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Lockerbie bomber's family launch posthumous appeal against mass murder conviction

The Lockerbie bombing in 1988 is the worst terrorist atrocity ever committed in the UK - killing 270 people from 21 countries.

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New bid to clear Lockerbie bomber's name
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The family of the man found guilty of the Lockerbie bombing which killed 270 people in 1988 has lodged a third appeal against his conviction.

Abdelbaset al-Megrahi - now deceased - was sentenced to life imprisonment for mass murder in 2001.

The wrecked nose section of the Pan-Am Boeing 747 lies in a Scottish field at Lockerbie, near Dumfries
Image: The wrecked nose section of the Pan Am Boeing 747 pictured in a field near Dumfries

Everyone on board Pan Am flight 103 was killed when a suitcase bomb on the plane exploded over the Scottish town of Lockerbie on 21 December.

Another 11 people were killed on the ground when the Boeing 747, which had just taken off from London bound for New York, exploded in the AG百家乐在线官网 over the small Scottish town.

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A first appeal against Megrahi's conviction in 2002 was unsuccessful and a second appeal in 2009 was abandoned.

However, later in 2009 Megrahi was released from prison on compassionate grounds, returning to Libya where he died from prostate cancer three years later.

More on Lockerbie

Police officers stand among debris left in the Scottish town of Lockerbie
Image: Police officers stand among debris left in the Scottish town of Lockerbie after the 1988 atrocity

His widow Aisha and son Ali have now put forward a posthumous appeal to overturn his murder conviction.

It is for the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission (SCCRC) to decide whether there are grounds to refer the case to the appeal court.

It is believed the new appeal bid is based on concerns over the evidence that convicted the former head of security for Libyan Arab Airlines, including that given by Maltese shopkeeper Tony Gauci, who died last year.

The family of Abdelbaset Al-Megrahi
Image: Aamer Anwar (centre), the lawyer of Abdelbaset Al-Megrahi

Megrahi's lawyer, Aamer Anwar, said "the reputation of Scottish law" had suffered due to doubts over the conviction.

He went on to say "the only place to determine whether a miscarriage of justice did occur is in the appeal court, where the evidence can be subjected to rigorous scrutiny".

He confirmed that "six main grounds have been lodged".

The move has the support of Dr Jim Swire and Rev John Mosey, who both lost daughters in the bombing.

Dr Swire's daughter died in the Lockerbie bombing
Image: Dr Swire (R) and Rev Mosey both lost daughters in the bombing

Dr Swire, whose 23-year-old daughter Flora, a medical student, was flying to spend Christmas with her American boyfriend, said: "We're after the truth about who murdered our families.

"Many years ago we met the late Nelson Mandela, who told us no one country should be complainant, prosecutor and judge. As things have worked out, now 28 years later, Scotland has all three roles.

"We look on this as an opportunity where Scotland can look again at the evidence that is now available and see whether she stands by the verdict that was originally reached."

Rev Mosey, whose 19-year-old daughter Helga was returning from her gap year in the US to collect a music prize, said he felt "encouraged and optimistic" that the appeal "may discover the truth".

He said he hoped to "find out why with at least 14 very specific warnings, photographs of the bomb, a flight route, an airline and time frame of two weeks, nothing was done to protect the public".

He went on to say the aim wasn't "to hang anyone out to dry", but that they simply wanted "honesty and transparency".

When asked when the families would get justice, he replied: "I'm not quite sure I understand what justice is, but as soon as we can. We've not given up in 28 years."

The bombing is the worst terrorist atrocity ever committed in the UK.