Timeline

March 14, 2002 -- Abdel Baset Ali Mohmed Al-Megrahi loses his appeal against his murder conviction in the 1988 Lockerbie bombing.

January 31, 2001 -- One of the two Libyans accused of murder in the Lockerbie bombing, Abdel Baset Ali Mohmed Al-Megrahi, is found guilty and jailed for 20 years. The other accused Libyan, Al Amin Khalifa Fhimah, is found not guilty.

January 30, 2001 -- Judges announce they will deliver their verdicts on Wednesday, January 31.

January 18, 2001 -- After lawyers end their closing arguments, judges adjourn the trial until January 30, when they say they could issue a "progress report" or set a date for the verdicts.

January 10, 2001 -- Prosecutors present their closing argument in the case against defendants Abdel Baset Ali Mohmed Al-Megrahi and Al Amin Khalifa Fhima after calling 232 witnesses over about eight months. Defense closing arguments follow, after lawyers for the pair call only three witnesses.
Full Story

January 9, 2001 -- Prosecutors drop the lesser charges of conspiracy and endangering aircraft safety against Abdel Baset Ali al-Megrahi and Al Amin Khalifa Fhimah and ask the court to only consider the murder charges.
Full Story

January 8, 2001 -- Attorneys for Libyan suspects Abdel Baset Ali al-Megrahi and Al Amin Khalifa Fhimah close their case after calling just three witnesses.

December 5, 2000 -- Defense opens its case by challenging the testimony of a Maltese shopkeeper who said he sold clothes that were allegedly used to help conceal bomb in a suitcase to Al Megrahi on a rainy day. A retired meteorologist testified that it was unlikely that there was any rain in the area that day.

November 28, 2000 -- Judges at the Lockerbie trial reject a plea to acquit one of the two Libyans accused of planting a bomb on the Pan Am plane.
Full Story

October 9, 2000 -- Scottish judges grant delay after prosecutors request time to investigate new evidence of "considerable sensitivity." The prosecution said it had received information from a country other than the United States, which is relevant to evidence in the defense's case.

May 3, 2000 -- Trial of Pan Am Flight 103 bombing suspects Abdel Baset Ali Mohmed Al-Megrahi and Al Amin Khalifa Fhima begins at Camp Zeist in the Netherlands.
Full story

March 25, 2000 -- U.S. State Department officials visit Libya to assess whether it is safe to lift ban on U.S. citizens traveling to the North African country.
Full story

March 7, 2000 -- Scottish judge rules British and American broadcasters cannot televise Lockerbie bombing trial.

Dec. 7, 1999 -- Abdel Basset Ali Mohmed Al-Megrahi and Al-Amin Khalifah Fhima make their first appearance at a two-day pre-trial hearing at Camp Zeist.

June 11, 1999 -- U.S. and Libyan representatives meet for the first time in 18 years to discuss lifting U.N. sanctions.
Full story

July 7, 1999 -- British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook announces agreement to resume diplomatic ties with Libya after a 15-year break over the shooting death of a London police officer at a demonstration against Libyan President Moammar Gadhafi.

April 5, 1999 -- United Nations Security Council suspends air and arms sanctions against Libya after the bombing suspects are taken into U.N. custody.

April 5, 1999 -- Libya hands over suspects to the United Nations. They are taken to the Netherlands to stand trial.
Full story

Dec. 16, 1998 -- Libyan People's Congress agrees to proposal to try Lockerbie bombing suspects in the Netherlands under Scottish law.

Dec. 15, 1998 -- U.S. Appeals Court rules relatives of the 189 Americans killed in the bombing can sue Libya for its possible role in sponsoring the attack.
Full story

Dec. 5, 1998 -- U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan meets with Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi to urge Libya to handover the bombing suspects.
Full story

Aug. 24, 1998 -- Britain and the United States propose trying the suspects in the Netherlands under Scottish law.
Full story

March 1994 -- Libya says it will consider a proposal to try the suspects in a neutral site with a panel of international judges. Britain and the United States reject the plan, insisting the pair be tried in a British or American court.

Nov. 11, 1993 -- The United Nations Security Council extends and tightens sanctions against Libya.

April 15, 1992 -- The United Nations Security Council imposes sanctions on air travel and arms sales to Libya, over Libya's refusal to hand the suspects over for trial in a Scottish court.

Nov. 13, 1991 -- U.S. and British investigators indict Libyans Abdel Baset Ali Mohmed Al-Megrahi and Al Amin Khalifa Fhima on 270 counts of murder, conspiracy to murder and violating Britain's 1982 Aviation Security Act. The men were accused of being Libyan intelligence agents.

July 1990 -- The British Civil Aviation Authority's Air Investigation Branch officially reports that an explosive device caused the crash of Pan Am Flight 103.

December 21, 1988 -- Pan Am Flight 103 explodes 31,000 feet over Lockerbie, Scotland, 38 minutes after takeoff from London. The 259 people on board the New York-bound Boeing 747 are killed, along with 11 people on the ground.