Where is the lockerbie bomber now

Megrahi was released from prison in Scotland and allowed to return to Libya on compassionate grounds in after it emerged that he had terminal cancer. He died three years later. A Scottish court is now considering a posthumous appeal against his conviction by his family.

According to the FBI, the alleged bomb-maker Mr Masud is said to have admitted in his jailhouse confession that he bought the clothes which investigators say were wrapped around the bomb in the Samsonsite suitcase. This would appear to contradict a key piece of evidence in the Scottish prosecution of Megrahi - that it was him who bought the clothing. However, Mr Masud also allegedly said in his Libyan jailhouse interview that his fellow intelligence operative Megrahi was his co-conspirator in the bomb plot.

Lockerbie bomber conviction to be reviewed. Megrahi family lodge appeal bid. Timeline: Lockerbie bombing. Image source, Getty Images. A total of people died in the Lockerbie bombing on 21 December The town scarred by Pan Am flight Wreaths laid to mark Lockerbie bombing 30th anniversary Timeline: Lockerbie bombing. What did Mr Barr say? This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.

Lockerbie bombing suspect charged by US Justice Department. A long wait. For Bill Barr, this has been a long time coming. Who is Abu Agila Mohammad Masud? Ken Dornstein on how he tracked down new Lockerbie suspects. What does the US allege? How have victims' families reacted? Image source, Reuters. Barr, Attorney General of the United States.

Our message to other terrorists around the world is this — you will not succeed — if you attack Americans, no matter where you are, no matter how long it takes, you will be pursued to the ends of the earth until justice is done.

We will never forget the loved ones who were lost, and we remain committed to continuing our work to achieve justice for the victims and their families. Attorney Michael R. Sherwin for the District of Columbia. In addition, these charges remind the public of the horrific effect that acts of terrorism continue to have on victims and their families.

It also remains the deadliest terrorist attack in the history of the United Kingdom — for all of these reasons we will never forget and the D. Pan Am Flight exploded into pieces almost instantaneously when a bomb in the forward cargo area exploded over Lockerbie, Scotland, at p. The plane had taken off from London-Heathrow and was en route to John F.

Kennedy Airport in New York. Citizens from 21 countries were killed, of that number Americans perished, including 35 Syracuse University students as they were returning home to the United States for the holidays after a semester studying abroad.

This international terrorist attack, planned by and executed by Libyan intelligence operatives, was considered the largest terrorist attack on both the United States and the United Kingdom before the terror attacks of Sept. Immediately after the disaster, Scottish and American law enforcement undertook a joint investigation that was unprecedented in its scope, and in November , it led to criminal charges in both countries, charging two Libyan intelligence operatives, Abdel Baset Ali al-Megrahi Megrahi and Lamen Khalifa Fhimah Fhimah with their roles in the bombing.

The criminal complaint filed today charges Masud with destruction of an aircraft resulting in death, in violation of 18 U. Neither the US justice department nor the Libyan authorities have commented on the issue.

He told the BBC at the time that the Libyan national was "a mystery figure" who was named in the initial investigation and "was said to have been a technical expert". The documentary alleged that Mr Masud had also been linked to a bombing at a disco in West Berlin in , which killed three people. It also reported that he was imprisoned in Libya over his role in the uprising that ousted Gaddafi. The jumbo jet's shattered nose, resting on its side in a Scottish field. The disaster became known, simply, as Lockerbie - by far the worst act of terrorism the UK had ever seen.

It spawned any number of theories about who was responsible, with fingers pointing, at one time or another, at Iran, Syria, Palestinian militants and, finally, Libya. The most persistent of those theories is that Iran was bent on revenge after one of its civilian airliners, Iran Air , was brought down over the Persian Gulf by a surface-to-air missile, fired in error by an American warship just five months earlier.

British officials have never believed this version of events and remain convinced Lockerbie was the work of Libyan agents, working under orders from the country's former dictator, Muammar Gaddafi.

News that the US authorities are on the verge of unveiling charges against a second Libyan, someone whose name was mentioned in the original investigation, would seem to bolster this belief. If the US case against Mr Masud is based on a confession made to Libyan interrogators in and handed over to the Scottish authorities in , as reported by the Wall Street Journal, then it could also affect legal proceedings in Scotland. A third, posthumous appeal against Abdelbaset al-Megrahi's conviction began at the High Court in Edinburgh last month.

US and British investigators indicted Megrahi in but he was not handed over by the Libyans until April May - A special trial under Scots law starts on neutral ground at Camp Zeist in the Netherlands. March - Megrahi loses an appeal against his conviction. May - Megrahi dies at his home in Tripoli, aged July - Scottish judges rule that relatives of the Lockerbie bombing victims should not be allowed to pursue an appeal on Megrahi's behalf.

Courts had previously ruled that only next of kin could proceed with a posthumous application.