‘Rajesh and the others remain in our thoughts - my hope is that all grieving families will see justice done’
THE friend of a Leicester man killed in the Lockerbie bombing has said he hopes that the latest legal developments in the United States will “finally provide some answers” for the friends, families and loved ones of those who died in the terrorist attack 32 years ago this week.
The bombing of Pan Am flight 103, travelling from London to New York on December 21 1988, killed 270 people in Britain’s largest terrorist atrocity.
Among those murdered when the Boeing 747 “Clipper Maid of the Seas” was blown out of the sky over the small town in south west Scotland was Rajesh Ramses, a 35-yearold computer operator who lived off Hinckley Road, and who had been planning to start a new life in America.
Dr Marcus Solanki, 62, from Oadby, knew Rajesh when he lived in Leicester as a fellow member of the city’s Indian Gujarati Christian community.
The retired NHS mental health clinician and MBE, who is an active member of the Leicester Council of Faiths, is following events on the other side of the Atlantic closely after the country’s Justice Department charged a “third conspirator” in connection with the horrific crime.
US Attorney General William Barr announced on Monday - on the anniversary of the attack - that the suspect had been identified along with two Libyan intelligence agents during the investigation in 1991, but at the time investigators could not “identify or locate” this person.
Speaking at a press conference, he said: “The United States has filed criminal charges against the third conspirator, Abu Agila Mohammad Masud
Kheir Al-Marimi, for his role in the bombing of Pan Am flight 103.”
The US alleges that he was the bombmaker and has charged him with terrorism-related crimes.
Former Libyan intelligence officer Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, who was found guilty in 2001 of mass murder and jailed for life with a minimum term of 27 years, was the only person convicted of the attack.
He died at home in Tripoli on May 20, 2012, aged 60, having been released from prison on compas
When I realised it was Pan Am flight 103 and everyone had been lost, the full horror dawned on me Marcus Solanki
sionate grounds due to ill health. Al- Megrahi had always maintained his innocence and another suspect was acquitted of any involvement.
Dr Solanki, speaking to the Mercury in the wake of the new developments, said: “I have been following the news from America about the latest legal case very closely. “My hope is that it can finally provide some answers for the grieving families and friends of Rajesh and all those other poor souls killed in this terrible atrocity.”
Rajesh had moved to Leicester from India in the late 1970s, living in London Road for a time before moving to Hinckley Road.
“I knew him well,” said Dr Solanki. “He was a very popular member of our small community here in Leicester and had, in fact, been a neighbour of my wife and her family in Ahmedabad. He was like a brother to me and many others.”
Dr Solanki said Rajesh, who worked for the city’s former British Shoe Corporation, had dreamt of starting a new life in America and had saved up to buy an air ticket after going through a divorce.
He remembers watching the news on TV when he realised his friend had been on board Pan Am Flight 103.
“It was surreal - I was at home in Leicester when a news item came on, and then it became clear there had been a terrorist attack on the plane.”
Dr Solanki added: “When I realised it was Pan Am flight 103 and that everyone on board had been lost, along with other victims on the ground, the full horror of what happened dawned on me.
“I realised that Rajesh was one of those who had been killed. I was the one who called his family to tell them what had happened - it was simply awful.”
US investigators said that Masud is currently in custody in Libya.
Mr Barr said: “We intend to work closely with our Scottish counterparts to use every feasible and appropriate means to ensure that he answers for his part in the Lockerbie bombing.
“It is our hope that the Libyan authorities will allow Masud to be tried for this crime in the United States and will provide the support and witnesses necessary to us to bring him to justice.”
He added: “Let there be no mistake, no amount of time or distance will stop the US and our Scottish partners from pursuing justice in this case.”
Scotland’s Lord Advocate James Wolffe QC, speaking yesterday, said: “For 32 years, the families of the 270 people murdered in this atrocity have shown extraordinary and enduring dignity in the face of the loss they suffered on the terrible night of 21 December 1988.
“Today, our thoughts are with them once again.”
He added: “Scottish prosecutors and police have had a long-established and strong working relationship with US law enforcement agencies throughout this investigation.
“This relationship will continue to be important as the investigation progresses with the shared goal of bringing all those who committed this atrocity to justice.”
A panel of five appeal judges in Edinburgh is currently deliberating whether to acquit Megrahi over the Lockerbie bombing after the conclusion of the third appeal against his conviction last month.
Police Scotland Chief Constable,
Iain Livingstone, said: “This announcement by the US Department of Justice is a significant development for the families of the victims, and my thoughts remain with them, particularly today, the 32nd anniversary of the bombing.”
Dr Solanki hopes that the families of those killed can finally get justice.
He said: “The anniversary of the terrorist attack makes the run-up to Christmas every year a painful experience.
“Rajesh and the other victims remain in our thoughts and prayers and I hope that the grieving families can finally see justice done.”