SCOTLAND (BNO NEWS) — The following is a a factbox containing a timeline and background information of key events in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 in 1988 and the events that followed until his release on Thursday.

* Pan Am Flight 103 was blown up over Lockerbie on its journey from London to New York on December, 21, 1988.
* All 259 passengers and crew as well as 11 residents on the ground in Lockerbie were killed.
* A joint investigation between the Scottish police and US authorities took place which led to the UK and the US accusing Mr Al-Megrahi and Mr Fhima of involvement in 1991.
* In 1999, Libya finally agreed to hand-over both suspects to the Scottish Courts. A specially convened Scottish Court was set up at ‘Camp Zeist’ in the Netherlands, where the trial was held. The trial commenced in May 2000.
* Mr Al-Megrahi was convicted of murder, and Mr Fhimah was acquitted in January 2001. Mr Al-Megrahi immediately appealed his conviction, but this was rejected in 2002.
* Mr Al-Megrahi was sentenced to ‘life-imprisonment’, with a ‘punishment part’ of 27 years. This requires that Mr Al-Megrahi must serve at least 27 years before he would be eligible for early release.
* At the request of Mr Al-Megrahi, the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission (SCCRC) reviewed his case – starting in 2003. In 2007 the SCCRC referred his case back to the High Court on the basis that there ‘may have been a miscarriage of justice’ and it was ‘in the interests of justice’. This appeal commenced in proper this year, however there have been numerous procedural hearings – some of which considered how many grounds of appeal should be heard: the SCCRC referred on six grounds but the appellant successfully argued that all grounds of appeal should be heard, which amounts to over 48 grounds. Grounds 1 and 2 (Unreasonable Verdict and Insufficient Evidence) were heard in April and May of this year – no Opinion of the Court has yet been given. The next grounds were not scheduled to be heard until November 2009.
* The Scottish Ministers received an application from the Libyan Government requesting the transfer of Mr Al-Megrahi, under the terms of the Prisoner Transfer Agreement, on May 5th, 2009.
* An application from Mr Al-Megrahi requesting compassionate release was received by the Scottish Ministers on July 24, 2009.
* Friday August 14, 2009: Mr Al-Megrahi’s legal team announced that they had lodged a minute with the court seeking the leave (permission) of the court to abandon both his appeal against conviction and his appeal against sentence.
* Tuesday August, 18, 2009: Court gives leave to Mr Al-Megrahi to abandon his appeal.
* Thursday August 20, 2009: Scottish Justice Secretary rejects the transfer of Mr Al-Megrahi under the Prison Transfer Agreement.
* Thursday August 20, 2009: Mr. Al-Megrahi is released on compassionate reasons after being diagnosed with cancer.

BACKGROUND: Prisoner Transfer process

* The Repatriation of Prisoners Act 1984, enables, under certain circumstances, persons who have received a custodial sentence in a country other than their own to be transferred to their home country to serve the remainder of their sentence.
* A Prisoner Transfer Agreement, of which the UK has over 100, is an agreement with another country or nation to allow repatriation of prisoners to serve the remainder of their sentence in their home country.
* A Prisoner Transfer Agreement was negotiated between the UK and Libyan Governments. When the prospect of a Prisoner Transfer Agreement was first raised, the Scottish Government expressed concern and requested to the UK Government that there be an exclusion in the agreement preventing anyone convicted of involvement in the Lockerbie Air Disaster from being considered for transfer. This exclusion was not included in the Prisoner Transfer Agreement, and it was ratified by the UK Government in April 2009.
* Under the Repatriation of Prisoners Act 1984, it is for the Scottish Ministers to decide upon any application for prisoners in Scottish prisons – in practice it is the decision of the Cabinet Secretary for Justice, Mr Kenny MacAskill MSP.

BACKGROUND: Application on behalf of Mr Al-Megrahi

* The Scottish Ministers received an application from the Libyan Government requesting the transfer of Mr Al-Megrahi, under the terms of the Prisoner Transfer Agreement, on May 5th, 2009.
* Article 3 of the PTA sets out five conditions which are required to be met to allow transfer, these are:
(a) the prisoner is a national of the receiving State;
(b) the judgement is final and no other criminal proceedings relating to the offence or any other offence committed by the prisoner are pending in the transferring State;
(c) at the time of the receipt of the request for the transfer, the prisoner still has at least six months of the sentence to serve;
(d) the acts or omissions on account of which the sentence has been imposed constitute a criminal offence according to the law of the receiving State or would constitute a criminal offence if committed on its territory; and
(e) the transferring and receiving States agree to the transfer.
* As part of the consideration of the application, Mr MacAskill has met or spoken with those that submitted relevant representations, this included:
- The US Attorney General (26 June)
- The US Secretary of State (13 August)
- The Libyan Government (6 July)
- UK families of victims (1 July)
- US families of victims (9 July)
- Families from Lockerbie (23 July)
- Mr Al-Megrahi (5 August)
* On August 20, 2009, Scottish Justice Secretary MacAskill denied Al-Megrahi’s release under the Prisoner Transfer Agreement.

BACKGROUND: Compassionate Release process

* Section 3 of the Prisoners and Criminal Proceedings (Scotland) Act 1993 gives the Scottish Ministers the power to release prisoners on licence on compassionate grounds. This process is akin to the system of medical parole that exists in many other jurisdictions.
* The Act requires that Ministers are satisfied that there are compassionate grounds justifying the release of a person serving a sentence of imprisonment. Although the Act does not specify what the grounds for compassionate release are, generally it encompasses:
- those suffering from a terminal illness and death is likely to occur soon. There are no fixed time limits but life expectancy of less than three months may be considered an appropriate period;
- where the prisoner is severely incapacitated; or
- where continued imprisonment would, in light of the conditions in which the prisoner is being held, endanger or shorten his or her life expectancy.

BACKGROUND: Application from Mr Al-Megrahi

* An application from Mr Al-Megrahi requesting compassionate release was received by the Scottish Ministers on July 24, 2009.
* In accordance with normal procedure, the application was forwarded to the Scottish Prison Service, where the Prison Governor, Social Work, and medical staff provide advice on the application. Each report supported that Mr Al-Megrahi was suitable for compassionate release.
* The Act requires that the Parole Board is also consulted. The Parole Board advised that Mr Al-Megrahi was suitable for compassionate release.
* When compassionate release is granted, the prisoner is released on licence. The licence sets out a range of conditions, including conditions on residence. However, the Scottish Justice Secretary said on August 20 that residing in Scotland was not an option.