Tony Gauci
Encyclopedia
Tony Gauci is a former proprietor of a clothes shop in Malta
. According to evidence given at the Pan Am Flight 103 bombing trial
in 2000, Mr Gauci sold the clothes which were said to have been wrapped around the improvised explosive device
(IED) that brought the aircraft down. He was the only witness to link Abdelbaset al-Megrahi directly to the IED, and was therefore instrumental in convicting Megrahi on 31 January 2001.
in March 2002.
Five years after the trial, former Lord Advocate
, Lord Fraser of Carmyllie, publicly described Gauci as being "an apple short of a picnic" and "not quite the full shilling". Since Fraser had been responsible for the investigation into the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103
, and for indicting Megrahi in November 1991, he was called upon to clarify his remarks about Gauci by Colin Boyd, the Lord Advocate who was chief prosecutor at the Lockerbie trial
.
(SCCRC) reported on 28 June 2007 that there may have been a miscarriage of justice
in Megrahi's case, and granted him a second appeal against conviction. The SCCRC also revealed that Gauci had been interviewed 17 times by Scottish and Maltese police during which he gave a series of inconclusive statements. In addition, a legal source said that there was evidence that leading questions had been put to Gauci.
It was clear from the SCCRC's report that the lack of reliability of Gauci's testimony as a key prosecution witness was the main reason for the referral of Megrahi's case back to the Appeal Court.
In a statement on 29 June 2007, Dr Hans Köchler
, the UN-appointed international observer at the Lockerbie trial, said he shared the SCCRC's doubts about Gauci's credibility, expressed in the following extract:
In 2008 the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission
(SCCRC Ref 23:19) found that US$2 million had been paid to Tony Gauci and US$1 million to Paul Gauci under the US Department of Justice "Rewards for Justice" programme.
The newspaper Malta Today
ran an article on Gauci in May 2009 quoting Gauci's brother Paul as complaining that their lives had become “intolerable” amid growing interest by the press and repeating "the popular claim that Gauci was planning a move to Australia with his brother". In August 2009, the BBC reported that Mr Gauci was now living in Australia.
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
. According to evidence given at the Pan Am Flight 103 bombing trial
Pan Am Flight 103 bombing trial
The Pan Am Flight 103 bombing trial began on 3 May 2000, 11 years, 4 months and 13 days after the destruction of Pan Am Flight 103 on 21 December 1988...
in 2000, Mr Gauci sold the clothes which were said to have been wrapped around the improvised explosive device
Improvised explosive device
An improvised explosive device , also known as a roadside bomb, is a homemade bomb constructed and deployed in ways other than in conventional military action...
(IED) that brought the aircraft down. He was the only witness to link Abdelbaset al-Megrahi directly to the IED, and was therefore instrumental in convicting Megrahi on 31 January 2001.
Controversy
At the trial, Tony Gauci appeared uncertain about the exact date he sold the clothes in question, and was not entirely sure that it was Megrahi to whom they were sold. Nonetheless, Megrahi's appeal against conviction was rejected by the Scottish Court in the NetherlandsScottish Court in the Netherlands
The Scottish court in the Netherlands was the special High Court of Justiciary set up under Scots law in a former United States Air Force base called Camp Zeist in Utrecht, in the Netherlands, for the trial of two Libyans charged with 270 counts of murder in connection with the bombing of Pan Am...
in March 2002.
Five years after the trial, former Lord Advocate
Lord Advocate
Her Majesty's Advocate , known as the Lord Advocate , is the chief legal officer of the Scottish Government and the Crown in Scotland for both civil and criminal matters that fall within the devolved powers of the Scottish Parliament...
, Lord Fraser of Carmyllie, publicly described Gauci as being "an apple short of a picnic" and "not quite the full shilling". Since Fraser had been responsible for the investigation into the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103
Investigation into the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103
The investigation into the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 began at 19:03 on December 21, 1988 when Pan Am Flight 103 was blown up over Lockerbie in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. The perpetrators had intended the plane to crash into the sea, destroying any traceable evidence, but the late departure...
, and for indicting Megrahi in November 1991, he was called upon to clarify his remarks about Gauci by Colin Boyd, the Lord Advocate who was chief prosecutor at the Lockerbie trial
Pan Am Flight 103 bombing trial
The Pan Am Flight 103 bombing trial began on 3 May 2000, 11 years, 4 months and 13 days after the destruction of Pan Am Flight 103 on 21 December 1988...
.
SCCRC grants second appeal
After conducting a four-year review of the case, the Scottish Criminal Cases Review CommissionScottish Criminal Cases Review Commission
The Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission is a non-departmental public body in Scotland, established by the Criminal Procedure Act 1995 ....
(SCCRC) reported on 28 June 2007 that there may have been a miscarriage of justice
Miscarriage of justice
A miscarriage of justice primarily is the conviction and punishment of a person for a crime they did not commit. The term can also apply to errors in the other direction—"errors of impunity", and to civil cases. Most criminal justice systems have some means to overturn, or "quash", a wrongful...
in Megrahi's case, and granted him a second appeal against conviction. The SCCRC also revealed that Gauci had been interviewed 17 times by Scottish and Maltese police during which he gave a series of inconclusive statements. In addition, a legal source said that there was evidence that leading questions had been put to Gauci.
It was clear from the SCCRC's report that the lack of reliability of Gauci's testimony as a key prosecution witness was the main reason for the referral of Megrahi's case back to the Appeal Court.
In a statement on 29 June 2007, Dr Hans Köchler
Hans Köchler
Hans Köchler is a professor of philosophy at the University of Innsbruck, Austria, and president of the International Progress Organization, a non-governmental organization in consultative status with the United Nations...
, the UN-appointed international observer at the Lockerbie trial, said he shared the SCCRC's doubts about Gauci's credibility, expressed in the following extract:
- "there is no reasonable basis in the trial court's judgment for its conclusion that the purchase of the items (clothes that were found in the wreckage of the plane) from Mary's House (in MaltaMaltaMalta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
) took place on 7 December 1988."
Gauci's $2 million "reward"
In October 2007, it was reported that Gauci received a $2 million reward for testifying against Megrahi at the Lockerbie trial.In 2008 the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission
Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission
The Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission is a non-departmental public body in Scotland, established by the Criminal Procedure Act 1995 ....
(SCCRC Ref 23:19) found that US$2 million had been paid to Tony Gauci and US$1 million to Paul Gauci under the US Department of Justice "Rewards for Justice" programme.
The newspaper Malta Today
Malta Today
MaltaToday is a twice-weekly English language newspaper published in Malta. Its first edition was published on 19 November, 1999, and started out as a Friday newspaper. Currently it is published on Wednesdays and Sundays.-History:...
ran an article on Gauci in May 2009 quoting Gauci's brother Paul as complaining that their lives had become “intolerable” amid growing interest by the press and repeating "the popular claim that Gauci was planning a move to Australia with his brother". In August 2009, the BBC reported that Mr Gauci was now living in Australia.