Lockerbie bomber’s case under review

THE Lockerbie bomber could be cleared posthumously of carrying out Britain’s biggest terrorist atrocity after his family won a review of his conviction.

The move was announced by the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission (SCCRC), which will consider whether the controversial case should be referred back to the Appeal Court.

Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-megrahi, the only man convicted of the bombing, died in Libya in 2012, almost three years after he was released on compassionate grounds while suffering from terminal cancer.

He returned home to Tripoli amid vociferous opposition from American relatives who lost loved ones in the bombing, but with the support of British families, who continue to believe he was the victim of a miscarriage of justice. Days before he left Scotland, Libyan officials decided to abandon his second appeal, which was under way at the time. There was no reason given for the decision to halt the process.

The SCCRC said yesterday it had decided to review his conviction after coming to the conclusion that Megrahi “held a genuine and reasonable belief that such a course of action would result in him being able to return home to Libya”.