Lockerbie Timeline

December 2008 – Pan Am flight 103 explodes over Lockerbie, killing 243 passengers, 16 crew and 11 on the ground
November 1991 – Libyan nationals Abdelbaset Al-Megrahi and al-Amin Khalifa Fhimah are accused of 270 counts of murder
January 2001 – After a trial at Camp Zeist, a neutral court set up in the Netherlands, Fhimah is acquitted. Al-Megrahi is found guilty and sentenced to a minimum of 27 years in a Scottish prison
February 2001 – Al-Megrahi launches his appeal
March 2002 – The appeal is thrown out
September 2003 – Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission (SCCRC) are charged to investigate a possible miscarriage of justice in Al-Megrahi’s conviction
June 2007 – SCCRC grant Al-Megrahi a second appeal after finding 6 reasons why there may have been a miscarriage of justice
October 2008 – Jim Swire, father of a victim of the Lockerbie bombing calls for the infirm Al-Megrahi to be released after he is diagnosed with prostate cancer
August 2009 – Al-Megrahi drops his second appeal
September 2009 – Al-Megrahi is released on compassionate grounds, doctors says he has just months to live and is flown back to Libya. Justice minister, Kenny MacAskill, faces questions over his decision
February 2012 – Despite doctors concerns, Al-Megrahi remains alive and maintains his innocence

Also see:

Gas leak in North Sea