SECRETARY-GENERAL, FOLLOWING DECISION IN LOCKERBIE TRIAL APPEAL, SAYS FAMILIES CAN PERHAPS NOW CLOSE 'TRAGIC CHAPTER'

SECRETARY-GENERAL, FOLLOWING DECISION IN LOCKERBIE TRIAL APPEAL,

SAYS FAMILIES CAN PERHAPS NOW CLOSE 'TRAGIC CHAPTER'

The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for Secretary-General Kofi Annan:

The Lockerbie trial understandably has been followed with great interest, and has caused anguish to many.  The families of the victims have beensuffering eversince this tragic event, and the Secretary-General shares their sorrow.  With today’s decision by the Court, the time may now have come when these families can at last close this tragic chapter in their lives.

As has been agreed with all the parties concerned, the United Nations Secretariat will now enter into appropriate arrangements with the British authorities to monitor the conditions of Abdel Basset Al–Megrahi’s imprisonment in Scotland.

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