Megrahi was the only person convicted in connection with bombing of Pan Am Flight 103, which happened on 21 December 1988. He was held under armed guard in Libya from 1991 until 1999, when he was moved to the Netherlands. His trial began in May 2000 in a special court in the Netherlands. On 31 January 2001, he was convicted of 270 counts of murder. He was sentenced to life imprisonment.