Lockerbie bombing suspect due to appear in US court

The Pan Am flight was bombed just days before Christmas

A Libyan man who has been accused of being the Lockerbie bomber is due to appear in court in the United States.

Abi Agila Masud was allegedly a member of the Libyan intelligence services when Pan Am flight 103 was brought down in 1988, killing 270 people.

The US justice department announced charges against Masud on the 32nd anniversary of the atrocity in 2020.

The Scottish and US authorities have now confirmed he is in custody in Washington.

He is expected to appear in court at 18:00 GMT.

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It comes as a leading campaigner for families of the Scottish victims has called for Masud to be tried in a court chosen by the United Nations.

Dr Jim Swire, whose daughter Flora died in the 1988 bombing of Pan Am flight 103, said the trial should not take place in the US or Scotland.

Other families have welcomed news he will be tried in the United States.

Abdelbaset al-Megrahi remains the only man to be convicted over the attack but Dr Swire doubts the involvement of both Megrahi and Masud in the bombing.

Dr Swire told BBC Radio's Good Morning Scotland programme that Nelson Mandela had said that "no one country should be complainant, prosecutor and judge" in the case of the Lockerbie bombing.

He made the intervention at a Commonwealth heads of government meeting in 1997 in Edinburgh.

"There are so many loose ends that hang from this dreadful case, largely emanating from America, that I think we should remember what Mandela said to the world and to us then, and seek a court that is free of being beholden to any nation directly involved in the atrocity itself," Dr Swire said.

He added: "I think (the trial) should not take place in America. I think, in view of what we now know about how Scotland handled the case, it should not take place in Scotland."

He said the United Nations should instead choose an "appropriate" court to hold Masud's trial and also review the evidence against Megrahi.

"What we've always been after amongst the British relatives is the truth and not a fabrication that might seem to be replacing the truth," he added.

The Rev John Mosey, whose daughter Helga died in the bombing, also questioned why Masud would face trial in the United States.

He told the BBC: "What is he doing in America? This was a crime committed above Scottish soil."

The Lockerbie bombing is the deadliest terrorist incident to have taken place on British soil.

All 259 passengers and crew on board the Boeing 747 bound to New York from London died while another 11 people were killed in Lockerbie when wreckage destroyed their homes.

Megrahi was jailed for life but was released on compassionate grounds by the Scottish government in 2009 after being diagnosed with cancer. He died in Libya in 2012.

Last month it was reported that Masud had been kidnapped by a militia group in Libya, leading to speculation that he was going to be handed over to the American authorities to stand trial.

A US Justice Department spokesperson told the Reuters news agency that Masud would make an initial appearance in a federal court in Washington.

Kara Weipz said there was 'finally a sense of justice' for loved ones

Kara Weipz, whose brother Richard Monetti was killed in the atrocity, said families felt a sense of justice for their loved ones.

Speaking to BBC Scotland, Ms Weipz said: "This is what the families have been fighting for, for almost 34 years - they've been fighting for justice, to see those who are guilty of this crime to be held accountable.

"To know now there's going to be a trial… there is a sense of finally justice for our loved ones.

"It's a victory in that sense. At the same time it doesn't change the fact that our loved ones were murdered and they're not here with us."

Ms Weipz also said there had been a strong desire among some of the victims' families to have any suspects tried under US law.

She said: "It's not a disrespect to Scottish law, it's just what we know. It's our system and this was a terrorist attack against a US carrier, there were 190 Americans on the plane.

"This is a terrorist attack against America too - the second largest in our history. I think that it's very important for us to have this trial in the US under our laws - it means everything to the US families."

Her father, Bob Monetti, said they faced difficulties keeping track of the Megrahi trial in the Netherlands

"If it's in the US, and especially Washington DC, there'll be a lot of press coverage and people will hear what's going on. There will be no confusion about what happened," he added.

Five years ago, Masud was serving a prison sentence in Libya for bomb-making.

It is alleged that during this time he confessed to being involved in the conspiracy with Megrahi to blow up the flight.

Megrahi's lawyer Aamer Anwar said Masud was actually in the custody of a war lord "widely condemned for human rights abuses".

He said the circumstances in which such a confession was extracted would be "strongly opposed" in any US or Scottish court.

Megrahi, who always proclaimed his innocence, launched two appeals against his 27-year sentence. One was unsuccessful and the other was abandoned.