Jury still out
Crucial questions remain unanswered following the Lockerbie trial verdict, in which one defendant was sentenced to life imprisonment and the second walked free. Even the judges' summary concedes that uncertainties remain, for they said 'it is possible to read into a mass of conflicting evidence a pattern or conclusion which is not really justified'.
The man indicted, Abdel Basset Ali al-Megrahi, clearly did not act alone. And it is possible Libya was not the only country involved in the atrocity.
But for relatives of the 270 people who died when Pan Am flight 103 crashed out of the sky on to the small Scottish town of Lockerbie in December 1988, this verdict brought at least some kind of justice. It followed long years when it seemed as if justice would never come.
It has taken a 13-year campaign to bring about and conclude a unique trial, presided over by three Scottish judges, sitting in the Netherlands, who heard a case against two citizens rendered up by Libya. The court ruling now frees the families to pursue civil action against Libya, and both the US and Britain will continue to press Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi to acknowledge his country's guilt and to compensate the victims.
Until Libya agrees to honour penalties arising from civil action in the Scottish courts, separate UN and US sanctions continue. The new administration in Washington under President George W. Bush is adamant that Libya has not yet been rehabilitated, and that formal lifting of sanctions at this stage would confer legitimacy that Libya does not deserve.
However, UN sanctions were suspended when the men were handed over for trial, and many countries have taken advantage of that to resume business contacts. For example, Britain has restored full diplomatic relations. Behind these moves lies the belief that rogue states are more easily contained when they are brought into the international fold. There also are other geo-political considerations, not least the country's abundant oil supplies.
There will be relief all round once Libya finds redemption, especially in the Arab world and among states with whom the US seeks better relations. But the full Lockerbie story is yet to be told. Perhaps the Scottish public inquiry which relatives are now urging will be able to fill in the gaps.
