DATE=5/2/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=LOCKERBIE TRIAL OVERNITER
NUMBER=2-261910
BYLINE=RON PEMSTEIN
DATELINE=CAMP ZEIST, HOLLAND
INTERNET=YES
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: The trial of two Libyan suspects accused of
bombing Pan Am flight 103 in December 1988 opens today
(Wednesday) in the Netherlands before a Scottish
Court. Ron Pemstein reports from Camp Zeist in central
Holland, where the trial will take place.
TEXT: Eleven-and-a-half years after 270 people lost
their lives in and above Scotland, the search for
justice begins today.
The trial begins with the reading of the indictment
against the two suspects, described as Libyan
intelligence officers. Under Scottish law, 48-year-
old Abdel Baset al-Megrahi and 43-year-old Al-Amin
Khalifa Fhimah are presumed innocent and do not have
to prove anything.
They are charged with murder, conspiracy to murder,
and destroying an aircraft. The prosecution, on the
other hand, has to prove them guilty beyond a
reasonable doubt of placing the bomb aboard the Pan Am
airliner that exploded over Lockerbie, Scotland on
December 21st, 1988.
The suspects were indicted in 1991, but Libya did not
make them available for trial until last year. Under
a compromise, the trial is not taking place in
Scotland or in the United States, where most of the
victims were from.
The trial is being held at this former American
Airbase in central Holland, but it has been declared
Scottish territory for the duration. A special prison
has been built here to hold the suspects, and a
courtroom equipped with bulletproof glass is where
they are being tried. Three Scottish judges will hear
the evidence, along with an alternate. Unlike a
normal Scottish court, there will be no jury.
The prosecution plans to call more than one thousand
witnesses. That's why this trial could last at least
one year. The reason for the amount of witnesses,
according to Glasgow University law professor Fraser
Davidson, is that Scottish law calls for evidence from
more than one source.
/// DAVIDSON ACT ///
In relation to both the charge of murder and the
statutory charges, the key facts are that the
aircraft was destroyed, that it was destroyed by
an explosive device, that this device was
deliberately introduced, and finally, that it
was the accused persons who deliberately
introduced it.
/// END ACT ///
Prosecution officials say they have 18 chapters to
their charges. The prosecution's first witnesses will
be people who saw the explosion in Lockerbie, police
officers who inspected the scene, and civil aviation
officials. There will be no opening statements.
The Scottish defense lawyers have already notified the
prosecution they intend to suggest that other
suspects, not these Libyan defendants, committed the
bombing. The defense has no obligation to prove its
contention.
The judges have three options under Scottish law: They
can pronounce the defendants guilty, not guilty, or
say the charges are not proven. That last verdict
leaves a cloud over the heads of the defendants, but
acquits them the same as a not-guilty verdict.
Glasgow law professor John Grant says the Libyan
government is targeted by the prosecution's
indictment.
/// GRANT ACT ///
The Libyan government is up front there in the
conspiracy and the murder charges. It is alleged
that these two individuals were members of the
Libyan Secret Service. That surely is the Libyan
government. Surely if there is a conviction of
[Mr.] Magrahi and [Mr.] Fhimah, then the Libyan
government is involved in at least one piece of
international terrorism.
/// END ACT ///
For Scotland, this is a unique trial. It is the
biggest trial of mass murder ever. It is being held
outside of Scotland without a jury, and it is the most
expensive, with more than 100-million-dollars spent to
bring these two Libyan suspects to trial. (Signed).
NEB/rp/gm-T/gm
02-May-2000 17:22 PM EDT (02-May-2000 2122 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
.
|
NEWSLETTER
|
|
Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list
|
|
|
