Menendez, Lautenberg Call on Secretary Clinton and AG Holder to Seek Justice For Pan Am 103 Bombing

Washington - U.S. Senators Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ) and Robert Menendez (D-NJ) are urging Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Attorney General Eric Holder to continue working to bring to justice those responsible for the Pan Am 103 bombing, which killed 189 Americans, as well as to return convicted terrorist Abdelbaset al-Megrahi to prison.Megrahi is the only person convicted of the Pan Am 103 bombing and was released from prison on August 20, 2009 under the presumption he had only three months to live.In the letter to Secretary Clinton and Attorney General Holder, the Senators noted that the current upheaval within the Libyan government presents new opportunities to gather information and demand accountability for this heinous crime.

"Defecting Libyan officials like former Foreign Minister Moussa Koussa may hold valuable information regarding the Pan Am 103 bombing - or may be culpable themselves,"wrote Senators Lautenberg and Menendez."The U.S. case to prosecute this heinous crime remains open and our government must do everything possible to gather evidence and any information that could help bring all of those responsible, including Qaddafi, to justice."

A copy of their letter to Secretary Clinton and Attorney General Holder can be found here and the text is copied below:

June 15, 2011

The Honorable Hillary Clinton, Secretary

U.S. Department of State

2201 C Street, NW

Washington, DC 20520

The Honorable Eric Holder, Attorney General

U.S. Department of Justice

950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW

Washington, DC 20530

Dear Secretary Clinton and Attorney General Holder:

As high-level Libyan officials continue to defect from the Qaddafi regime, we urge you to do everything in your power to obtain information regarding and hold the responsible parties accountable for the bombing of Pan Am 103 and other terrorist attacks perpetrated by Libyan officials.

Defecting Libyan officials like former Foreign Minister Moussa Koussa may hold valuable information regarding the Pan Am 103 bombing - or may be culpable themselves.The U.S. case to prosecute this heinous crime remains open and our government must do everything possible to gather evidence and any information that could help bring all of those responsible, including Qaddafi, to justice.

As you know, the only person that has been convicted in the Pan Am bombing is now living freely in Libya.On August 20, 2009, the Scottish government released al-Megrahi, based on the assertion that he had less than three months to live.Almost 22 months later, the convicted terrorist is living in luxury in Libya.The families of the victims of Pan Am 103 waited over a decade to see justice with the conviction of Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, only to have that justice taken away.This is an entirely unacceptable situation and every effort must be made to return al-Megrahi to prison.

The current upheaval in the Libyan government provides a new opportunity to demand responsibility for this act of terrorism.While we recognize there are many critical foreign policy decisions to be made with regard to Libya at this extraordinary time, we ask that justice for the Lockerbie bombing victims and their families remain a top priority and not be overlooked.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

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