Gaddafi's spies were behind Lockerbie bombing, uncovered documents claim
Documents published in The Murderer Who Must Be Saved, by French investigative journalists Karl Laske and Vincent Nouzille and Libyan activist Samir Shegwara, are claimed to be the first written evidence that Libya's intelligence service was behind the 1988 bombing.
The book reveals the existence of files allegedly seized from the archives of Abdullah Senussi, Libya's former intelligence chief, who is understood to be in jail in the North African country.
The BBC, which has seen the documents, says the papers appear to implicate Abu Agila Masud Kheir Al-Marimi, known as Masud, who is accused of building the bomb and is due to stand trial in the United States.
Masud pleaded not guilty to the charges after appearing in court in Washington in December 2022.
The documents also appear to implicate Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi, who was convicted of playing a central role in the bombing, the BBC reported.
Mr Laske and Mr Nouzille said the documents were provided by Mr Shegwara, who took part in the 2011 uprising against Colonel Gaddafi. The journalists spent four years checking their contents with contacts and against information already in the public domain, the broadcaster said.
'Samir Shegwara's not interested in money or in revenge. He just wants these documents to go public for truth and for history and for justice,' Mr Nouzille said.
The device that brought down Pan Am Flight 103 on Dec 21 1988, killing all 259 passengers and crew and 11 residents in the Scottish town, was concealed in a suitcase.
A copy of one of the documents seen by the BBC records states its subject matter as: 'Experiments on the use of the suitcase and testing its effectiveness.'
The handwritten report is labelled 'top secret' and dated Oct 4 1988, with the sender given as the Information and Strategic Studies Centre, in Tripoli, headed at the time by Megrahi. It allegedly refers to the involvement of Masud.
If authenticated, US prosecutors are expected to use the documents during Masud's trial, which is expected to begin in Washington later this year.
The FBI says that Masud was a Libyan intelligence agent who acted alongside Megrahi. His trial was due to get underway on May 12, but the US government and the accused's defence have asked for it to be delayed.
A motion filed by prosecutors asked for the scheduled start date to be set aside due to Masud's ill health and the complexity of the case.
In 2001, three Scottish judges convicted Megrahi for his role in the bombing but he was freed in 2009 on compassionate grounds as he had terminal cancer. He died in Tripoli, aged 60, in May 2012.
His conviction has been upheld twice on appeal despite claims – including by Jim Swire, whose daughter Flora died in the atrocity – that Megrahi was innocent.
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