Lockerbie suspect ‘is the attacker’ – MacAskill

Former Scottish Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill said he always believed a Libyan national, who will be tried in the US next year, was the Lockerbie attacker.

The terrorist attack on December 21, 1988 killed all 259 people on board Pan Am Flight 103 and 11 residents of the city of Dumfries and Galloway.

Abu Agila Massoud, who is accused of helping make the bomb, is scheduled to face trial in Washington in May on three charges, which he denies.

In 2001, former Libyan intelligence officer Abdelbaset al-Megrahi was convicted of killing 270 people by planting an explosive device on a civilian plane.

But prosecutors say he worked with others to carry out the attack.

MacAskill controversially released Megrahi on compassionate grounds in 2009 after he was diagnosed with terminal cancer.

The US announced charges against Masood in 2020 and he has now been in custody for two years.

speaking on bbc radio good morning scotland On the programme, MacAskill said: “I have always assumed he was a bomber.”

Speaking on the 36th anniversary of the attack, the acting Alba leader said Mr Massoud had “what you could call military skills”.

MacAskill said: “He is back and will face trial in the US, I believe he will be convicted, and he is the aggressor.”

He further added, “Megrahi did not have the skills to do it himself, but that does not mean that Megrahi had no role in the operation.”

MacAskill also defended his decision to release Megrahi, who was suffering from prostate cancer, in August 2009.

He returned to Libya but remained there until May 2012.

MacAskill said: “We have rules in place in Scotland for compassionate release.

“This is dealt with by medical experts. The report came that his prognosis was three months. On that basis I released him.

“He was no threat to Scotland, he was a sick man, he lived longer than expected but I think there are reasons for that.”

MacAskill, who was SNP justice secretary from 2007 to 2014, said: “I took the values ​​and laws we follow in Scotland and sent them home to see out the rest of their lives.”

Meanwhile, Scotland’s most senior law officer hopes the upcoming hearing will rebuild public confidence in the justice process.

Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain Casey described the atrocity as “the darkest day”.

But he believes Mr Massoud’s US trial will “fully explain” the circumstances of what happened.

Ms Benn said: “The bombing of Pan Am 103 over Lockerbie was the darkest day, but the dignity of the hundreds of families so terribly affected has always shone as a guiding light in the pursuit of justice.

“Prosecutors and police in Scotland, working with counterparts in the United States, have remained steadfast in our commitment to uncover the truth and hold those responsible to account.”

Ms Bain said Crown evidence from 227 witnesses was considered over 72 days before Megrahi was convicted in the original trial in a Scottish court in the Netherlands.

That decision has been upheld twice on appeal, he said.

The Lord Advocate said: “Despite this long-running and intensive investigation, I know that not everyone shares the same view of the Crown case.

“I have always believed in the power of the legal process as an instrument of fairness and public trust.

“The upcoming hearing in Washington will again bring the facts of this case before the public, and allow the circumstances of what happened to be fully understood.”

Scottish Secretary Iain Murray said the anniversary was a time for reflection.

He added, “Our thoughts are with the families and friends of the 270 people who died in the air and on the ground, and with all those in the city who witnessed such devastation firsthand.”

Public interest in Lockerbie would also be rekindled by two television dramas and a play the following year.

a new play, Lockerbie: the search for truthStarring Oscar winner Colin Firth, it is due to air on Sky Atlantic on January 2.

This will be followed by a six-part BBC series later in the year.

And in autumn a new stage production The reopening of the Citizens Theater in Glasgow is about the city of Lockerbie’s response to the Pan Am disaster.

Earlier this month, Scotland’s prosecution service said parts of the wreckage of the downed plane were being transferred to the US as evidence ahead of trial.

The Boeing 747 aircraft exploded over Lockerbie 40 minutes after taking off from London to New York.

Megrahi is the only person convicted in connection with the bombings, having been found guilty of 270 counts of murder by a panel of three Scottish judges sitting in a special court in The Hague in 2001.