Page 306 - Encyclopedia Of Terrorism

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286———Pan Am Flight 103 Bombing

In their 82-page written
decision, the judges in the
Lockerbie case admitted
that the prosecution’s case
had “uncertainties and qual-
ifications,” but voted unani-
mously for al-Megrahi’s
conviction. They concluded
that the prosecution had not
proved Fhimah’s guilt in the
bombing beyond a reason-
able doubt.
The results of the trial
are still debated, and some
say that it has raised as
many questions as it has
answered. Al-Megrahi and
his defense team appealed
A police officer walks by the cockpit of the Pan Am Boeing 747 that exploded over the decision, and later
Lockerbie on December 21, 1988, killing all 259 on board and 11 on the ground. claimed they have fresh evi-
dence in the case. The evi-
Source: © Corbis.
dence is reported to be the
suspects in the 1989 bombing of a French jet over statements of a Heathrow Airport security guard,
Niger that killed 171 people. Colonel Muammar who told police that Pan Am’s baggage area was bro-
el-Qaddafi and Libyan officials refused to hand over ken into just 17 hours before Flight 103 exploded.
al-Megrahi and Fhimah to stand trial, arguing that This information may cast doubt on the prosecutors’
the men would not be treated fairly in a trial in either case showing the Malta airport as the place where
Scotland or America. This refusal led the United the Lockerbie bomb began its journey. Al-Megrahi
Nations in April 1992 to adopt resolutions calling for lost his appeal in March 2002.
sanctions prohibiting military sales to Libya and
See also BOMBINGS AND BOMB SCARES; POPULAR FRONT FOR
banning airline traffic from taking off or landing in
THE LIBERATION OF PALESTINE–GENERAL COMMAND;
Libya. The United Nations increased the severity
UNITED NATIONS
of the sanctions in November 1993, freezing Libya’s
overseas assets and forbidding the sale of oil
equipment. Further Reading
Libyan officials first indicated that they might con- Adler, Jerry, and Allan Gerson. The Price of Terror: One
sent to a trial in a third country in 1994. However, it was Bomb, One Plane, 270 Lives: The History-Making
not until August of 1998 that Libya finally agreed to Struggle for Justice After Pan Am 103. New York: Harper-
hand over al-Megrahi and Fhimah for a trial in the Collins, 2001.
Netherlands under Scottish law. Libyan officials hag- Cohen, Susan, and Daniel. Pan Am 103: The Bombings, the
gled over the deal for months afterward. South African Betrayals, and a Bereaved Family’s Search for Justice.
president Nelson Mandela helped broker the final New York: New American Library, 2000.
Ferguson, Ian, and John Ashton. Cover Up of Convenience:
agreement, and the two suspects were handed over
The Hidden Scandal of Lockerbie. Edinburgh: Main-
to U.N. representatives on April 5, 1999. The United
stream, 2001.
Nations then immediately lifted the sanctions on Libya.
Sutherland, Lord, Lord Coulsfield, and Lord Maclean.
The trial itself, held in the former airbase Camp
“Opinion of the Court Case No: 1475/99.” www.
Zeist in the Netherlands, lasted nine months. scotcourts.gov.uk/html/lockerbie.htm.
Al-Megrahi was convicted of the mass murder of 270 Wallis, Rodney. Lockerbie: The Story and The Lessons.
people, and jailed for life. Fhimah was acquitted. Westport, CT: Praeger, 2000.