Ludwig De Braeckeleer

Lockerbie expert Dr Ludwig De Braeckeleer

Ludwig De Braeckeleer has a PhD in Nuclear Sciences and teaches Physics and International Humanitarian Law in Bogota, Colombia. De Braeckeleer has studied the Lockerbie case for many years and has published more than 100 Lockerbie-related articles on the OhmyNews, Canada Free Press and The Gaia Post websites.

In April 2015, Ludwig De Braeckeleer established a blog focused on the MEBO MST-13 timer fragment PT/35(b) which he describes as the central piece of evidence in the Lockerbie case. According to De Braeckeleer:

"Today we know that PT/35(b) is a forgery. We also know that at least one witness was well aware that PT/35(b) could not have been part of the MST-13 timers delivered to Libya and that this witness deliberately withheld this information from the court. At this point, one can reasonably infer that this so-called evidence was planted.

"How do we know that PT/35(b) is a forgery? Who could possibly have committed such a crime and for what possible motives? Where, when and by whom was this forgery fabricated?

"These are some of the questions that this blog intends to discuss and will hopefully answer."

Lockerbie crime scene

UN Commissioner Bernt Carlsson targeted on Pan Am 103

On 21 December 1988, Pan Am Flight 103 fell out of the sky. All 259 passengers and crew members died. Eleven residents of Lockerbie were killed.

A strong westerly wind spread the debris over two trails stretching from the south of Scotland through the north of England and out into the North Sea.

On 28 December 1988, Michael Charles, Inspector of Accidents for the AAIB, announced that traces of high explosive had been found on two pieces of metal. On that date, a criminal investigation was officially launched. The crime scene covered about 845 square miles.

On 13 January 1989, Detective Constables Thomas Gilchrist and Thomas McColm found a fragment of charred clothing in search sector I, near Newcastleton. This piece of charred grey cloth was bagged, labelled “Charred Debris” and given a reference number: PI/995.

On 17 January 1989, it was registered in the Dexstar log.

On 6 February 1989, PI/995 was sent to the Forensic Explosives Laboratory at Fort Halstead in Kent for forensic examination.

PT/35(b)

PT/35(b), the fabricated timer fragment

On 12 May 1989, Dr Thomas Hayes examined PI/995. Inside the cloth, Dr Hayes found fragments of paper, fragments of black plastic and a tiny piece of circuitry. Dr Hayes gave to these items the reference number PT/35 as well as an alphabetical suffix to each one of them. The fragment of the circuit board was named PT/35(b).

In June 1990, with some help from Thomas Thurman of the FBI, Allen Feraday of the Explosives Laboratory was able to match PT/35(b) to the board of a Swiss timer known as an MST-13 timer.

Two MST-13 timers had been seized in Togo in September 1986. BATF agent Richard Sherrow had brought one of these back to the US. Two Libyan citizens were caught in possession of an other MST-13 timer in Senegal in 1988.

An analysis of the Togo timer led the investigators to a small business named MEBO in Zurich. The owners of MEBO told the investigators that these timers had been manufactured to the order of two Libyans: Ezzadin Hinshin, the director of the Central Security Organisation of the Libyan External Security Organisation (ESO) and Said Rashid, the head of the Operations Administration of the ESO.

Indictments

Abdelbaset al-Megrahi under arrest in Libya

On 14 November 1991, the Lord Advocate and the acting United States Attorney General jointly announced that they had obtained warrants for the arrest of Abdelbaset al-Megrahi and Lamin Khalifah Fhimah.

On 27 November 1991, the British and United States Governments issued a joint statement calling on the Libyan government to surrender the two men for trial.

On 21 January 1992, the United Nations Security Council adopted resolution 731 calling on Libya to surrender Megrahi and Fhimah for trial either in the United States or in the United Kingdom.

On 31 March 1992, the Security Council passed UNSCR748 imposing mandatory sanctions on Libya for failing to hand over Megrahi and Fhimah. On 11 November 1993, the Security Council passed UNSCR883 that imposed further international sanctions on Libya.

Trial and aftermath

On 31 January 2001, the Scottish Court in the Netherlands found Megrahi guilty and Fhimah not guilty.

On 28 June 2007, the SCCRC announced that Megrahi may have been the victim of a miscarriage of justice. Accordingly, the SCCRC decided to refer the case to the Court of Criminal Appeal.

On 25 July 2009, Megrahi applied to be released from jail on compassionate grounds. On 12 August 2009, Megrahi applied to have his second appeal dropped. Megrahi was granted compassionate release for his terminal prostate cancer. On 20 August 2009, Megrahi was released from prison and returned to Libya.

NB. Most facts and dates cited in this timeline are taken from a presentation made by Lord Boyd at an International Conference in Australia in late August 2001. This timeline must therefore be regarded as the legal truth.

Lockerbie e-mails

On 19 May 2010, former diplomat Patrick Haseldine replied to Ludwig De Braeckeleer's e-mail:

From Patrick Haseldine

Patrick Haseldine, self-styled 'Emeritus Professor of Lockerbie Studies'

Dear Ludwig, In yesterday's e-mail, you wrote:

I have been quite busy in recent months but I kept reading the material you sent me as well as Prof Black's blog. I plan to write a few short pieces again... Lol

May I ask you 2 quick questions?

1. How long does it take to a diplomatic delegation (SA) to clear through JFK?

2. How long in advance would the reservation have been made for a diplomatic delegation going to the UN?

From these questions, it is safe to assume that your 'few short pieces' are going to dwell upon the alleged booking on Pan Am Flight 103 made for South Africa's foreign minister, Pik Botha, and his 22-strong entourage. Up to now Lockerbie investigators seem to have avoided this issue completely, but evidence has recently been uncovered to show that Botha and the SA diplomatic delegation were never in fact booked on PA 103.

In 1986, a ban on direct flights by South African Airways into the USA was introduced. In November 1988, flight reservations were made for Pik Botha and his delegation to attend UN headquarters for the signature of the New York Accords on 22 December 1988. They were booked on the overnight flight SA 234 from Johannesburg arriving London (Heathrow) at 07:20 on 21 December 1988. SAA could not continue to New York so the booking for onward travel was by Pan Am Flight 101 departing Heathrow at 11:00. There was never any question of the SA diplomatic delegation hanging around at Heathrow until 18:00 when PA 103 was scheduled to depart. It follows that the SA delegation did not have to be 'warned' against flying on PA 103 or indeed 'hauled off' the flight, since they were never intended to be on PA 103 in the first place.

The above attachments and the self-explanatory exchange of e-mails in March 2010 (below) between former De Beers employee Gordon Brown, Dr Jim Swire and me provide more detailed information on the matter of Pik Botha and PA 103.

A quarry of source material on the targeting of PA 103's most prominent victim, Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations and UN Commissioner for Namibia, Bernt Carlsson, can be found in the album of 'Wall Photos' on my facebook page.

Best wishes,

Patrick H.

To Dr Jim Swire

--- On Thu, 11/3/10, Patrick Haseldine <patrick.haseldine@btinternet.com> wrote:

From: Patrick Haseldine <patrick.haseldine@btinternet.com>

Subject: Colin Eglin

To: "Dr Jim Swire" <drjimswire@aol.com>

Cc: "Gordon Brown" <gordondouglasbrown@yahoo.co.uk>

Date: Thursday, 11 March, 2010, 16:09

Dear Jim, In the attachment, Gordon Brown provides the address in Cape Town and a contact telephone number for former MP Colin Eglin.

Gordon suggests in his e-mail below that Mr Eglin might respond favourably to an approach by you for information on the following matter:

Dr Jim Swire, father of Lockerbie victim Flora

In a letter to a British Lockerbie victim’s family dated 18 July 1996, Mr Eglin wrote of questions he had put to South African Justice Minister Dullah Omar in the National Assembly in June 1996.

On 5 June 1996, Mr Eglin had asked Mr Omar if Mr Pik Botha and his entourage 'had any plans to travel on this flight (Pan Am Flight 103) or had reservations for this flight; if so, why were the plans changed?'

In reply in the National Assembly on 12 June 1996, Justice Minister Omar stated he had been informed by the former minister of foreign affairs (Pik Botha) that shortly before finalising their booking arrangements on Pan Am Flight 103 to New York, they learned of an earlier flight from London to New York: namely, Pan Am Flight 101. They consequently were booked and travelled on this flight to New York.

Mr Eglin went on to write in his letter to the Lockerbie victim’s family: 'Since then I have done some more informal prodding. This has led me to the person who made the reservations on behalf of the South African foreign minister Pik Botha and his entourage. This person assures me that he and no-one else was responsible for the reservations, and the reservation made in South Africa for the South African group was originally made on PA 101, departing London at 11:00 on 21 December 1988. It was never made on PA 103 and consequently was never changed. He made the reservation on PA 101 because it was the most convenient flight connecting with [ South African Airways ] flight SA 234 arriving at Heathrow at 07:20 on 21 December 1988.

Mr Eglin gave the victim’s family the assurance that he had 'every reason to trust the person referred to' since he had been given a copy of 'rough working notes and extracts from his personal diary of those days.' In his letter Mr Eglin wrote: 'In the circumstances, I have to accept that an assertion that the reservations of the South African group were either made or changed as a result of warnings that might have been received, is not correct'.

Accordingly, I should be very grateful if you would consider contacting Mr Eglin for the required information.

Best wishes,

Patrick H.

From Gordon Brown

Gordon Brown pictured in 2010

--- On Thu, 11/3/10, Gordon Brown <gordondouglasbrown@yahoo.co.uk> wrote:

From: Gordon Brown <gordondouglasbrown@yahoo.co.uk>

Subject: Colin Eglin

To: "Patrick Haseldine" <patrick.haseldine@btinternet.com>

Cc: "Jim Swire" <drjimswire@aol.com>

Date: Thursday, 11 March, 2010, 14:56

Dear Patrick

In the society pages of a local newspaper, I noticed Colin Eglin is hearty and well and attending social functions in Cape Town.

If contacted by a Lockerbie victims association or family member, he might be willing to supply the name of the person who booked Pik Botha's flights and also the name of the Lockerbie victim's family he wrote to in 1996 in connection with this matter.

He is a friendly fellow by all accounts and if the request comes from someone having a legitimate and concerned interest in this matter, I'm sure he will oblige. He can be contacted on the telephone number I gave you.

Kindest regards

Gordon