Prosecutors welcome Lockerbie verdict

Pan Am flight 103 exploded over Lockerbie killing 270 people

LONDON, England (CNN) -- The man who headed the prosecution case in the Lockerbie trial has welcomed the guilty verdict against Abdel Baset Ali Mohamed al-Megrahi.

Colin Boyd, the Lord Advocate of Scotland, praised the international effort that went into bringing the two suspects to trial, and in particular the U.S. who he said played a huge part in the investigation, and the Dutch authorities for providing a venue for the trial.

Megrahi, 48, was jailed for life after being found guilty on Wednesday. Al-Amin Khalifa Fhimah was found not guilty and is expected to return to Tripoli.

Boyd, who was assisted during the trial by Alistair Campbell and Alan Turnbull, said the day belonged to the families of the 270 people killed when Pan Am flight 103 blew up over the Scottish town of Lockerbie.

"They have waited 12 years for this trial. Many said it would not happen, but we have shown it can happen," he said outside the court in Camp Zeist.

VIDEO CNN's Richard Blystone reviews what Megrahi can do now Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)

"This crime has touched many people -- friends, relatives and others who did not know those who died. I hope that what has happened here today has helped with the healing process."

Megrahi continued to maintain his innocence in spite of the verdict and is expected to lodge an appeal.

"He maintains his innocence, so there is nothing I can say by way of mitigation," Megrahi's lawyer Bill Taylor said.

He said that the sentence should start from April 5 1999 -- the time the two defendants arrived in Camp Zeist, a former U.S. air base.

The prosecution case in the Lockerbie trial rested on proving that Megrahi and Fhimah intended to destroy or damage Pan Am flight 103.

As the trial reached its climax, Taylor had highlighted the errors in baggage security at Frankfurt airport to support his argument that others could have been the true bombers.

Boyd was appointed Lord Advocate, Scotland's top law officer, in March 2000, after the shock resignation of Lord Hardie which led to speculation that the prosecution's case was in trouble.

The mild-mannered Boyd, 47, previously held the post of solicitor general, number two Scottish law officer.

He maintained that the investigation had been a "remarkable piece of detection work" and paid tribute to the Dumfries and Galloway Police and officers from other forces who played a part in the case.

Prosecutors said Megrahi was a "high-ranking officer" in Libyan intelligence and had access to a timer of the kind used in the bombing -- made in Switzerland but sold only in Libya.

The defence team was headed by Kamal Maghur -- a practising lawyer since gaining his degree in Cairo, Egypt, in 1957.

He has been a judge on the Libyan appeals court and supreme court and has served as ambassador to the United Nations, Canada, France and China.

Megrahi's lawyer, Taylor, served as junior counsel for Britain's Foreign and Commonwealth Office and for the Department of health and Social Security, and has specialised in criminal defence work since the 1980s.

The defence had said a German cell of the Syrian-backed Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command (FLAP-G) had the means and motive to attack the flight.

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