An international search for victims of the Lockerbie bombing has been launched by the FBI almost 36 years after the atrocity which killed 270 people.
The US intelligence agency is looking for people directly affected by the 1988 attack on Pan Am 103, including through ‘emotional injury’.
The appeal comes ahead of the trial in a US federal court of Abu Agila Masud who is accused of the ‘destruction of an aircraft resulting in death’.
It is being made with a view to granting victims around the world remote access to the court proceedings in Washington DC.
In a notice reaching out to Lockerbie victims, the FBI says US Congress has passed legislation to make remote access to court proceedings available to victims in this case.
The bombing of PanAm flight 103 in December 1988 killed 11 people in the Scottish town of Lockerbie and all the passengers and crew on board the plane
It defines victims as those who were at or near the scene in Lockerbie when the bombing happened or a close relation or person of similar significance to someone killed or harmed in the attack.
All 259 passengers and crew aboard the London to New York flight were killed when the device detonated. A further 11 Lockerbie residents died as wreckage fell on their homes.
The US announced charges against Libyan Masud in 2020 on the 32nd anniversary of the bombing, with the then Attorney General William P. Barr saying the operation was ordered by the leadership of Libyan intelligence. He also claimed Muammar Gaddafi, Libya’s leader from 1969 to 2011, had personally thanked Masud for his work.
At the time the charges were revealed, Mas’ud was in Libyan custody in an unrelated case. He was taken into US custody in December 2022 and his trial is due to begin next May.
He will be the first person accused of playing a part in the bombing to be tried in a US court.
Abdelbaset Al Megrahi and co-accused Al Amin Khalifa Fahima stood trial in a Scottish court sitting in the Netherlands during 2000 and 2001. Megrahi was found guilty of mass murder and sent to Scotland to serve his life. Fahima was acquitted and returned to Libya.
Abu Agila Mohammad Masud Kheir Al-Marimi, who is in custody, is accused of making the bomb that brought down Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie 36 years ago
The Scottish Government released terminally ill Megrahi on compassionate grounds in 2009, three years before he died of cancer.
Jim Swire, who lost his daughter Flora in the bombing, has long believed Megrahi was innocent and doubted Libya’s involvement.
Dr Swire welcomed the decision to define people who witnessed what happened in Lockerbie as victims of the bombing, if they suffered harm.
He told the BBC: ‘Those affected by any disaster should never be restricted from access to the consequences of that disaster.
‘So I think it’s a good move that I entirely endorse.’
In a message accompanying the FBI request, the bureau said: ‘We understand that this notice may be unexpected and raise questions for many who are connected to this tragedy.
‘Please accept our apologies for any apprehensions caused by this sudden outreach, and rest assured that we have a team of dedicated individuals prepared to address any concerns you may have about this process.’
A spokesperson for the Crown Office said they were continuing to support the US Department of Justice and the FBI in the prosecution of Masud.
