DATE=2/2/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=LOCKERBIE TRIAL (L ONLY)
NUMBER=2-258733
BYLINE=LAUREN COMITEAU
DATELINE=THE HAGUE
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: Two Libyans charged with the 1988 bombing of a
United States passenger airliner over Lockerbie,
Scotland have pleaded not guilty to all the charges
against them. Lauren Comiteau in The Hague reports
lawyers for the two men entered the pleas during a
court hearing in Edinburgh, Scotland.
TEXT: The "not-guilty" pleas came at the end of a
one-hour preliminary hearing called to resolve
prosecution and defense differences over protective
measures for witnesses.
Prosecutors are concerned about protecting the
identity of sensitive witnesses -- many of them
intelligence agents -- when the trial finally gets
underway in May at a former U-S military base in the
Netherlands.
The two sides reportedly agreed that protective
measures -- which range from voice and image
distortion to the growing of facial hair -- would be
decided on a case-by-case basis.
Once those issues were resolved, a plea was entered --
standard procedure under Scottish law. The two
accused -- Abdel Basset Ali al-Megrahi and Al-Amin
Khalifa Fhimah -- were not present.
They will be tried under Scottish law on a former
military base in the Netherlands that has been
declared Scottish territory for the duration of legal
proceedings. That unusual agreement was reached last
year after Libyan leader Muammar Gadhafi agreed to
hand the suspects over in return for an end to United
Nations sanctions against Libya.
The two suspects are charged with murder, conspiracy
to murder, and breaching the Aviation Security Act for
allegedly planting a suitcase bomb that exploded
aboard the plane. All 259 people on the Pan American
jetliner and 11 on the ground were killed.
After some delays, both sides now say they will be
ready to go to court in early May. That comes as a
relief to relatives of some of the victims who will
travel to the Netherlands to observe the court
proceedings. After almost 12 years of waiting, they
will finally get to see someone answer to the charges.
(Signed)
NEB/LC/JWH/KL
02-Feb-2000 09:40 AM EDT (02-Feb-2000 1440 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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