We’ve all heard of the Lockerbie bomber, but what do we actually know about him? Lets find out.
So, who is this Lockerbie fella?
Well, the man we know as the ‘Lockerbie Bomber’ is actually called Abdelbaset al-Megrahi. He was a Libyan citizen, alleged former intelligence officer, former head of security for Libyan Arab Airlines and former director of the Centre for Strategic Studies in Tripoli. Or so we’re led to believe.
He died in Libya on May 20 this year after a long battle with prostate cancer.
So what exactly did he do?
Well, Megrahi was convicted of murder for the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, and was sentenced to life imprisonment. Interestingly enough, the trial took place in a special court at Camp Zeist in the Netherlands and was watched over by three Scottish judges. You can’t find a more natural ground than that.
So how did he survive if he bombed the plane?
Well, he didn’t directly bomb the plane otherwise he’d be already dead, obviously. The bomb was actually located in a suitcase, which somehow made it past security and onto Flight 103 bound for JKF airport in the US.
According to investigators, the bomb wasn’t scheduled to explode until the plane had reached open waters, thus destroying any traceable evidence. However, due to the delayed take off time, the bomb went off before the plane reached the desired target and killed 270 people.
What happened to the Lockerbie guy after that?
Well, that was 1988. In 1991 Megrahi, the Lockerbie Bomber, was indicted by the US Attorney General and the Scottish Lord Advocate for the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103. Basically, the US wanted Libya to arrest Megrahi and extradite him for sentencing, however, Libya wasn’t playing ball.
Because of this, the US and UN imposed sanctions on the country seriously restricting their trade arrangements. It wasn’t until six years later in 1995 that Megrahi was made no.441 on the FBI’s most wanted list. After this, both American and Libyan parties agreed on a deal to see Megrahi go to trial in a natural land, which was the Netherlands, as we already said.
Mad. So how long was he in jail?
Well, court proceedings didn’t actually take place until May 3 2000, a whole 12 years after the bombing occurred. The main witness, a bloke named Tony Gauci, claimed he sold a piece of clothing to Megrahi, which was later found in the suitcase bomb. However, many have questioned Gauci’s credibility with one English Lord calling him ‘an apple short of a picnic’. Nice.
It wasn’t until January 31 2001 that the judges read their verdict of guilty. Megrahi spent the next eight and a half years behind bars, claiming innocence throughout.
When his prostate cancer began getting worse Scottish authorities granted Megrahi compassionate release so that he could live his final days at home with his family.
So did he do actually do it?
It’s still hard to tell for sure if he did. And to be honest, it looks like we’ll never know.
