Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi (born April 1, 1952) is a former Libyan intelligence officer, head of security for Libyan Arab Airlines, and director of the Center for Strategic Studies in Tripoli. [1] On January 31, 2001, he was convicted, by a panel of Scottish judges sitting in a special court in the Netherlands, of 270 counts of murder for his part in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, on December 21, 1988. He was sentenced to 27 years in prison. His co-accused, Al Amin Khalifa Fhimah was acquitted. This work is copyrighted. ... April 1 is the 91st day of the year (92nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 274 days remaining. ... 1952 was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Libyan Arab Airlines (in Arabic: الخطوط الجوية العربية الليبية) is the national airline of Libya. ... Tripoli (population 1. ... January 31 is the 31st day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 2001: A Space Odyssey Dr. Dre 2001 2001 is a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The nose, containing the flight crew and first-class section, landed in a farmers field near a tiny church in Tundergarth, Scotland Pan Am Flight 103 was blown up as it flew over Lockerbie, Scotland, on December 21, 1988, when 12–16 oz (340 – 450 g) of plastic explosive... Lockerbie is a small town with a population of 4,009 (Census 2001) located in the Dumfries and Galloway region in south-western Scotland. ... Scotland (Alba in Scottish Gaelic) is a country in northwest Europe and a constituent nation of the United Kingdom. ... December 21 is the 355th day of the year (356th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1988 is a leap year starting on a Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Megrahi's appeal against his conviction was refused on March 14, 2002, [2] and a further appeal to the European Court of Human Rights was turned down in July 2003. He continues to protest his innocence from prison in Greenock, near Glasgow. By September 2005 the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission [3] is expected to rule on whether there has been a miscarriage of justice in Megrahi's case and whether to allow a fresh appeal to the High Court of Justiciary. March 14 is the 73rd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (74th in Leap years) with 292 days remaining in the year. ... 2002 is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The ECHR should not be mistaken for the European Court of Justice, an institution of the European Union for the resolution of disputes under EU law. ... Greenock (Grianaig in Scottish Gaelic) is a town in the district of Inverclyde in western Scotland. ... Glasgows location in Scotland Glasgow (or Glaschu in Gaelic) is Scotlands largest city, on the River Clyde in west central Scotland. ... September is the ninth month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar and one of four Gregorian months with the length of 30 days. ... 2005 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar and is the current year. ... A miscarriage of justice is primarily the conviction and punishment of a person for a crime that they did not commit. ... The High Court of Justiciary is Scotlands supreme criminal court. ...

He is married to Aisha, and has four sons, including Khaleb who attended the trial, and a daughter, Ghada. According to British newspaper articles published during his trial, he was born in Tripoli, and was educated in the United States and United Kingdom.

Background

Megrahi was first indicted for murder in November 1991, and allegedly remained under house arrest in Tripoli until he was extradited in April 1999. He was handed over to Scottish police after being listed on the FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list, which offered a $4-million-award from the U.S. Airline Pilots Association, Air Transport Association, and Department of State, and $50,000 from the FBI, for information leading to his arrest. [4] Protracted negotiations with Colonel Muammar Gadaffi and the imposition of United Nations economic sanctions against Libya eventually secured Megrahi's extradition. In the common law legal system, an indictment is a formal charge of having committed a serious criminal offense. ... 1991 is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Tripoli (population 1. ... Extradition is a formal process by which a criminal suspect held by one government is handed over to another government for trial or, if the suspect has already been tried and found guilty, to serve his or her sentence. ... 1999 is a common year starting on Friday of the Common Era, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ... The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) maintains a public list of the people it regards as the ten most wanted fugitives. ... The United States Department of State, often referred to as the State Department, is the Cabinet-level foreign affairs agency of the United States government, equivalent to foreign ministries in other countries. ... Official FBI Seal The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is a Federal police force which is the principal investigative arm of the United States Department of Justice (DOJ). ... Colonel Muammar al-Qaddafi Muammar Abu Minyar al-Qaddafi 1 (Arabic: معمر القذافي Mu`ammar al-Qadhdhāfī) (born 1942), has been the leader of Libya since 1969. ... The United Nations, or UN, is an international organization established in 1945 and now made up of 191 states. ... Economic sanctions are economic penalties applied by one country (or group of countries) on another for a variety of reasons. ...

References

• Profile of Megrahi CNN
• Pan Am 103 - Lockerbie verdict
• Pan Am 103 - Lockerbie appeal judgement

Further reading

• Pan Am 103 - Lockerbie: the judges