Supreme Court rejects bid by family of Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset al-Megrahi to appeal ruling

The family of Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Al-Megrahi have had an application rejected which sought to appeal against a ruling that denied a bid to have his conviction overturned.

In January last year, the family had appealed against his conviction for the bombing on December 21, 1988.

However, judges rejected their claims for an appeal, meaning that the conviction would stand.

Megrahi was found guilty in 2001 of mass murder and jailed for life with a minimum term of 27 years.

He is the only person convicted of the attack.

Megrahi was released from prison in 2009 on compassionate grounds while terminally ill with cancer, and died in Libya in 2012.

His family described themselves as “heartbroken” at the January 2021 decision, and had stated their intention to appeal it at the UK Supreme Court.

However, the Supreme Court has now rejected their application for leave to appeal the decision.

Aamer Anwar, the human rights lawyer representing the family, issued a statement on Friday.

In the statement, the family stated that it would not be the “end of the matter” following the Supreme Court rejection.

“I am instructed to take the case back to the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission and to continue to pursue an appeal,” Anwar stated.

“I spoke today to Ali the son of the late Al-Megrahi and he said he was deeply disappointed in the decision of the UK Supreme Court.

“Ali told me he was eight years old when his father went to the Netherlands to stand trial.

“When his father returned to Libya to die, Ali spent most of his time next to his father and said that until his dying breath he maintained his innocence.”

Anwar continued: “The Megrahi’s regard their father as the 271st victim of Lockerbie.

“Ali said as a son he will not give up on his father’s dying wish to clear his name and that of Libya and has instructed myself as his family’s lawyer to continue with a further application to the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission.

“For my legal team it has been eight long years but for the families we represent, it has been 33 long years of struggle for truth and justice, sadly that struggle is not over.”