Boost for Megrahi family appeal bid
BY ANDY PHILIP a.philip@dailyrecord.co.uk THE conviction of the Libyan found guilty of the Lockerbie bombing is to be reviewed – six years after his death.
Abdelbaset al Megrahi abandoned an appeal when he was terminally ill with cancer. He died in 2012.
Megrahi’s family and supporters, including Jim Swire, whose daughter Flora died in the atrocity, pushed for a posthumous appeal.
The Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission (SCCRC) say they will now conduct a full review.
They will then decide if the case should be referred back to the Court of Appeal.
SCCRC chief executive Gerard Sinclair said they believe Megrahi ditched his appeal when he was terminally ill because he had a “genuine and reasonable” belief that it would mean he could go home to Libya die.
Sinclair added: “On that basis, the commission have decided that it is in the interests of justice to accept the current application for a full review of his conviction.”
Solicitor Aamer Anwar, representing Megrahi’s family’s posthumous appeal, said: “It has been a long journey in the pursuit for truth and justice.
“Many believe Megrahi was the victim of a miscarriage of justice.”
Pan Am Flight 103 blew up over Lockerbie on December 21, 1988, killing 270 people.
In 2001, Megrahi was jailed for life for the atrocity.
In 2002, he failed in an appeal.
In August 2009, the SNP Government released him from jail on compassionate grounds, believing he had months to live. He died, aged 60, in May 2012.