Washington, DC - Today, Congressman Van Drew (NJ-02) released the following statement after his Meaningful Access to Court Proceedings for Victims of Pan Am Flight 103 Act passed the House and is now on its way to the President's desk where it will be signed into law. Congressman Van Drew was joined by Congressman Jerrold Nadler (NY-12) in leading this bill. Specifically, it will allow remote access to court proceedings for the surviving relatives of the 270 people killed, including 190 Americans, in the 1988 terrorist attack on Pan Am Flight 103 that crashed above Lockerbie, Scotland.

"The surviving family members of those killed on Pan Am Flight 103, including 190 Americans and 33 New Jerseyans, have waited over thirty years to see the perpetrator behind this heinous act be held accountable," said Congressman Van Drew. "They should be able to access these court proceedings, regardless of their location, and witness those responsible for this attack be brought to justice. I am proud to have spearheaded the House version of this bill and the work my colleagues and I accomplished to ensure swift passage through both the House and the Senate." 

“With many of the surviving victims now at an advanced age and unable to travel to Washington, DC for the court proceedings, the Meaningful Access to Court Proceedings for Victims of Pan Am Flight 103 Act will finally allow victims to have their voice heard irrespective of their geographic location,” said Ranking Member Jerrold Nadler. “I’m grateful of our work to advance this bipartisan legislation to President Biden’s desk for the victims and their next of kin who continue to live with the impacts of that tragic day, and we will never forget the loss of innocent lives or waver in our commitment to holding terrorists accountable.”

Background:

On December 21, 1988, a bomb planted by terrorists detonated on Pan Am Flight 103 while it was flying over Lockerbie, Scotland, killing 270 people. Over thirty years after this attack, the Department of Justice announced the arrest and indictment of the alleged bombmaker, Abu Agila Mohammad Mas'ud Kheir Al-Marimi ("Al-Marimi"). Al-Marimi's trial is scheduled to take place in Washington, D.C, with pre-trial proceedings already taking place.

Of the 270 people killed, 190 were Americans from at least 12 states, 43 were U.K. nationals, and the remaining killed in the attack included nationals from nineteen other countries: Argentina, Belgium, Bolivia, Canada, France, Germany, Hungary, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamica, Japan, Philippines, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and Trinidad and Tobago. Therefore, the victims of the bombing and their surviving family members are located across the United States and in numerous countries across the world. 

Given the amount of time that has passed since the bombing, many victims of the bombing and their surviving family members are elderly and/or physically unable to travel to Washington, D.C. to attend court proceedings. The government filed an unopposed motion requesting that the Court provide victims of the Pan Am Flight 103 bombing with remote access to the proceedings, but that motion was denied by the Court, finding that no statute or case law authorized such an accommodation. S.3250/H.R.6714, the Meaningful Access to Court Proceedings for Victims of Pan Am Flight 103 Act, provides that authorization and allows victims of this tragic attack meaningful access to the court proceedings in the criminal case against Al-Marimi. This bill provides the court with a limited, one-time authorization to accommodate the victims of the bombing by making remote video and telephonic access available to any individual who suffered direct or proximate harm as a result of the bombing and was present at or near the scene of the bombing when it occurred or immediately after or who is the spouse, legal guardian, parent, child, brother, sister, next of kin, or other relative determined by the District Court to be an individual who possesses a relationship of similar significance to a victim. 

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