A CALL for an independent inquiry into the conviction of the man jailed for the Lockerbie bombing will come before MSPs when they return to Holyrood next week.
Justice for Megrahi (JfM), a campaign group whose members believe Abdelbaset al-Megrahi is not guilty of planting the device that brought down Pan Am flight 103 in December 1988, first lodged the petition in 2010.
It has been kept open pending completion of a Police Scotland report into allegations made by them against the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS), the police and forensic officials involved in the investigation and legal processes relating to Megrahi’s conviction after his trial at the specially convened Scottish Court at Kamp van Zeist in the Netherlands.
The allegations range from perverting the course of justice to perjury. MSPs on the Scottish Parliament’s Justice Committee will discuss the petition on Tuesday.
Operation Sandwood is the Police Scotland investigation into the group’s claims. Papers lodged at Holyrood indicate that committee clerks understand that inquiries are continuing and, “although in its final stages, there are certain aspects that are not fully concluded”.
Police Scotland are not yet in a position to suggest when the Operation Sandwood report will be made public.
Once it is completed, the report will be submitted “to an independently appointed Queen’s Counsel appointed by Police Scotland before going to the Crown Office”.
Megrahi died five years ago, and the latest move comes as the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission (SCCRC) considers an application from his family to appeal against his conviction.
His relatives joined lawyer Aamer Anwar in Glasgow in July to lodge the appeal papers with the SCCRC.
In a letter to the committee last month, JfM said the Sandwood report was of “direct significance” to the SCCRC’s considerations.
“JfM’s sole interest remains acquiring justice for the victims of Pan Am 103, their families and friends, and those whom we regard as having been wrongly accused and convicted,” they said. “As your committee members will understand this report is central to any further analysis of the Lockerbie tragedy, is of direct significance to the ongoing SCCRC consideration of the Megrahi family’s submission for another appeal and is vital if the massive stain on the Scottish justice system is ever to be removed.”
They and Police Scotland maintained a “highly valued and constructive rapport”, the group said, adding: “JfM has complete confidence in the work of Police Scotland on its behalf regarding JfM’s various allegations of criminality associated with the conviction of Mr al-Megrahi.
“Our present understanding is that the Police Scotland Operation Sandwood Report is in its final stages and will be available to the Lord Advocate at some stage this year.”
Megrahi had previously applied to the SCCRC in 2003, when his case was referred to the High Court for appeal in 2007.
However, the appeal was abandoned in 2009, ahead of his return to Libya after being released from Greenock jail on compassionate grounds.
He died from prostate cancer in 2012, and a new application was made on his behalf in 2014, but this was rejected the following year because the commission did not have access to appeal materials from 2007-09.
The bomb on board Pan Am Flight 103 ripped through the fuselage, killing all 243 passengers and 16 crew. Large sections of the aircraft fell on the town of Lockerbie, killing another 11 people on the ground.
Megrahi, a Libyan intelligence officer and head of security for Libyan Arab Airlines, was found guilty of 270 counts of murder and jailed for life. His co-accused Al Amin Khalifa Fhimah walked free after being cleared.
JfM have asked the Justice Committee to keep the petition open until the Crown Office considers the Operation Sandwood report and “any related decisions are made”.
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