suitcase.

Part of the evidence against him in 2001 revolved around the testimony of a Maltese shop owner, who claimed Megrahi had bought various items of clothing and an umbrella from his business days before the Lockerbie attack.

Masud’s trial in Washington was due to start last month. However, the complexity of the case and the defendant’s poor health have led to it being pushed back until spring.

In his alleged confession, made in a Libyan jail in 2012, Masud named both Megrahi and Fhimah as co-conspirators.

A criminal complaint filed by the FBI states: “Approximately three months after [the bombing], Masud and Fhimah met with the then Libyan leader, Muammar Gadaffi, and others, who thanked them for carrying out a great national duty against the Americans, and Gadaffi added that the operation was a total success.”

[RB: The following comment is from an article published today on Dr Ludwig de Braeckeleer's Intel Today website:]

The Old “Look at the Door” Trick

Henri Landru was a French serial killer tried in 1921. During World War I, he posed as a lonely widower seeking companionship through classified ads. In reality, he lured wealthy widows to his villa in Gambais, murdered them, and allegedly disposed of their bodies in his oven.

Ten women—and the teenage son of one of them—disappeared after visiting Landru. There were no bodies, no direct eyewitnesses, and no confession. The entire case was built on circumstantial evidence, which left—just barely—room for reasonable doubt.

Landru’s defense lawyer, Vincent de Moro Giafferri, was a master of courtroom theatrics. During his closing argument, he focused on the absence of physical proof. He knew that if he could shake the jury’s certainty, he might save his client from the guillotine.

At a dramatic moment, Moro Giafferri played a psychological card. As he neared the end of his plea, he said something like:

“One of the women Landru is accused of killing—what if she is still alive? What if she walked through that door right now?”

He gestured toward the courtroom entrance. And naturally, every juror turned to look. Then came the punchline:

“Ladies and gentlemen, you all looked. That means you’re not sure. And in our justice system, if there is doubt, it must benefit the accused.”

Back to Lockerbie

It was a brilliant moment—simple, theatrical, unforgettable. A masterclass in planting uncertainty.Now, 37 years after the downing of Pan Am Flight 103, US authorities claim they have extracted DNA from the suitcase believed to have held the bomb.

The sample is being tested to determine whether it matches that of Abu Agila Mohammad Masud, the Libyan man accused of constructing the device.

Let’s be clear: the FBI and the US DoJ know the DNA won’t match. The purpose of this operation isn’t to prove Masud’s guilt — it’s to perform certainty. It’s the modern version of the “look at the door” trick.

Only this time, it’s not the defense gesturing at the door. It’s the prosecution — and they already know no one’s coming through. Because this trial isn’t for a jury. It’s for public consumption.

By conducting a highly publicized DNA analysis — decades after the fact, with compromised evidence — they aren’t seeking truth.

They’re selling belief. They’re telling the world: “We’re still working the case. We believe in the evidence. We believe in the guilt.”

But they don’t. And we know it.

ADDENDUM

RB: I am grateful to John Ashton for the following comment on the above article:

A couple of points re the DNA story in The Sunday Times. The SCCRC, in its original review, considered a DNA trace on one of the umbrella fragments – see paras 4.50 to 4.56 of the Statement of Reasons). The results, while inconclusive, pointed to the Crown forensic experts. Also attached is a photo of the circuit board fragment from the crown forensic report (see below). All the photos in the report were taken at RARDE. The fact that the fragment was resting on a bare fingertip suggests a lack of regard for DNA evidence (and, for that matter, fingerprint evidence).

Lockerbie bombing suspect's trial scheduled for 20 April 2026

[What follows is the text of a report just published on the website of the United Arab Emirates newspaper The National:]

The US judge overseeing the case of Lockerbie bombing suspect Abu Agila Mohammad Masud has set jury selection for April 20, 2026.

Judge Dabney Friedrich acknowledged the “complicated nature” and “voluminous discovery of evidence” in the case surrounding the 1988 attack that resulted in the explosion of a Pan Am flight and the deaths of 270 people in Scotland.

Mr Masud, 73, limped into court and donned headphones to listen to the status conference in Arabic. He looked straight ahead for the whole proceedings, never glancing at victims' families, who took up several rows of court seats.

He didn't appear to communicate with his court-appointed lawyer [RB: Whitney Minter] during proceedings. In 2023, Mr Masud pleaded not guilty in connection to one of the deadliest terrorist attacks in UK and US history.

Only one other person, former Libyan intelligence officer Abdelbaset Al Megrahi, has been convicted for the bombing. After his conviction in 2001, Megrahi spent seven years in a Scottish prison, but he was eventually released on compassionate grounds and died in Libya in 2012. In 2003, Libya claimed responsibility for the attack that brought down the plane. [RB: Libya did not "claim responsibility for the attack". It accepted "responsibility for the acts of its officials": https://lockerbiecase.blogspot.com/2008/08/libyan-august-2003-acceptance-of.html]

The US government filed charges against Mr Masud in 2020, but it took more than two years to extradite him from Libya. [RB: Masud was not extradited from Libya. He was abducted from his home by a local warlord and sold to US authorities who then transferred him to the United States without either his own consent or that of the judicial authorities of Libya.] Mr Masud's health problems, lawyer changes and logistical problems have caused the trial planning to move at a snail's pace.

A court transcript seen by The National show the methodical nature of the case. At least three depositions of foreign citizens will have to take place outside the US before the trial begins, according to the court transcript.

Though specifics are not disclosed, ways of potentially dealing with Mr Masud's health problems are also discussed. His court-appointed lawyers have promised to provide updates about his medical condition to better prevent any delays.

In court on Thursday, Judge Friedrich emphasised the need to stay on schedule. “I want this to be aggressive,” she said, referring to trial planning dates and schedule preparations.

Mr Masud's lawyer told the judge that although there is “some disagreement” about the extent of his medical problems, both defence and prosecutors are on the same page about how to deal with it going forward.

All 259 people on board the Pan Am flight died in the attack and 11 people were killed on the ground by falling debris on December 21, 1988, shortly after the plane took off from London bound for New York.

Of the victims, 190 were US citizens, along with people from the UK and Argentina, India, South Africa and Spain, among others.

[A report on the BBC News website contains the following:]

Kara Weipz is the president of the US group Victims of Pan Am Flight 103 and lost her 20-year-old brother Richard Monetti on the plane.

"I'm just going to pray that it stays at 20 April," she said. "I was 15 when this happened, and I'm 52 now and among the relatives I'm considered young.

"A lot of our family members are in their seventies and eighties and unfortunately, we lose them weekly or monthly now.

"The travesty in all of this that they're not seeing the justice that they've worked 37 years to see.

"That's what concerns us the most, that this trial will come around and we'll have lost more family members." (...)

Some, but not all, of the British relatives have never accepted the verdict against Megrahi, including the Rev John Mosey, whose daughter Helga was on the plane.

"I think they're just waiting for people like me to pop our clogs and get out of the way," he said.

"I'm still pretty cynical about the whole thing. I would like to be proved wrong but I can't see it happening.

"As far as I'm concerned, who made the bomb and who put in on the plane are secondary as to who were the main criminals.

"They were the group of people who had all the warnings that this was going to happen and warned their own people but didn't warn the public."

Masud trial: both sides experiencing difficulties in preparing

[What follows is excerpted from an item posted today on the Intel Today website:]

The trial of Abu Agila Masud, the Libyan intelligence official accused of building the bomb that destroyed Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie in 1988, is likely to be postponed until at least April 2026. The proposed delay — requested jointly by US prosecutors and defense attorneys — must still be approved by a federal judge.

According to court filings, the main reason for the delay is the extraordinary complexity of the case. Much of the evidence is scattered across multiple countries, requiring extensive international cooperation, logistical planning, and legal coordination. This has made it difficult for both sides to prepare adequately for trial. [RB: A status hearing in the case is scheduled to take place on 5 June 2025 at 11.00 in Washington DC District Court.]

A central piece of evidence is an alleged confession Masud made in 2012 while imprisoned in Libya. Defense attorneys argue that the statement was obtained under duress and may be inadmissible in a US court. Legal arguments over whether that confession can be used at trial are expected to be contentious and potentially pivotal.

While the delay may frustrate families of the 270 victims — many of whom have waited decades for justice — it reflects the high stakes and legal sensitivities surrounding the case. Trying an international terrorism case involving decades-old evidence is inherently difficult. Political instability in Libya, the patchwork of international legal systems, and the reliance on potentially coerced testimony all complicate efforts to ensure a fair and thorough trial.

Adding another layer of complexity is the scheduled 2026 declassification of technical documents related to the Lockerbie disaster. These materials, believed to include engineering and forensic analyses of the explosion and aircraft damage, were reclassified after previously being slated for release — an unusual and controversial move. (...)

[Their] importance is underscored by the shadow of former FBI explosives expert [Tom] Thurman, a key figure in the original Lockerbie investigation. Thurman played a central role in identifying key forensic links — but his credibility was later seriously questioned. In 1997, he was removed from active casework after internal investigations found he had overstepped his authority by claiming scientific conclusions without proper credentials or peer review.

Knowing what is now publicly documented about Thurman’s methods, defense lawyers are expected to examine the forthcoming technical documents with particular intensity, looking for flaws, gaps, or contradictions in the forensic conclusions that originally shaped the indictment and public narrative.

Whether the timing of the trial delay and the documents anticipated release is coincidental or strategic, the outcome could be significant. If these documents (if released as planned) were to contradict past findings — or reveals alternative interpretations — it could reshape the courtroom dynamics entirely.

Ultimately, this is not just a legal trial, but a test of forensic accountability. Ensuring the evidence can withstand modern scrutiny is not a delay of justice — it may be the only way to achieve it.

[RB: A report also now appears on the BBC News website.]

Lockerbie documents: genuine or created to focus blame on Gaddafi?

[What follows is excerpted from a report by Jack Dennison-Thompson published today on the Maghrebi.org website:]

Fresh allegations accusing Libya, once again, to be the architect of the Lockerbie bombing in 1998 have arisen, with the US quick to endorse their validity.

According to the BBC, Samir Shegwara, a Libyan writer and politician, has published documents in his new book Murderer Who Must Be Saved, which contains classified documents that he claims he took from the archives of Libya’s former intelligence chief Abdullah Senussi after the collapse of Colonel Gaddafi’s regime in 2011. No one, so far, not least the Americans nor the Libyans, have validated the documents and so question marks arise over whether they are genuine or have been created by those with vested interests in keeping the blame for Lockerbie firmly with Colonel Gadaffi.

The classified documents are claimed to have been dated October 4th 1988 with the handwritten report labelled as “top secret” alongside one of the files containing the subject matter “Experiments on the use of the suitcase and testing its effectiveness.”

The report later explains that the tests were effective in avoiding X-ray scanners ideal considering the Pan Am flight did not hand check the bags on the flight but rather just X-rayed them.

The report also details an agent by the name of Aboujila Kheir – believed to be Abu Agila Masud Kheir Al-Marimi – who was involved in the tests. More details are believed to involve the “expenses” of an agent who traveled to Malta days before the attack on Pan Am 103, despite the island effectively being the international base for all of Libya’s foreign intelligence operatives.

The documents reportedly implicate Abdullah Senussi, Gaddafi’s brother-in-law, in planning both the Lockerbie bombing and UTA Flight 772 attack. Senussi was convicted in absentia for the UTA bombing in 1999 but never served his sentence. Scottish and American prosecutors later named him as a Lockerbie suspect in 2015.

Sami Shegwara was arrested on the 20th of March after the documents he released were seen as a national security risk. His publishers have come out and stated that Mr Shegwara is facing legal proceedings over the “alleged possession of classified security documents, without legal justification.”

The strange case around this arrest is that Shegwara who is the mayor of Hay al Andalous in Tripoli has openly shown his possession of these documents since 2018.

Some believe this shows that the document must be real for the arrest to take place yet it also calls into question why it would take seven years for such documents to become of such importance.

The documents have now been described by a former FBI agent as “dynamite” and will be used to prosecute Abu Agila Mas’id Kheir Al-Marimi, known as Masud, who is accused of building the bomb for his trial in Washington.

While these new documents have surfaced and become “dynamite” evidence in the past month, the case of Lockerbie has been a whirlwind of truth and lies.

This is so much so that Nelson Mandela himself was sceptical to blame Libya.

Documents in the National Archive of the UK have shown that Nelson Mandela told the UK that it was wrong to hold Libya responsible for the Lockerbie bombing.

Mandela was acting as the intermediary for Libya and in a conversation with Tony Blair on April 30th 2001 “Mandela argued it was wrong to hold Libya legally responsible for the bombing,” the cables revealed.

Mandela believed that the UN was wrong to impose economic sanctions on Libya after Al Megrahis’s extraction to the Netherlands for trial where he was convicted controversially. (...)

The unusual actions in this case echo a familiar pattern, as the US faces accusations of violating international laws to abduct a Libyan national, fuellng suspicions regarding Libyan involvement in the Pan Am attack.

This occurred in November of 2022 Libyan militiamen captured Abu Agila Mas’ud, accused of bombing Pan Am Flight 103 in 1988. US agents took custody of the suspect in a controversial midnight raid in Tripoli. The operation highlights ongoing tensions surrounding the Lockerbie terrorist attack.

After decades of silence, the Lockerbie victims’ families have erupted in a rare public challenge, casting doubt on the US justice system’s ability to deliver a truly impartial trial.

Dr Swire who leads representations for the families who have lost loved ones in the attack and who lost his daughter himself believes the US has blurred the lines of this situation even more, with a UN trial being the more just prosecution.

“There are so many loose ends that hang from this dreadful case, largely emanating from America, that I think we should remember what (former president of South Africa Nelson) Mandela said to the world and to us then, and seek a court that is free of being beholden to any nation directly involved in the atrocity itself,” Swire told BBC Radio Scotland.

Their unprecedented call for a UN-led prosecution speaks volumes about the deep-seated suspicions surrounding America’s long-standing narrative of the terrorist attack.

Whilst Libya has been at the forefront for blame over the Lockerbie bombing, there are alternative theories which suggest Libya was not at the forefront for the bombing.

Many journalists support the opposing argument, suggesting that a bomb was planted on the plane at Heathrow Airport by a Syrian terrorist cell that was paid for by Iran.

Whether this theory of the attack is true or whether Libya is involved it appears that the bombardment of blame onto Libya which has been carried for 37 years feels unjust and excessive, to say the least.

The current investigations have begun with the new documents as the Scottish detectives have now been examining the new files to verify Libyans involvement, alongside the US trials still taking place.

After three decades, the case for Lockerbie seems to have a new lease of life rather, it appears it never really lost it as it has constantly been dug up by countless finger-pointing to Libya by the US and the West with no tangible evidence sticking.

These new documents could potentially reshape the understanding of the case. However, a lingering question remains: why are files that have existed for seven years now being presented as urgent and pivotal evidence?

Statement by family of Lockerbie accused Masud

[What follows is a translation of a statement issued in Arabic by the family of Abu Ajila Masud on 16 March. I am grateful to Susan McNarey for procuring the translation.]

TRANSLATION/ In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

Tripoli – Saturday, 2025/03/16 – 23:20

Statement on behalf of the citizen Abu Ujaila Majid Masoud Khair Al-Marimi.

Hisham Abu Ujaila Al-Marimi speaks as a representative of the father and regarding the latest developments related to his arrest as he enters the third year of detention… and until this moment, confirming the following is important:

(1)

Everyone knows that he was handed over to the American government for free… without anything in return. We have been saying this since day one… There was no reason or justification for that… and it was only done because it was demanded from those who were required to act.

(2)

The source of the accusation against the father is the American government… it is based on physical coercion imposed on different (33) judges who made the conviction decision against their will.

(3)

The American government itself imposed the condition of a trial… and it is the same government that deliberately created a conviction-based equation. It suggested that he “agrees”… then after three years of detention, he was deprived of his constitutional and personal rights in an unimaginable manner.

(4)

It has become clear that the American government was working to include the father in a claim against his country and its citizens… without regard for the father’s free will and personal choice… and without considering his decision. Thus, this government worked to implicate him and falsely attach him to accusations.

(5)

The father insists on his innocence… which is not just a claim but something the American government itself is aware of… The father had no involvement in what he is accused of… and he was arrested in illegal detention centers… He never had anything to do with the Lockerbie plane case… neither was he a part of it, nor was he in his country at the time, nor was he connected to the heinous crime. 

(6)

In a loud voice… and in the presence of (3) out of (5) intensive American prosecutors in the case… and (12 days) before its date… he said he was ready for trial from day one… and that the American government did not confront him with any evidence of what they claim… and until now, it has not fulfilled its promise from the beginning of this month.

(7)

Our expectation today came true, as usual… with the unnatural solidarity and closeness between the prosecution and the defense before the court, which made a fatal mistake… and without setting a new date for the trial… meaning the trial will not take place at all. This has significant implications, including:

(i)

That the father faces a life sentence… without a court ruling… and without any accusation allowing a fair trial.

This solidarity between the defense and the prosecution in the postponement was against the father’s will… and not for any legitimate legal value or consideration of the consequences… The American government bears full responsibility for the father’s personal safety, considering the court’s decision to postpone.

(ii)

We emphasize that the father refused the final postponement… and with the expected results… and the absence of the legitimacy of his detention for even an hour across a third country, we demand the immediate release of the father and compensation for the harm he endured.

(iii)

Among all the constitutional and international violations of the American government, which were approved by the court, we affirm that these aggressive practices and the denial of a fair trial… and the court’s failure to prevent these impossible practices… reaffirm the impossibility of the accusations and the impossibility of conviction.

(8)

Furthermore, all the aggressive and unjust practices by the American government against the father… and this unjust postponement without determining a future trial date… reinforce our confidence that we were in the right position from the perspective of truth, justice, and history. We did not submit to anyone, nor did we wear what did not suit us… What befell us around (1000 days) ago was true… and with the acknowledgment of the American government.

(9)

Thus, with what has already been done in terms of (obstruction) and not merely a postponement of the trial… no argument remains for the wrongdoers or the prosecutors of the trial to continue supporting it.

A trial will certainly not take place… and they must take the correct stance on truth, justice, and history…

We continue to affirm that we have not and will not waver… and this message has reached and is clear to the American government. We extend our deep gratitude to those who have offered us support and solidarity… and we reiterate that there is no time for hesitation and no time for waiting—it will never come. The trial that the American government is pushing for requires action without hope in its timing… and praise be to God alone. Prayer and peace be upon the one after whom there is no prophet.

With sincere respect,

Hisham Abu Jameela Al-Marimi

US judge agrees to delay Lockerbie bombing trial

[What follows is excepted from a report published yesterday on the BBC News website:]

A US judge has agreed to delay the trial of a Libyan man accused of building the bomb that destroyed Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie more than 36 years ago.

The case against Abu Agila Mas'ud Kheir Al-Marimi, known as Masud, was due to begin in Washington on 12 May, but has been postponed at the request of the prosecution and defence.

A new starting date for the trial has not been set but discussions are ongoing.

Masud has denied priming the explosive device which brought down the Boeing 747 on 21 December 1988, killing 259 passengers and crew.

Another 11 people died in the south of Scotland town when wreckage fell on their homes.

Masud, who is in his early 70s, is described as a joint citizen of Libya and Tunisia. He has been receiving treatment for a non-life threatening medical condition.

In submissions to the court, US government prosecutors referred to the complexity of the case and the time required to adequately prepare for pre-trial hearings.

The lawyers also raised the issue of "voluminous discovery, including evidence located in other countries" and the need for the defence to determine how best to defend Masud.

US district court judge Dabney Friedrich agreed to delay the 12 May starting date.

A status conference on the case is due to take place at the court next month.

Scottish and US prosecutors first named Masud as a suspect in 2015 when the collapse of the Gaddafi regime in Libya breathed new life into the Lockerbie investigation.

Five years later, the then US attorney general William Barr announced they were charging Masud with the destruction of an aircraft resulting in death.

He was taken into American custody in 2022 after being removed from his Tripoli home by an armed militia.

A key pre-trial issue is likely to be the admissibility of a confession Masud is alleged to have made in prison in Libya in 2012.

According to the FBI, Masud said he had worked for the Libyan intelligence service and admitted building the device which brought down Pan Am Flight 103.

Lockerbie bombing’s lasting impact on a ‘normal little town’

[What follows is excerpted from a report by Libby Brooks published in today's edition of The Guardian:]

Eleven of the street’s residents died when the wing section of Pan Am 103 crashed into Sherwood Crescent with the force of a meteorite on 21 December 1988, gouging a 30ft crater on this spot. The impact was such that some bodies were never recovered.

This once anonymous street was recreated in meticulous detail for the filming of the Sky Atlantic series Lockerbie: A Search for Truth, which was first screened last month and stars the Oscar winner Colin Firth as Dr Jim Swire, whose daughter Flora was killed when a bomb exploded on the Pan Am flight from London bound for New York.

Although the drama has been widely praised, some relatives of the 270 people who lost their lives in what remains the UK’s deadliest terrorist atrocity have questioned the need for such graphic depictions of the immediate aftermath. A spokesperson for the Victims of Pan Am Flight 103 group described it as “tragedy porn” to the Hollywood news site Deadline, while closer to home a Lockerbie resident who lost her sister and brother-in-law wrote in the Annandale Herald: “I don’t need to be reminded about the terrible scene that night.”

But for a generation born after 1988, this series may be their first exposure to the tangle of legal proceedings, conspiracy theories and international controversy that has become synonymous with the name of one small town in the south of Scotland.

With a second dramatisation airing on BBC One and Netflix later this year, a new BBC Scotland documentary, and the trial of the alleged bomb-maker starting in the US in May, Lockerbie is likely to remain in the spotlight this year, willingly or otherwise.

“It’s the most normal little town in the world, with a strong community, and people are just living their lives,” says the Rev Frances Henderson, a minister at Lochmaben and Lockerbie Churches. “You don’t see the trauma until suddenly you do. It’s there, being carried and dealt with, a trauma that is part of their lives and has shaped the last decades.”

Henderson has not watched the Colin Firth series herself, “not because I object to it but because I feel I’d have to psyche myself up to it,” she says.

“I think most people feel it’s been done respectfully but neither have I heard of many watching it because it’s too real. For those who weren’t there, who may be too young to remember, it’s perhaps useful, but not for those who were there.”

The series was based on Swire’s investigations into the bombing. He and many supporters have argued consistently for the innocence of Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, the Libyan intelligence officer who was convicted in 2001 at a specially convened Scottish court in the Netherlands of 270 counts of murder.

Swire believes that Megrahi, who was released on compassionate grounds by the Scottish government in 2009 after a diagnosis of terminal cancer and died in 2011 in Tripoli, was framed to deflect attention from Iranian and Syrian responsibility. This is rejected as a conspiracy theory by US victims’ relatives, who felt the series misrepresented the trial and portrayed Megrahi as “an innocent man that should be empathised with”.

Swire and other UK relatives continue to demand a public inquiry into the failure to take seriously or make public warnings that an attack on a Pan Am flight was imminent, while in May another Libyan, 72-year-old Abu Agila Masud, will go on trial in Washington accused of building the bomb that brought down the flight. He denies all charges.

Colin Smyth, the Scottish Labour MSP for the region, said: “There has been so much written about the trial and various conspiracy theories, but no one has ever spoken to me about any of that as a constituent.

“People of Lockerbie didn’t choose for their town to be known for this, but they took their responsibility to the victims very seriously from the first night – like the couple who found a young man in their field and didn’t want to leave him so stood vigil until dawn, or the man who scooped up the body of a toddler and drove them into town so they weren’t left in the cold and wet.”

“For decades they have welcomed people with open arms as the families of the victims continue to visit their loved ones’ last resting place. Those relationships have sustained – you hear of relatives staying at family homes in Lockerbie even now.”

Those relationships are woven through the generations, thanks to the enduring scholarship programme between Lockerbie Academy and Syracuse University, New York, which lost 35 students in the disaster.

"All the Lockerbie evidence must be revealed"

[What follows is excerpted from a report in today's edition of The Times:]

The former justice secretary [Kenny MacAskill] said the public deserved answers from British and US intelligence services about the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103

The former SNP justice secretary has called for documents about the Lockerbie bombing held by the US and British intelligence services to be released.

Kenny MacAskill, who held the position from 2007 to 2014, said that he thought the public were entitled to know all the facts about the investigation.

“I think what we have to do is get the full documentation and information provided by the UK and USA. They have intelligence documents that they have refused to put out to the general public,” he told ITV Border.

“The Scottish government — certainly the Scottish government I served in — put everything that we were entitled to out there, but there are factors that the UK and USA know about and have not disclosed.” (...)

MacAskill, who became the Alba party’s acting leader after the death of Alex Salmond, released al-Megrahi on compassionate grounds in 2009 after his diagnosis with terminal cancer. Al-Megrahi died in 2012.

Prosecutors have maintained that al-Megrahi did not act alone.

Abu Agila Masud, a Tunisian-born Libyan citizen who is alleged to have helped make the bomb, is due to go on trial in the US in May this year.

The US announced three charges against Masud, which he denies, in 2020 and he has been in custody for two years.

Last year, the former justice secretary said he had “always believed” that Masud was the bomber.

The UK government has previously prevented the publication of secret documents which are believed to implicate Palestinian militants. (...)

MacAskill said: “We do know, for example, that Moussa Koussa, who was the foreign minister under Colonel Gaddafi, defected to Britain, where he was debriefed and then handed over to America.

“He is given the full works, if you could put it that way, and yet we have never been told what it was he said.

“I think what the public are entitled to is to have the full disclosure by the US and British intelligence but I do believe the investigation carried out was right.” (...)

[Christine] Grahame [MSP] brought [a members’ business] debate before Holyrood in response to a book released by Dr Jim Swire, whose daughter Flora died in the disaster, (...) subsequently turned into a drama starring Colin Firth.

In her speech, Grahame laid out the history of the case which put al-Megrahi — the only man convicted of the atrocity — behind bars, including some questions which remain, and called for a public inquiry into its handling.

Well-qualified commentators have pulled Megrahi's conviction apart

[What follows is excerpted from an article by Marcello Mega in The Sunday Times today. The published version may vary slightly from the text below:]

With a Libyan agent convicted in January 2001 of the Lockerbie bombing and another soon to be tried in the US, you might wonder why many relatives of the dead remain so fixated on seeking truth.

Dr Jim Swire has led the campaign, unconvinced by the evidence he heard at the Scottish Court in the Netherlands against two Libyans that saw one of them convicted of mass murder, and increasingly aware over the many years since of the hidden evidence that might have cleared both.

In the year ahead, two television dramas and the trial in Washington of Abu Agila Masud, accused of making the bomb that took 270 lives on 21 December 1988, will remind us that the full story is still unknown.

Sky’s Lockerbie: A Search for Truth, with Colin Firth playing Swire, will be first to reach the public, from 2 January.

The series is based on Swire’s book Lockerbie: A Father's Search for Justice, which points to many holes in the story accepted by the trial and highlights contradictory evidence that has emerged since.

Early on in the project, Firth requested a briefing because he sensed it could have a similar impact on the public as Mr Bates and the Post Office, which transformed understanding of the Post Office scandal.

Firth wanted to be certain any similar impact on understanding of Lockerbie would be justified. The briefing was arranged with experts who understood the case and Firth was happy to proceed.

Now 88 and having devoted 36 years to the quest for truth after his daughter Flora was murdered on the flight, Swire is weary and has signalled it might be time to put down his sword.

Having been promised and denied a full public inquiry by the Tory Government of the day and by the Labour Government that followed, he believes all documents held on the case should now be made public.

He holds out little hope, but believes the drama might animate the public, making the demand for truth harder to resist.

The 82-page judgment of Lords Sutherland, Coulsfield (now deceased) and Maclean is available online, double-spaced and not a difficult read.

Well-qualified commentators such as Gareth Peirce, who overturned the convictions of the Guildford Four, and Professor Robert Black, who devised the scheme for the Lockerbie trial in a neutral country, have pulled it apart.

The prosecution’s case started with an unaccompanied suitcase carrying a bomb being placed on Air Malta Flight KM180 from Luqa Airport to Frankfurt on 21 December 1988.

It was supposedly tagged to go on to Pan Am 103A to Heathrow and then to New York-bound Pan Am 103.

Swire, in common with many others, believes that a security breach not disclosed during the trial allowed the bomb to start its path at Heathrow where the plane was loaded from empty.

The judges, however, decided that an unaccompanied suitcase did travel on the Air Malta flight while recognising that not a shred of evidence supported it.

It might have been even harder to make that leap of faith had baggage handlers from Luqa been called as witnesses.

In their statements, they explained that not only did an unaccompanied bag not travel on the flight, it could not have happened because of the simple system they used.

They never knew how many passengers were booked on a flight, but physically counted the bags going on, then called the check-in desk to see if their counts matched. If not, the bags came off and the count restarted.

One or two of these witnesses could potentially have killed the Crown’s case at its inception, but they were never called.

In a highly complex case involving thousands of witness statements and tens of thousands of productions, Megrahi’s conviction came down to two essential matters: the testimony of Maltese shopkeeper Tony Gauci and the identification of a fragment of circuit board said to have detonated the bomb as coming from a batch sold only to Libya.

The judges did not know until after the trial that Gauci’s evidence was tainted by the promise of reward money from the US.

Gauci, now dead, received $2m, and his brother Paul, who didn’t even testify, a further $1m.

The Scottish justice system has largely ignored the relevance of these rewards. The late Sir William Macpherson of Cluny, a Scottish clan chief who became one of England’s most senior judges, said if he had ever become aware of witnesses receiving rewards for evidence, he would have ordered the jury to discount it entirely.

Instead, the trial judges attached inexplicable weight to Gauci’s testimony. He never stated unequivocally that Megrahi bought the clothes from his shop that were placed in the case alongside the bomb.

Even in court, asked to make a simple dock identification, he qualified it by saying Megrahi resembled the man, as he had in all his statements, although his first description was of a man many years younger and several inches taller.

The judgment acknowledged his lack of certainty several times, but at the final mention the judges turned it into a virtue, suggesting it underlined his honesty. This measure of reliability cannot be found elsewhere in Scottish criminal law.

In addition, the judges stated without obvious reason that Gauci was “100% reliable”, on the list of clothing bought from his shop and the prices paid.

Yet in 1999, Gauci had produced an entirely different list from the first one while making a fresh statement in advance of the trial.

Like other evidence that did not suit the prosecution case it was not passed to the defence.

The judges also had to decide whether the clothing had been bought on 23 November, when Megrahi was not on the island, or 7 December, when he was.

They accepted that meteorological and other evidence suggested 23 November was more likely, but stated that they preferred 7 December, offering nothing of substance to support the decision.

The Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission said later that no reasonable court could have concluded the clothing was purchased on 7 December, a particularly damning view when no jury was involved.

Remarkably, the evidence around the circuit board is still unfolding. Of all the thousands of productions in the case, only one evidence bag, the one containing the fragment, had its label overwritten, fuelling a belief it had been planted.

Forensic tests after the trial showed no trace of explosives’ residue, so the fragment was unlikely to have been at the heart of a bomb. Later, metallurgical tests showed it actually came from a type of board put into production in 1989, adding to the suspicion of a plant.  

All three key forensic ‘experts’ in the case who testified on the fragment, two British and one American, have been completely discredited for malpractice in other murder cases.

Jim Swire has been my friend for more than 30 years. We once undertook an investigation to Sweden together to try to challenge Abu Talb, a man we believed was involved in the bombing.

His age is now against him taking similar bold steps to establish the truth, but the signature obstinance of this admirable man has never seemed perverse to me.

[RB: The present post differs somewhat in format from the norm in this blog. This is because the hardware and software on which I am having to rely in Ajman is not what I am accustomed to.]