Mother of Lockerbie victim speaks out after death of al-Megrahi

The mother of a young aspiring actress who was killed in the Lockerbie bombing today said she hoped convicted terrorist Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi had died “a painful, horrible death”.

Susan Cohen's daughter Theodora, 20, was on board Pan Am flight 103 bound for John F Kennedy airport in New York when it exploded over Lockerbie in Scotland in 1988.

Speaking from her home in Cape May Court House, New Jersey, Mrs Cohen, 74, said she believed Megrahi should have received the death penalty.

“He died with his family around him. My daughter died a horrible death when she was 20 years old with her full life ahead of her. You call that justice?

“I feel no pity for Megrahi, I believe he should have died a lot sooner. He should have been tried in the States and given the death penalty. Watching him be released from prison was very painful for me.”

Mrs Cohen said questions still remain about how the bombing happened and who was involved.

“I think this was to do with deals in the dust and it is despicable. We cannot let Megrahi's death stand in the way of the Scottish and American government finding out who else was involved in the bombings and the specifics of how it was done.

“I don't believe conspiracy theories that Megrahi was innocent.”

Theodora was a student at New York's Syracuse University and had spent a term in London pursuing her dream of being an actress.

Mrs Cohen said the loss of her daughter haunts her every day.

“There is no peace when you lose a child. You hear about closure but there is none. It will never get easier, it changes everything.

“I detest Megrahi, he was monstrous, and I hope his death was extremely painful and horrible. That would help, but it wasn't just him that was responsible. I felt happy when Colonel Gaddafi died but I can't feel happy now.

“My daughter was clever and talented and she had a beautiful voice. She was in London to see plays, it was all part of growing up.

“The bombing took away the joy of my life and any attempt to cover it up is a great evil.”

Former Labour MP Tam Dalyell, who has maintained Megrahi's innocence throughout, said: "Megrahi was a sanctions buster for Libyan Arab Airlines and the Libyan oil industry. He was not involved in the crime that was Lockerbie.

"What has still to be resolved is the behaviour of the Crown Office in suppressing information which they knew should be given to Megrahi's defence during his trial and was withheld by them."

PA