They were risk takers, dreamers, planners, leaders. They stimulated their teachers to work harder and be smarter. They wanted more than a simple education. They were willing to try the new and the different. They were cherished by their families and friends. And with terrifying suddenness, they were gone. As swiftly as a thought of death, it was harsh reality, a reality that became far too common in our time.
Thirty-five students studying abroad with Syracuse University were struck down from the sky on Pan Am Flight on December 21, , along with other passengers and eleven Lockerbie residents, victims of a terrorist bombing. Those who knew and loved these people will never forget the moment they discovered the nearly unbearable truth.
In , the U. Security Council imposed arms sales and air travel sanctions against Libya to prod Moammar Gadhafi, the country's leader, into surrendering the two suspects. One man — former Libyan intelligence official Abdel Baset al-Megrahi — was convicted in the Netherlands of the bombing, and a second Libyan suspect was acquitted of all charges.
Al-Megrahi was given a life sentence, but Scottish authorities released him on humanitarian grounds in when he was diagnosed with prostate cancer. He later died in Tripoli. We'll notify you here with news about. Turn on desktop notifications for breaking stories about interest? That same day, Mr Masud reportedly returned to Tripoli.
Several days later, he and another co-conspirator allegedly met with a senior intelligence official, who praised their work. Kara Weipz, whose brother was killed in the bombing, said at the news conference: "We are justified, vindicated, our patience and persistence has proved fruitful with this decision today.
Ahead of the briefing, some UK families had criticised the timing of the charges to fall on the anniversary of the attack, accusing the US justice department of using the case for "propaganda purposes". John Mosey, whose year-old daughter was killed in the bombing, said he would not accept the invitation to remotely attend the event. Mr Mosey wrote that he and his wife felt the timing was "bizarre, disrespectful, insensitive and extremely ill considered".
Mr Mosey added that why the attack "was allowed to happen is a far more important question to us than 'who did it? Libyan national Abdelbaset al-Megrahi is the only man convicted, in , over the bombing.
Megrahi, who always proclaimed his innocence, launched two appeals against his year sentence, one was unsuccessful and the other was abandoned. Megrahi was released from prison in Scotland and allowed to return to Libya on compassionate grounds in after it emerged that he had terminal cancer.
He died three years later. A Scottish court is now considering a posthumous appeal against his conviction by his family. According to the FBI, the alleged bomb-maker Mr Masud is said to have admitted in his jailhouse confession that he bought the clothes which investigators say were wrapped around the bomb in the Samsonsite suitcase. This would appear to contradict a key piece of evidence in the Scottish prosecution of Megrahi - that it was him who bought the clothing.
However, Mr Masud also allegedly said in his Libyan jailhouse interview that his fellow intelligence operative Megrahi was his co-conspirator in the bomb plot. Lockerbie bomber conviction to be reviewed. Megrahi family lodge appeal bid. Timeline: Lockerbie bombing. Image source, Getty Images. A total of people died in the Lockerbie bombing on 21 December The town scarred by Pan Am flight Wreaths laid to mark Lockerbie bombing 30th anniversary Timeline: Lockerbie bombing.
What did Mr Barr say?
0コメント