Fight to clear name of convicted Lockerbie bomber al-Megrahi

Six immediate members of Abdelbaset al-Megrahi’s family have joined forces with 24 British relatives of those who died in the atrocity to seek, ultimately, a third appeal against his conviction in the Scottish courts.

Campaigners say they are still “desperately seeking to get to the truth” 25 years after their loved ones were murdered and two years on from Megrahi’s death.

They have united to submit an application to the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission (SCCRC) for a review of the conviction, a move which could see the case referred back to the High Court.

They claim to have evidence that Megrahi was pressured by Ministers to drop his second appeal.

Reversal of the guilty verdict would expose the US and UK governments “as having lived a monumental lie for 25 years”, their lawyers claim.

Quoting Megrahi’s relatives, their solicitor, Aamer Anwar, said: “’We, the family of Abdelbaset Al-Megrahi, will keep fighting for justice to find out who was responsible for 271 victims of the Lockerbie disaster.’

“They, of course, include Mr Megrahi as its 271st victim.”

Prosecutors said they do not fear scrutiny of the conviction.

Megrahi was found guilty of the 1988 bombing of Pan Am flight 103 over Scotland on December 21 in which 270 people were killed.

He was jailed for life and lost his first appeal against the mass murder conviction in 2002.

An investigation by the SCCRC led to a finding in 2007 of six grounds where it believed a miscarriage of justice may have occurred, paving the way for a second appeal.

But Megrahi dropped that appeal in 2009 before being released from jail by the Scottish government on compassionate grounds in light of his terminal cancer.

The latest move is believed to be the first time in UK legal history that relatives of murdered victims have united with the relatives of a convicted deceased in such a way.

The members of Megrahi’s family involved have not being identified owing to concerns for their safety.

Mr Anwar and campaigner Jim Swire yesterday submitted three volumes of papers to the SCCRC in Glasgow, launching their application. Dr Swire, whose 23-year-old daughter Flora died in the bombing, said: “As relatives, we want to know all that is known about who was responsible for murdering our lovely families all those years ago.

“Who did it? Why am I and other relatives still desperately seeking to get to the truth 25 years after our families were murdered?”

The fact that Megrahi’s own family have chosen to take forward an appeal bid could boost its chances of getting back to court.

It is expected to be several months before the review body makes a decision on any way forward.

The commission will be asked to reconfirm the six grounds of appeal it cited in 2007.

The application will also focus on “question marks” over material evidence, allegations of the Crown’s non-disclosure of evidence and claims he was convicted on the word of a Maltese shopkeeper who “gave a false description” of him.