Lord Hardie resigns from Lockerbie prosecutionLord Hardie resigns from Lockerbie prosecution17/02/00 BBC, Reuters etc.In a surprise move, Scotland's senior law officer Lord Hardie, has resigned from the devolved Scottish government and moved to the bench as a judge. Lord Hardie, who was the Lord Advocate, will also lose his role as prosecutor in the trial of the two Libyans suspected of the Lockerbie bombing.
The prosecution of the two men accused of the Lockerbie bombing could be undermined by that sudden resignation of Scotland's senior law officer, it has been claimed. Lord Hardie was head of the Scottish prosecution team which is preparing the case against Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi and Lamin Khalifa Fhimah, which is due to start in the Netherlands on 3 May.
One Scottish senior source said it was suggested that several "key witnesses" now denied making comments previously attributed to them. "When they came to prepare the papers for the trial, they discovered that the evidence is not as solid as they thought it was. Much of it has come from foreign sources, especially the FBI, and when they looked at the witness statements and expert reports, the case started to crumble," the source said.
One source said: "I think the prosecution's case is unravelling, and (Hardie) has resigned because he doesn't want to be left holding the parcel when the case falls apart." The Scottish National Party's justice spokeswoman Roseanna Cunningham said: "It has been rumoured for some time that there are doubts on the sufficiency of the evidence in this case. "Clearly, I am not in a position to know the truth of that. "However, given that this Lord Advocate has taken key decisions in the case, the fact that he is not going to be in his job when the trial begins and comes to a conclusion may raise questions in some quarters as to why he is leaving now."
Reaction from Lockerbie-relatives:
Dan and Susan Cohen , whose daughter was among the 270 people who died when Pan Am Flight 103 crashed on the Scottish town in 1988, said they were "scared and horrified" by Lord Hardie's departure.
"Does he fear this is a bad case?" asked Mrs Cohen. "Is there some scandal breaking elsewhere? What are we supposed to think?".
Dr Jim Swire , who represents some British relatives of those who died, regretted Lord Hardie's departure but said: "I don't think this will necessarily adversely affect the functioning of the prosecution during the trial."
And a government source is quoted as saying it was "complete nonsense" to link the decision with worries about the solidity of the Lockerbie case. "Five lord advocates have now had a look at this and agreed there was a case. We would not have taken the case to court if we thought three judges were going to throw it out or say there was no case to answer."
Scottish law expert comments on Hardie-resignation:
Lord Hardie's move to the bench was criticised by Dr. Robert Black , a professor of law at Edinburgh University, who has argued that it was a breach of European human rights legislation that the Lord Advocate, as chief prosecutor, could also nominate judges. Prof Black said: "It is bad enough that the Lord
Advocate should be appointing judges at all. It is one hundred times worse that he is able to nominate himself."
Prof Black said that Lord Hardie appeared to have won the confidence of the relatives of the Lockerbie victims, so he was "somewhat surprised" that he had left the job just before the trial started.
Lord Hardie is likely to be succeeded by the current Solicitor General Colin Boyd, who is also on the prosecution´s team in the Lockerbie trial. "If Boyd does take over, he will have less of a role in the case than (Hardie) otherwise would have had," Robert Black told Reuters.
Museum plan for PanAm cemetery in Lockerbie16/02/00 THE DUMFRIES & GALLOWAY STANDARD A disused lodge at Lockerbie cemetery is set to be turned into a museum of remembrance to the PanAm air disaster. The first steps towards the plan for Dryfesdale Cemetery cottage were agreed on Monday evening. Upper Annandale and Eskdale councillors decided to support community calls for Dumfries and Galloway Council to retain the building it wants to sell.
The property has been empty for a year and is no longer needed by the environment and infrastructure department in connection with the cemetery, which contains a memorial garden for the 270 victims of Pan Am Flight 103. As a result, the authority was considering declaring it surplus to requirements and putting it up for sale. However, members of the Lockerbie Trust, the community council and other members of the council felt the building could solve some of the problems faced by visitors to the cemetery.
At the moment, the toilet facilities in the cemetery are inadequate and there is no sheltered meeting placeor room for quiet contemplation. Since the disaster, the town has received a number of gifts which are held in various placees across the town. Lockerbie councillor Marjorie McQueen believes that the cottage could be turned into both a meeting place with toilets and a museum marking the Lockerbie Air Disaster, housing all the donated gifts in one place for public view.
There have also been suggestions that it could feature other aspects of Lockerbie's history - some of which are being pulled together for a month-long exhibition to mark the millennium later this year. After the meeting, Mrs McQueen said she was pleased that the committee had agreed to support the retention of the lodge for use as a museum. "There is still a long way to go and meetings will have to be held with various interested parties to come up with a business plan and funding but this is a positive first step," she said. "It is going to happen. The trial of the bombing suspects starts in May and that is going to throw a lot more attention on Lockerbie. We need to get this up and running by then so that people coming to the cemetery have somewhere sheltered to meet."
Lockerbie Trust chairman Joe Meechan said that they are hoping that the council would continue to own the building with its community resources department taking on the responsibility for it as a museum. However, it could then be managed by a community partnership involving the trust and the community council. Mr Meechan said that the trustees would be prepared to consider setting up a bequest to support the project both initially as a capital project and then to offset future running costs. However, he stressed: "We are in the very early stages of this and everything is a proposal at the moment."
13/02/00 Glasgow Law School- Lockerbie Trial Briefing + The Electronic telegraph (Scotland) The BBC today lodged papers to have the High Court rule under the nobile officium on whether the Lockerbie trial can be televised. The papers were served on the Lord Advocate and the two accused. A date for the hearing has not been fixed, but if either of the accused wish to attend the hearing will have to take place in Camp Zeist. The BBC's petition is said to have the support of a number of news organisations, including CNN, ABC, CBS, BSkyB and Scottish Television.
A spokesman for BBC Scotland said papers would also be served on the Lord Advocate, who is responsible for prosecutions in Scotland, and the two accused Libyans, who could respond to the BBC's move if they wished. A date for the hearing will be fixed by the High Court, but if the two accused Libyans wish to be present it may have to be held at Camp Zeist, the BBC said.
Alistair Bonnington, BBC Scotland's solicitor, said the case was of "huge" public interest and said: "The Lockerbie trial is a unique case in that it will be held outside Scotland under Scots law and will not have a jury. "For justice to be seen, it has to be seen to be done and we believe televising the trial is the best means of doing so."
Lord Sutherland, one of the three judges who will conduct the Lockerbie trial, has already given approval for a closed circuit relay of trial proceedings to sites in New York, Washington, London and Dumfries. This followed a formal request by the US Office for Victims of Crime, acting as the voice of the Lockerbie relatives.
But officials have emphasised that CCTV coverage will be for relatives only, and that the four viewing sites will besuper vised according to guidelines approved by the court. The BBC had sought to raise the issue of televising the trial at the pre-trial hearing in Edinburgh on Feb 2, but its lawyer was told he had no formal role at that hearing, which was concerned with other procedural issues.
The Crown Office declined to comment on the BBC's action. Jim Swire, the British relatives' spokesman, said he was against the attempt to televise the trial, but had no plans formally to contest the BBC's move in court. He said: "We have made our position clear to the Crown Office. We are after truth and justice, and we fear that anyTV co verage might restrict the truth coming out." He said that he welcomed the decision to enable relatives to see private CCTV coverage, but he hoped that potential witnesses had been reassured that this footage would be restricted to that purpose.
He feared that the presence of broadcast television cameras could inhibit potential witnesses from giving full evidence. He said: "We fear that any broadcast coverage would reduce the integrity of the evidence given by some witnesses and might even cause some of them not to come."
10/02/00 KULL HADD- Malta Today, early in the morning Air Malta's Lockerbie lawyer has died. Lawyer Edgar Mizzi 78 years died today at St. Lukes Hospital in Malta. His funeral is going to be held next Saturday morning.
Edgar Mizzi during the last ten years was the Maltese focal point on the Lockerbie Case. He was frequently interviewed by TV stations and newspapers about Lockerbie such as CBS 60 Minutes, BBC Frontline, etc. Until a few days ago, Edgar Mizzi was working on preparing for the upcoming Lockerbie Trial.
Edgar Mizzi was Attorney General of the Republic of Malta between 1971 and 1981. He was also head of a Maltese Law Revision Commission. Mizzi worked closely with prime ministers George Borg Olivier and Dom Mintoff. He was frequently consulted by Labour Prime Minister Alfred Sant between 1996-1998.
Background info:
03/02/00 THE TIMES The BBC is to press ahead with its efforts to have the Lockerbie bombing trial televised, despite a ruling refusing the corporation permission to film inside the court.
The BBC will request a private hearing in front of the three High Court judges to put their case for showing footage from the courtroom at Camp Zeist during news billetins and live coverage at important moments during the trial. A BBC spokesman said: "Because it's being held in Zeist people can't go to it. It's all very well saying to people the court is open - but you have to pay 481 pounds to buy a ticket."
Lockerbie Defendants Plead Innocent 02/02/00 APThe two Libyan defendants charged in the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, pleaded innocent today at a pretrial hearing in the Scottish High Court. Although the trial is scheduled to begin May 3 at a former U.S. air base in the Netherlands, the pretrial session was held in Edinburgh because the defendants did not express a desire to be present.
"In the absence of my client, I formally enter a plea of not guilty to the indictments," said defense attorney Bill Taylor, representing defendant Abdel Basset Ali al-Megrahi. Attorney Richard Keen entered an innocent plea on behalf of co-defendant Lamen Khalifa Fhimah. The pleas, which had been expected at a later stage, were a surprise ending at a one-hour hearing held to resolve a disagreement between prosecutors and defense lawyers on measures to conceal the identities of sensitive witnesses. The two sides agreed that the measures would be decided on a case-by-case basis.
Both sides also said they were ready to begin the trial on May 3, following several postponements since the suspects last April were handed over by Libya for trial in the Netherlands.
Out of court negotiations between prosecutors and the defense team have resulted in agreements on evidence that may shorten the length of the trial, previously estimated at one year. "Good progress is being made as to the agreement of noncontroversial evidence," said Taylor. As a result, he expected that hundreds of witnesses would not have to appear to give testimony. Last month, the Scotland on Sunday newspaper reported that the prosecution's star witness had watered down his testimony that he saw Al-Megrahi placing a suspicious suitcase on the luggage carousel at Malta airport, where both of them worked. That suitcase allegedly made its way to Frankfurt and then London, where prosecutors say it was placed aboard the Pan Am airliner.
When defense attorneys recently interviewed the witness, identified as Libyan defector Abu Maged Jiacha, in the United States, he said he saw someone who looked like Al-Megrahi take the suitcase off the carousel, according to the newspaper report. The reported change was seen as a setback to the prosecution case. At a pretrial hearing in December in the Netherlands, prosecutors had requested permission to have witnesses appear in disguises. They argued that identification by the public would jeopardize the lives and livelihoods of the witnesses. Many among the more than 1,000 prosecution witnesses are present or former employees of U.S. and European intelligence agencies.
According to several legal sources and media reports, Jiacha wore a blond lady's wig and heavy makeup during the encounter with defense lawyers, held in the back of a van traveling through suburban Washington. Today's hearing was told by Bill Taylor QC, for Megrahi, that the trial courtroom will be divided in two by a glass screen, with the public on one side and the well of the court on the other. Blinds would be raised, covering about half the glass, preventing the public from seeing the witnesses, he said.
Detailing the revised Crown request on the identity of witnesses, the Solicitor General said the judge had already ruled out elaborate methods of disguise such as masks. He said the judge had made clear it was always open to a witness to alter his appearance by methods like growing a beard or changing his hair style, and the issues could to be dealt with on a witness-by-witness basis. "The purpose ... is to prevent the identity of the witnesses travelling further than the well of the court," he said. Mr Boyd said former East German security service members had indicated "reluctance - in one case extreme reluctance" to come to court if their true identities were revealed.
The Crown (prosecution) also revealed that it would not seek to determine where in the Camp Zeist courtroom observers appointed by the UN should sit. Mr Boyd said the Crown would not seek to prevent UN observers at the trial from having the same view of witnesses as was visible to the two accused men.
BBC solicitor asked to leave by prosecution
An application by the BBC to televise the trial in the Netherlands was rejected during the hearing before the Judge Lord Sutherland at the High Court in Edinburgh. However, the BBC said it would seek a judicial review of the decision. Ray Martin QC, for the BBC, was told he had no formal role in the hearing and Lord Sutherland told Mr Martin it was up to him to decide what further steps the BBC should take. "I am afraid you have no locus", he told the lawyer.
Earlier, Mr Martin told the judge he had been instructed to appear at the hearing on the basis of 1992 Scottish legal guidelines which enabled a court to authorise "in certain circumstances" the televising of proceedings. "There have been a number of instances when such televising has taken place," said Mr Martin. Mr Martin said he was appearing now as a matter of courtesy - and told the judge it might be open to the BBC to take the matter forward by another route. Earlier, Solicitor General for Scotland, Colin Boyd QC, said Mr Martin was not a party to proceedings and invited the judge to ask him to leave.
Background info:
Reactions from relatives:
At the procedural hearing at Edinburgh High Court today the lawyers of the Libyan suspects entered not guilty pleas on their behalf - the first time a plea has been formally taken. Kathleen Flynn, 58, and her husband Jack, 62, travelled from their home in New Jersey in the United States to witness today's proceedings, a forerunner to the trial in Holland next May of the two Libyans.
After seeing lawyers for the two Libyans tender not guilty pleas at the High Court in Edinburgh, Mrs Flynn said outside court: "I think Scottish justice is very imposing and very impressive." She went on: "We are looking for justice, and we are looking for the truth. That is what is important to us." The couple's student son John Patrick, returning home for Christmas, was one of the passengers killed when flight 103 came down over Lockerbie. The couple plan to attend the trial at Camp Zeist in Holland and also intend to visit Lockerbie. Mrs Flynn acknowledged the start of the trial would be an emotional moment but said: "We are prepared for it. We have spent 11 years waiting for this moment."
Dr Jim Swire, spokesman for the British victims' families, said of the not guilty pleas: "Throughout our time of being aware of the Libyan position, both the accused men and their representatives and the leader of their country have said they were not guilty. "They have maintained this position, and this is what we would expect to happen."
But Dr Swire, who is on holiday in Spain, voiced alarm at possible plans to have the trial televised, saying: "We are against the idea of live televising the trial for a number of reasons - including the dread that anything approaching the O.J. Simpson fiasco will be seen in a court such as this. "We would expect to see the dignity of Scottish criminal justice upheld."
Last night Jean Berkley, whose son Alistair was one of 270 people who died in the 1988 bombing - said: "This is no great surprise - if they had pleaded guilty the trial wouldn't be going ahead. "Now we have to wait and see what happens next. "We will be glad to get the trial started, as it has been postponed before." Mrs Berkley, 69, of Sandhoe, near Hexham, Northumberland, said: "It seems to be a huge undertaking, a massive thing for the whole Scottish Law establishment, and we are keen to know how it will start and then proceed. "We will try and get over to Holland at some stage, but understand there will be a TV-link from the trial to Dumfries, as well as to London."
Last night Mrs Berkley, co-ordinator of the UK families group, said: "None of these measures (i.e. pre-trial hearing issues) would worry me. We have to put our trust in the Lord Advocate and police. We want this to be as full a trial as possible and don't want anything to handicap that."
Background info:
02/02/00 THE HERALD The cost of the trial in the Netherlands of the two Lockerbie bomb suspects will run to more than £30m, prompting efforts by the Chancellor to persuade the United States to carry a share of the financial burden. UK's Finance Minister Jack McConnell gave the latest estimate to the finance committee of the Scottish Parliament yesterday.
He said whatever the final cost, the Treasury would pick up the lion's share of the bill. This would leave only around £4m to come from Mr McConnell's budget. "The UK Treasury is in discussion with the American Government with a view to them providing substantial contributions to the cost," the Minister told the committee. "All of the capital costs will be met from UK reserves and 80% of the current costs will be met from UK reserves. "Only a small amount will fall on the Scottish criminal justice system. While it is an important amount and it is important that we continue with the trial, we have done well here out of the special arrangements that exist with the UK Treasury."
The cost of the police and prison service is put at £18.1m, with a further £11.2m for the cost of the court at Camp Zeist, plus Crown Office spending of £1.5m, making a total of £30.8m. Mr McConnell said: "It is an exceptional set of circumstances and the UK Treasury has been willing to pick up almost all of the tab."
Background info:
28/01/00 THE HERALD The first of a new series of appointments to replace the four judges who are travelling to the Netherlands to hear the trial of the Lockerbie suspects was announced yesterday. The new judge is Mr Colin Sutherland, QC, a leading member of the Scottish Bar who is also Treasurer of the Faculty of the Advocates.
One of the first decisions for the new judge, who will be installed next week, will be to choose a judicial title. There is already a Lord Sutherland.
New evidence has surfaced that may blow huge holes in the prosecution of two Libyans awaiting trial in Holland, before a Scottish Court, according to Graham K. Yost from Rumor Mill News .
In an upcoming one hour documentary, being prepared by American Radio Works for 700 stations, new evidence confirms the US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) was running drugs, sometimes without the knowledge of local authorities. The DEA office in Nicosia, Cyprus got caught red handed. Several DEA agents from the Cyprus office died aboard Pan Am flight 103.
The program will tell the story of how two Lebanese from the Kabbara family, near Tripoli, were caught at Rome, Italy's International Airport with a cache of heroin hidden in plastic coat hangers. The Tribunale DeRoma ruled then, that the drugs were destined for the United States and the Kabbaras were on the United States Government payroll. DEA Cyprus Country Office denied it, but the three Italian judges ruled, "DEA Country Attache, Michael Hurley, cannot be believed."
The Kabbaras were doing more for the Americans than running drugs, according to the upcoming documentary. Italian police discovered the Lebanese brothers had a company in Rome, called Kinex, (Kabbara International Export). Kinex was actively "purchasing" military supplies in the early 80's from United States suppliers and shipping them to Iraq. Police also found that the telephone listed for Kinex actually rang in the United States Embassy in Rome. As in other cases, DEA Cyprus regularly "loaned " drug informants to the CIA who ran them as special assets.
DEA officials in Cyprus, testifying in civil proceedings in Great Britain, repeatedly denied the existence of "controlled deliveries". However the public radio documentary unit uncovered a deposition DEA Attache, Michael T. Hurley, gave in a civil case in a South Florida Federal Court. Hurley says there were, on average, 200 informants on the DEA payroll in Lebanon, and controlled deliveries were set up about twice a year.
Background info:
23/01/2000 EDINBURGH (Reuters) - A key witness in the upcoming Lockerbie trial has watered down his testimony in the case against two Libyans accused of the 1988 airliner bombing, a Scottish newspaper reported on Sunday. Scotland on Sunday - Scotlands leading weekend-paper quoted sources close to the case as saying that Abu Maged Jiacha, who has been in the U.S. witness protection program for 10 years, had changed parts of his story when he was interviewed recently by defense attorneys. British authorities were not immediately available to comment on the report.
The newspaper reports that in a bizarre twist, Jiacha would only agree to meet defence lawyers in Washington DC while disguised in a Shirley Bassey wig and heavy stage make-up in the back of a constantly moving van. They were surprised that he would tell them only that he may have seen one of the accused removing a suitcase from a luggage carousel, not loading it on, at Luqa Airport in Malta. The charges by British prosecutors state the bomb began its journey in Malta and continued via Frankfurt and London until its mid-air detonation over Lockerbie, the newspaper said. It said the new testimony was the latest setback for prosecutors in the case.
Senior legal sources have indicated that the trial at Kamp Van Zeist in the Netherlands faces further delays, having already been postponed beyond an original starting date of March until May 3 with the consent of both defence and prosecution. Privately, some legal experts are speculating that if the date is not changed again, then the Crown may admit it has no viable case to make .
In Washington late last year defence lawyers were surprised that Jiacha had so little to say that might incriminate their clients. A source said: "They were blindfolded so they did not know where they were and put in the back of a van driving around the streets. When their blindfolds were taken off they saw Jiacha in what can only be described as a Shirley Bassey wig, and stage make-up." The scene was obliquely referred to at a preliminary trial hearing last month when the defence objected to some witnesses using disguises "Shirley Bassey wigs and plastered in make up" – to conceal their identity at the trial.
Last night, Jim Swire, spokesman for the UK victims' families, declined to comment. He said: "I will wait for the trial - that is the proper place."
Background info:
16/01/2000 Edwin Bollier, VR of the Swiss electronics firm MEBO AG, once again speaks out revealing new facts about the Lockerbie bombing investigation. In a couple of reports published on this website only, Mr. Bollier for the first time reveals how he signed a statement at the FBI in Washington in 1991 identifying an altered picture of a Lebanese terrorist as the picture of Lockerbie suspect Megrahi, only after "suggestive coaching by FBI agents".
Mr. Bollier also reveals a series of mysterious conversations with an unitentified intelligence employee from the South African Security Service BOSS during the summer of 1994. Furthermore, Mr. Bollier claims he received another mysterious intelligence employee at the premises of MEBO as early as 9 days after the bombing of Pan Am 103 on december 30, 1988!
In a subsequent list of witnesses for an up-coming trial in defense of his statements, Mr. Bollier has listed the names of former DEA and CIA-employees such as Vincent Cannistraro, Lester Coleman and Steve Green. Among the names on Bolliers list is also former US president George Bush.
Edwin Bolliers reports and the witness list:
NB! Above reports are published as received, including formatting, errors and unfiltered content. Due to webspace limitations I have chosen to publish the documents in HTML-format. Original hardcopies available on request.
Former FBI Official Calls Libya Deal 'Obstruction of Justice' 06/01/00 USA's Survival Journalist Cliff Kincaid, president of the public policy group America's Survival (www.usasurvival.org) , has disclosed that the former associate deputy director of the FBI for investigations, Oliver "Buck" Revell, who supervised the investigation of Pan Am 103, says the letter could constitute obstruction of justice in the trial scheduled to take place next February of two Libyan agents charged in the bombing. It means, he said, "that we could not pursue evidence developed in the trial to wherever it led - even if it was to the head of a foreign government." He added, "As a former law enforcement officer, I would view that as an obstruction and an absolutely improper action on the part of any government and the United Nations. It's not enough to let these two [Libyans] pay the price. They were certainly not acting on their own behalf."
Background info:
Also mr. Kincaid recently concerned himself with the efforts of Dr. Robert Black in the up-coming trial and the investigation of Pan Am 103. "There appears to be some concern about (Dr. Blacks) efforts in this case. (He) traveled to Libya twice as a representative of some of the British families of the victims to work out an arrangement for a trial. (His) idea was to have the Libyans tried in a third country, which the Libyans accepted. Now, however, (he has) been on CBS and ABC seeming to be very skeptical of whether the case against the Libyans can be proved. As a result, some family members say it appears (dr. Black) helped arrange a trial in a location and under rules which (dr. Black) had reason to believe would not result in a conviction. (The relatives) are concerned."
Robert Black's reply:
"Apart from the facts (a) that the court is geographically located in the Netherlands and not in Scotland and (b) that the trial will take place before three Scottish judges instead of a Scottish judge and jury, the rules of criminal law, procedure and evidence that will apply are exactly the same as would apply if the case were being heard in Scotland in the usual way. The procedure at Zeist gives the accused no advantages that they would not have under ordinary Scottish criminal procedure: indeed, some might say that the absence of a jury is disadvantageous to the defence since the experience in Scotland is that it is much easier to get acquittals from a jury than from a professional and experienced judge.
I therefore very much resent any suggestion or implication that I am a stooge for the Libyans and connived in setting up a scheme which was designed to result in an acquittal. My sole concern throughout (as a Professor of Scots Law and as someone born and raised in Lockerbie) has been to promote arrangements to enable a trial to take place, so that the available evidence can be led and tested.
I am proud that my efforts (which, I may say have left me considerably out of pocket, since I have always refused to accept any payment from any Libyan source) eventually bore fruit and Britain and the United States will have an opportunity to lead in open court the evidence that they say establishes the guilt of the accused.
If the Libyans are acquitted, it will be because the prosecution is unable to bring forward evidence which convinces the court of their guilt. From material available to me (and to CBS, ABC, BBC Scotland and various other persons and organisations who have investigated Lockerbie) it is clear that the the prosecution case is by no means an open and shut one: there is evidence (the reliability and weight of which it will be for the court to assess) that points in another direction. If this fact is unpalatable to some of the US relatives, I am sorry. But they can surely take comfort from the fact that the Scottish court will take its decision solely on the evidence (both prosecution and defence). That evidence will be led and scrutinised in open court and in the presence of the world press. If the evidence does not establish the guilt of the accused, they will be acquitted; if it establishes their guilt, they will be convicted.
The court that has been set up is no kangaroo court. It will act on the evidence led before it and on nothing else. If the relatives are not satisfied with this, then they should ask themselves if what they are seeking is truly justice and truth or something considerably less noble. "
Prof R Black QC
Faculty of Law
University of Edinburgh
Old College, South Bridge
Edinburgh EH8 9YL
Scotland
tel: (+44)(0)131 650 2021
fax: (+44)(0)131 650 6317
Background info:
Chief Lockerbie prosecutor under pressure from relatives06/01/00 BBC, Reuters + others The British Lord Advocate, Lord Hardie, has been asked to give assurances that senior Libyan officials were not promised immunity from prosecution in the Lockerbie bombing case. The demand comes from the family of an American victim, who have expressed fears that the US will limit the possibility of further charges being brought in future.
Daniel and Susan Cohen - whose daughter Theodora was killed in the tragedy 11 years ago - wants Lord Hardie to confirm whether he has seen documents which they claim amount to a pre-trial deal between America, Britain and Libya. The documents in question were part of correspondence by the UN secretary General Kofi Annan to the Libyan leader Colonel Gaddafi a few weeks before the Lockerbie suspects were handed over for trial.
Mr and Mrs Cohen - who have penned their concerns in a letter to Lord Hardie - say this amounts to a promise not to pursue the case beyond the two men who were indicted - in effect giving blanket protection to Libyan officials. "Recent articles in the U.S. press have left absolutely no doubt in anyone's mind that the Annan letter and other documents
relating to pre-trial agreement with Libya do exist," the Cohens wrote.
Dan and Susan Cohen have written to Lord Hardie asking him to help to lift a "cloud" hanging over the trial. The Cohens said that, in a meeting with the families last August, Lord Hardie told them he knew nothing of such a letter. In their letter they write: "This seems an appropriate moment to once again ask the question that we asked last year: `Have you seen those documents?' And now we add: `If not, why not?'
Mrs Cohen said: "We have to see this letter. It's not that this letter is a smoking gun. It lays out a deal. It gives Gaddafi protection by laying out that it's not going to undermine him or his regime." Rosemary Wolfe, whose stepdaughter Miriam, 20, was kill-ed, said she had had conversa-tions with two US officials, who were liaising with the families, who had briefed her on the contents of the letter and the annexe about February. She said: "The part that really got me upset was not using the trial to undermine the Libyan government." But according to the families, after these conversations, they were told progressively less.
Lord Hardie has always insisted that his office and the prosecution of the case are absolutely independent from political pressure.
In a statement today, Lord Hardie said: "I have today received a letter from Mr and Mrs Daniel Cohen of New Jersey concerning the Lockerbie investigation and will be replying to the Cohens' letter in due course. "I have, on a number of occasions, both in the United Kingdom and the United States, given my personal reassurance to the relatives of the Lockerbie victims that I have not seen any document, nor would I have been party to any document, that would inhibit me in the exercise of my duties in relation to the prosecution and investigation of crime in Scotland in particular in relation to the forthcoming trial at the Scottish Court in the Netherlands.
"The purpose of this trial is to determine the guilt or innocence of the two Libyans accused of the Lockerbie bombing. "So far as the publication of any letter issued by the UN Secretary General is concerned that is a matter entirely for the UN."
George Williams, the president of Victims of Flight Pan Am 103, said that getting a full account of the letter remained a priority for the families. He said: "We are concentrating in getting to see a copy of it over here." But Mr Williams stressed that there was enormous faith in the Scottish authorities and particularly in the Lord Advocate's pledge to the families that he would not be bound by such a letter or any other assurances to Col Gaddafi. He added: "I trust the Scots more than I trust my own country."
Representative of families of British victims, Dr Jim Swire, says the Cohens and other American relatives have every right to press for an answer but he believes the forthcoming trial must be the focus. "Of paramount importance is the need to see this trial go through. "The guilt or innocence of the two named Libyans needs to be decided and until that is concluded what went on between the UN and Libya will have to wait," said Dr Swire.
"Mr Cohen is clearly without any doubt that the accusations against the Libyans are not only true, without bothering to wait for the trial, but also that Colonel Gaddafi was directly involved. That viewpoint sets little store about the trial continuing at Camp Zeist - he thinks he knows already who is guilty and that we shouldn't go through with a criminal trial but just go on to the civil case. That is not the position of the British relatives." Dr Swire, 63, who has quit his job as a GP in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire to concentrate on attending the Dutch trial, added: "I don't feel that this approach is helpful to making sure that we are getting to the truth. The best way to do that is through the trial and I'm very pleased that it's going to be held under Scottish law."
The bid by the Cohens comes in the wake of a further attempt by the chairman of the United States' House of Representatives International Relations Committee, Benjamin Gilman, to win assurances that no deal was done. British relatives responded that the Americans should simply let the Scottish courts do their work. "If questions are raised during the trial about involvement by senior Libyan officials, then I am sure the judges will pursue this," Swire said.
The differences between the American and British relatives are not the first. Previous calls by some American relatives for the U.S. government to bomb Tripoli angered the British, while visits by some British relatives to Libya angered the Americans.
Two sound clips from the BBC:
Background info:
....read also news below! ....
UK victims families appeal for financial help05/01/2000 Glasgow University - Lockerbie Trial Unit Following Dr. Jim Swire's announcement at the end of last year that he will retire from his position as a GP in order to attend the trial it has now come to light that he is being forced to sell his house to fund his visit. The families of the UK victims are now appealing for financial support from the Government to enable their attendance at the trial to be held in the Netherlands in May.
"We're in a large house at the moment and are looking to sell it so that we can move into something smaller, probably in the Cotswolds, said Dr Swire to local Worcester Evening News Journal. The money from the sale would help to pay for the costs of staying near Camp Zeist, where the Libyans will stand trial in May.
The families are reported to have found a property that would be suitable as a base for those visiting the trial and are requesting that the UK Government provide funding to purchase the property so that it may be used as a centre of the UK victims families near the courtroom.
The UK Government have arranged a live video feed for the family members to London but many see this as an unsuitable measure as it does not assist those outside London. The US Governement have offered all victims families, including those of the UK, return flights and a week's accomodation that they may see justice being done.
However, the American authorities have promised all families, including those from Britain, a free return flight and a week's free accommodation in the former military air base in Holland. But that's only one week of a year-long trial and many relatives will want to watch the entire trial, said Dr Swire. The bereaved families have found a large building in the Dutch town of Vierhouten, which they say could be used to house them. They have asked the Government to consider buying it and selling the property after the case.
However, the Government has suggested instead an encrypted live CCTV link from the court to London, which only the relatives would be allowed to view, said Dr Swire. Relatives are continuing to lobby the Government for funds, he added.
Background info:
05/01/00 UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - A U.S. congressional committee chairman has for the third time sought assurances from Secretary of State Madeleine Albright that Libya was not promised that senior officials would be immune from prosecution in the Lockerbie bombing case. The latest request by the chairman of the House of Representatives International Relations Committee, Benjamin Gilman, a New York Republican, came in a letter to Albright dated Dec. 23, 1999, and obtained by Reuters on Wednesday.
Gilman wrote to Albright on Sept. 14 and again on Oct. 26 asking for any information about reported assurances given by the United Nations or others. In his October letter, Gilman said he had ``ascertained that the State Department has in its possession material dealing with U.N. and possible other promises to the Libyan regime.'' In his latest letter, Gilman referred particularly to ``the letter and a related annex'' from Annan to Gaddafi. ``On two occasions earlier this year I have written to you asking for these important documents, and I have been disappointed that full disclosure has not yet been forthcoming,'' he said.
Gilman added, ``While I am well aware of the purported limitations of the State Department in making these documents publicly available, I would urge you to consider some accommodation that can both ensure a prompt and fair trial of the two Libyan suspects now in custody of the Scottish Law Tribunal in the Netherlands, and also take into account the legitimate and very important interests and concerns of the Pan Am 103 victims.''
As a compromise, Gilman suggested that the State Department, in cooperation with the Justice Department, set up a meeting with Scottish prosecutors and representatives of the Pan Am 103 families and their lawyers, ``in order to fully and thoroughly review these documents long before the trial begins in May.''
He said the meeting, to be attended also by members of Congress, or their designated staff, who have sought disclosure of the documents, ``would hopefully serve to ensure that there be no limits on the future prosecution of any and all officials of the Libyan government implicated in this terrorist act during the course of the ongoing judicial proceedings in The Hague.'' A similar request for disclosure was made in a letter sent to Albright on Oct. 5, 1999 by three Democratic senators --Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts, and Frank Lautenberg and Robert Torricelli, both of New Jersey.
Background info:
....read also news below! ....
30/12/99 USA TODAY WASHINGTON -- The Clinton administration has classified two documents related to an upcoming trial in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103, intensifying concern among some victims' relatives about how thorough the prosecution will be. ''These are documents that need to be released,'' says Rosemary Wolfe of Alexandria, Va. Her stepdaughter, Miriam, 20, was one of 189 Americans killed when the Boeing 747 blew up over Lockerbie, Scotland, Dec. 21, 1988.
The documents are a letter and the annex to the letter by U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan to Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi. Sent to Gadhafi in February to persuade him to turn over two suspects for prosecution, they assured the Libyan leader that the trial was not intended to ''undermine'' the Libyan regime, according to U.S. officials who have seen the text. The annex also promised that if convicted, the two Libyan intelligence agents -- Abdel Basset Ali al-Megrahi and Lamen Khalifa Fhimah -- would not be questioned about other acts of the Libyan government.
State Department and White House officials say the assurances were necessary to persuade Gadhafi to cooperate and that no secret deals were struck. The trial, which begins in May in the Netherlands, will be held before Scottish judges who are not legally bound by the Annan letter or any other private assurances to Gadhafi. ''We've always said the evidence has to lead where it will lead,'' says Philip Reeker, a State Department spokesman.
Other U.S. officials, however, say Gadhafi would never have turned over the two men if he believed that they would implicate him or Libyans close to him. Relatives of the suspects are being held in Libya, essentially as hostages, the officials say, inhibiting the defendants from testifying fully. A half-dozen alleged co-conspirators also have ''passed away under various circumstances,'' according to a U.S. official who asked not to be named. Wolfe and other relatives of victims have been read only portions of the documents by State Department and U.N. officials.
On Oct. 12, Cliff Kincaid, president of America's Survival , a conservative, anti-U.N. group, filed a Freedom of Information Act request for the documents. It was denied on Dec. 15 by Margaret Grafeld, director of the State Department's Office of Information Resources Management Programs and Services. Grafeld's letter, a copy of which was made available to USA TODAY, said the documents were classified ''in the interest of national defense or foreign relations.'' Kincaid says he will appeal.
The decision to classify the documents has intensified anger among some relatives of the victims. ''If these documents were classified all along, why were we read portions?'' Wolfe asks. She plans a separate Freedom of Information Act request. Sens. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., and Robert Torricelli, D-N.J., and Rep. Benjamin Gilman, R-N.Y., also have written Secretary of State Madeleine Albright seeking release of the documents. They have been turned down.
State Department officials say they cannot release the items because they are U.N. documents. Fred Eckhard, Annan's spokesman, says they are private correspondence ''on a highly sensitive subject. How can you do diplomacy if you go making such things public?'' Some of the assurances to Gadhafi were negotiated by South Africa's former president Nelson Mandela and Saudi envoy to the United States, Prince Bandar bin Sultan.
Many U.S. officials regard the complicated diplomacy leading to the trial -- including seven-year U.N. sanctions that were suspended when the suspects were turned over in April -- as a victory that has gotten Libya out of the terrorism business. Since turning over the two suspects, Gadhafi has expelled the Abu Nidal terrorist group and transferred support from other radical Palestinians to the mainstream Palestine Liberation Organization. Recognizing the change in Libyan behavior, Britain has sent an ambassador back to the Libyan capital. U.S. oil company executives have been allowed to tour old property in Libya. A State Department provision barring the use of a U.S. passport to travel to Libya is under ''active review,'' Reeker says.
U.S. officials also are considering taking Libya off a State Department list of terrorist-sponsoring states. That would ease the way for U.S. trade sanctions against Libya to be lifted if the trial proceeds smoothly and Gadhafi compensates families of the Pan Am victims. ''I think we can expect that Libya's reintegration into the international community will continue, whether we like it or not, so long as Libya avoids new terrorism or blatant challenges to the international order,'' Ronald Neumann, deputy assistant secretary of State for Near Eastern affairs, told the Middle East Institute, a Washington think tank.
U.S. officials note that leaders of countries and groups responsible for heinous acts are rarely subjected to personal punishment. Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat is now regarded as a peacemaker and the same diplomatic rehabilitation is likely for Syrian President Hafez Assad.
Those spending another difficult holiday season without their relatives might never accept Gadhafi's return to the fold, however, especially if they continue to believe that important information has been denied to them. ''We totally caved in,'' Wolfe says.
Background info:
....read also news below! ....
30/12/99 US Survival website Washington, D.C.: Secretary of State Madeleine Albright has put a "classified" stamp on critical documents in the Pan Am 103 bombing case that reportedly outline a secret diplomatic deal with Libyan terror chief Moammar Gadhafi, the accused mastermind of the bombing. The documents may prove that the State Department has violated its own stated policy of not negotiating with terrorists and that Gadhafi has been given immunity from prosecution.
Journalist Cliff Kincaid revealed that the State Department, responding to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, announced that it has decided that relevant documents were "classified" under a presidential executive order and will not be released because they concern "national defense or foreign relations." Kincaid's public policy group, America's Survival, had specifically requested two U.N. documents, signed or authorized by U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, which were sent to Gadhafi as part of the scheme under which he turned over two low-level intelligence agents to take the rap. The documents were reportedly approved by top U.S. officials, including Albright.
The controversial documents are said to promise Gadhafi that the trial is not intended to "undermine" his regime and that his Libyan agents will be given special protection and care by the U.N. if they are convicted. The documents have been termed "obstruction of justice" by former FBI official Oliver "Buck" Revell, who, like many others, has seen stories about their existence and partial contents. The phrase about not undermining the Libyan regime is widely viewed as a promise not to hold Gadhafi or his government responsible for the bombing.
The "classified" stamp on the documents is a phony, Kincaid pointed out, because the documents were not classified in the past and, in fact, selected parts of them have been cited in the past. Kincaid said the failure to release them as complete documents, so the public and the press can understand the nature of this deal, indicates that the State Department and the U.N. have something to hide. Kincaid added, "Secretary of State Albright has inflicted more pain and suffering on the Pan Am families by keeping the truth from them. Albright has made a sleazy deal with one of the world's top terrorists, and she doesn't want the world, the American people, the press, or the families of the victims to know."
Copies of the FOIA request and State Department response are available by calling 301-855-2679.
Albright refuses to hand over mysterious letter21/12/99 (CNSNews.com) - On the eve of the anniversary of the Pan Am 103 bombing, Secretary of State Madeleine Albright has refused to hand over critical diplomatic correspondence in the case, reinforcing suspicions that a secret deal has been made granting Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi immunity from prosecution. "As time goes on and they refuse to release it, we become more concerned about what is involved here," Rosemary Wolfe, whose stepdaughter, 20-year-old Miriam, was killed in the bombing, told CNSNews.com.
The U.S. State Department put a "classified" stamp on critical documents in the case that reportedly outline a secret diplomatic deal between the United Nations and Gadhafi. The documents may prove that the State Department has violated its stated policy of not negotiating with terrorists and that Gadhafi has been granted immunity from prosecution. Responding to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request by a Washington public policy group, the State Department said the annex of a letter by U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan could not be released "in the interest of national defense or foreign relations."
Journalist Cliff Kincaid, who heads America's Survival, requested two U.N. documents, signed or authorized by Annan, which were sent to Gadhafi as part of the scheme under which Gadhafi turned over two Libyan intelligence agents for trial in the bombing that claimed a total of 270 lives, including 189 Americans, on Dec. 21, 1988. The U.N. letter, which may have been approved by representatives of the Clinton administration and British Prime Minister Tony Blair's government in London, reportedly gave assurances to Tripoli that the trial of two Libyan suspects by a Scottish court in The Hague will not "undermine" Gadhafi's regime.
Annan's letter was among the last documents given to Libya before Tripoli last April handed over two suspects accused of planting the bomb. Annan's office served as a conduit between Libya and the United States and Britain in arrangements for the hand over. Three U.S. senators are following Rep. Benjamin Gilman (R-NJ) in asking the Clinton administration for assurances that no promises have been made to shield Libyan leaders from complicity in the bombing.
Gilman, chairman of the House International Relations Committee, asked "for any and all information that the State Department may have on this subject matter, including purported letters from the U.N. and or other diplomats dealing with limits on prosecution for the Pan Am 103 terrorist attack." With the trial of the suspects scheduled for February, three Democratic senators - Edward Kennedy from Massachusetts, and Robert Torricelli and Frank Lautenberg, both from New Jersey - also asked for a copy of the Annan document. Without access to the U.N. letter to Libya, "the relatives' doubts remain," the senators said in a letter to Secretary of State Madeleine Albright on October 5.
Lord Hardie, who will lead the prosecution, said he would indict other high-ranking Libyans if evidence of their involvement emerged at the trial. "There has been no deal," he told reporters during a visit to Washington in August. "Libya has been given no promises or inducements," he said. But in light of the State Department stonewalling, Hardie's assurances have done little to alleviate the concerns of the victims' relatives, who have been urging the Clinton administration for years not to let political considerations deter it from thoroughly seeking the truth.
"What I'm concerned about is how far the Scottish prosecutors are going to go to bring out the rest of the evidence about who was involved in the Libyan government, from Gadhafi to the rest of his political and military leaders," Wolfe said to CNSNews.com. "It's just not plausible that these two Libyan agents decided on their own that they would undertake this act, given that this is a dictatorship and [Gadhafi] has total control over things like this. It never could have occurred," Wolfe said.
Background info:
London (CNSNews.com) - A British specialist on terrorism has warned against jumping to conclusions about who's responsible for the 1988 PanAm bombing over Lockerbie, saying the trial of two Libyans suspected of involvement would finally test the "spin" that has characterized various theories that have emerged over the last decade. Tim Ripley, who heads a terrorism research project at the Center for Defense and International Security Studies, was responding to reports that lawyers representing the Libyans were planning to base their defense on claims that the airliner was actually bombed by a Palestinian terror group.
"The positions have changed so often, that one thinks, 'what are people playing at here?'" Ripley told CNSNews.com. The new twist was expected, he said. "We're in that phase of the case - classic American pre-court case spin." The whole affair, he said, had been "characterized by spin on all sides, [leaving] public perceptions twisting in the wind."
Two Libyan suspects are currently awaiting trial for the bombing in the Netherlands next year. But an earlier theory investigators explored - and apparently discarded - held that Iran contracted with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command (PFLP-GC) to carry out the bombing, in retaliation for the accidental shooting down of an Iranian airliner by a U.S. warship five months earlier.
In a High Court pre-trial hearing in Edinburgh earlier this year, the Libyans' lawyers applied for access to documents held by the government. Those documents are believed to incriminate a member of the Damascus-based PFLP-GC, currently serving a life sentence in Sweden for another terrorist bombing. The Palestinian, Mohammed Abu Talb, was an original suspect in the case. He was arrested in 1989 and jailed for his role in a 1985 Copenhagen city bombing. According to published accounts, police captured a PFLP-GC cell in West Germany months before the Lockerbie bombing, and discovered bombs similar to the one that brought down flight 103, planted inside a portable stereo system identical to the one in which the PanAm bomb apparently had been hidden -- a Toshiba "BombBeat". When Talb was arrested in Sweden, police reportedly found a calendar at his home with the date of the Lockerbie bombing - December 21, 1988 - ringed. The lawyers apparently hope to use the documents to implicate Talb, and thus get their Libyan clients, Abdel Basset al-Megrahi and Al-Amin Khalifa Fahima, acquitted.
Ripley said it would be "quite healthy all round for all the spin to be tested" in court. He suggested there were probably some who hoped the case would never come to trial, so they could continue to point fingers at various supposed culprits, for political reasons. Some of theories that have been mooted over the years have been convoluted. One, for instance, suggests the Israeli Mossad had planted the bomb to kill members of the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency onboard who were returning to the U.S. with evidence of a CIA-Mossad drug-smuggling operation in Lebanon linked to efforts to free American hostages in Beirut.
Early in the investigation, the Iran/PFLP-GC theory was circulated widely among terrorism experts, who said there was evidence Iran had paid the cash-strapped Palestinian faction to carry out the attack. Two days after the Pan Am bombing, the Interior Ministry in Tehran reportedly sent a message to a Middle East Iranian embassy, congratulating the ambassador on a "successful operation" and giving instructions to hand over the remaining funds promised to the PFLP-GC. A U.S. Air Force signals intelligence unit report in 1991 accused Iran of paying the Lockerbie bombers $10 million to carry out the attack. It mentioned the PFLP-GC by name.
In a paper written a year after Lockerbie, a researcher at Israel's Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies linked the Palestinian group, Iran and Libya to the attack, and said Syria "also apparently approved." Ripley recalled it was later theorized that the U.S. and Britain decided to move the spotlight onto Libya for reasons of political expediency. In 1997, a senior Central Intelligence Agency source told the German newsmagazine Focus that the CIA was aware of PFLP-GC's role in the bombing, but that President George Bush was reluctant to blame Syria - which oversees PFLP-GC activities - lest this upset his Middle East peace efforts.
A former senior Iranian intelligence chief told German police in 1997 that Iran had asked Libya and Palestinian terrorists to help blow up an American airliner. Iran dismissed the allegation. The PFLP-GC enjoyed Libyan support and patronage for many years, but a year after Lockerbie, Muammar Gadaffi expelled the organization from the country, saying he was renouncing international terrorism.
Background info:
Swire quits GP post / private commemoration this year in the UK21/21/99 * BBC Dr Jim Swire, spokesman for a group of UK relatives who lost people on Pan Am Flight 103, plans to quit his job as a GP next month to attend the trial. He lost hiss daughter Flora in the crash, 11 years ago today - the day before her 24th birthday. Dr Swire, 63, joined the medical practice in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, in 1971.
"I have given in my notice because I have made major provisions for attending the trial, and having made my decision when the trial date was changed I decided to stick by it," he said. For Dr Swire, and for others connected with Lockerbie, this winter and the one before have been turning points in the 11 long years since the disaster. Dr Swire married his wife Jane on December 16 in 1961, Flora's birthday was December 23, and their other daughter Catherine, 31, was born on December 31.
"It is a month of anniversaries, and a very strange and poignant mixture - we had the pleasure of Flora until that terrible night when she was taken away from us," he said. This year, for the first time, the group of British relatives for which Dr Swire is spokesman have not held a formal anniversary service of their own. "The group decided this year they would not hold a public event to mark the anniversary because everything came together last year with the 10th anniversary," he said.
Family and friends of those killed in the Lockerbie disaster mourned the loss of their loved ones in private yesterday, on the 11th anniversary of the tragedy which cut short 270 lives. For the first time, a decision was made not to hold a formal remembrance ceremony in the hope that the community can now draw a line under the events of December 21, 1988.
Dr Swire, speaking on the 11th anniversary of the disaster, said: "I have no comment to offer on whether they are guilty or innocent. The sole reason for the Scottish criminal system to have called this trial is to decide the guilt or innocence of the two accused. In the process, the trial will perform a major service for us by allowing the evidence that is available to be cross-examined in detail."
Background info:
Gaddafi: Apology for PA 103, if not guiltyNEW YORK, Dec. 21 (Reuters) - Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi said on Tuesday he would seek an apology and compensation if two Libyan suspects on trial in the Dec. 21, 1988 bombing of a Pan Am passenger plane over Lockerbie, Scotland are found innocent. In a taped interview from Tripoli on CBS's ``Early Show'' on Tuesday, the 11th anniversary of the bombing, Gaddafi said if the two men are found innocent he would seek an apology and compensation from the United States. ``This must be, must be, and all the world says this,'' he said.
Asked whether that meant he would seek both compensation and an apology he answered, ``Yes, of course....'' Asked whether he was sorry he had not turned over the suspects sooner, Gaddafi said he was sorry that his country had suffered sanctions as a result of the bombing. ``We are sorry around the world, sorry about the sanctions that suffered -- well, my country suffered from these sanctions, and they think America and Britain, they did it deliberately to make Libyan people suffer a long time, as long as they want,'' Gaddafi said, adding, ``it is not the fault of my country.''
Background info:
A Service of Remembrance will be held on the anniversary of the bombing of Flight 103. This service will take place at Hendricks Chapel in the Small Chapel on Tuesday, Dec. 21 at 2:03 p.m. The brief service of prayers and comments will conclude with the carrying of a light to the Place of Remembrance.
questions? contact:
Ginny Yerdon
Office of the Dean
Hendricks Chapel
Phone: 443-5044
Fax: 443-4128
Email: gyerdon@syr.edu
At the same time (local time 19:03) in Lockerbie, Scotland, a memorial service wil take place at the main church in town.
18 December, 1999 - AP - U.S. Presidential contender Pat Buchanan reversed his support for economic sanctions Thursday and pledged to lift all such punishments against Iran, Iraq, Cuba and other nations. ``Our sanctions are sowing seeds of hatred that will one day flower in acts of terrorism against us, years after these sanctions expire,'' Buchanan said in a speech at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. ``Among my first acts as president will be to declare an end to all sanctions ... against Cuba, North Korea, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Myanmar, Sudan and all the other targeted nations of U.S. sanctions policy,'' he said. His new stance distinguishes him from every Republican and Democratic presidential candidate, as well as likely Reform Party rival Donald Trump.
Background info:
16/12/99 I have received many requests for a written copy from the ruling in last weeks pre-trial hearing. After an inquiry to the Scottish Judiciary Office in Edinburgh, I've received this message:
"The Clerk of Court, has ascertained from the presiding Judge that he does not intend to issue a written judgment in this part of the proceedings, his decision having been delivered orally at the conclusion of the hearing. In these circumstances there is no written decision for this part of the proceedings which can be published on the website."
Appeal Deadline Expired
Glasgow University - Lockerbie Trial Unit The time limit for lodging an appeal against Lord Sutherland's decision has now expired (s.74 (2)(b) 1995 Act). The defence sought leave to appeal following Lord Sutherland's refusal of their Minute which was the subject of last week's preliminary hearing. A late appeal may be possible with leave of the court. If no such application is made the next court diet will be the continued preliminary diet which is due to call on 02 February 2000.
15/12/99 During last weeks pre-trial hearing at Camp Zeist the prosecution wanted to have several witnesses disguised in order to make any public identification impossible. Among the names of disguised witnesses is a Maltese woman who allegedly worked as a translator for the mysterious Libyan defector Abdelmajeed Jaeeka. This website can now reveal her identity:
The witness name is Marisa Farrugia , she is a teacher in a school with the government of Malta. She is from a village named Qormi on Malta. It is confirmed that she was the translator of crown witness Jaeeka when he was interrogated by the CIA in 1988 and 1989. She was paid well by the Americans for the job.
Libyan witness married to Maltese girl
It has also been confirmed that Majeed Jaeeka is married to a Maltese girl, probably she was working as an Air Malta employee at the time of the bombing in 1988, but this has not been confirmed yet. The arrangements for Jaeeka to go to the United States were held a few days after he married the Maltese Girl.
According to Maltese police sources, Jaeeka stated that he saw one of the Libyan suspects near the converter at the Airport taking a baggage out. He was not sure about the date when it happened. He also denied to have actually seen the bomb. It is now conformed that the Scottish prosecution is connecting the bombing case with circumstancial evidence. Jaeeka claimed that a certain Vincent Vassallo, partner of Fhimah in Med Tours Services Limited, picked Megrahi and Fhimah from the Airport. Vassallo denied this when asked about it behind closed doors when Scottish investigators where investigating in Malta.
But Vassallo produced a diary, written in it on the 20th December 1988 Fhimah and Megrahi had been in his house. Later when he in 1991 saw Megrahi and Fhimah on tv regarding Locekrbie he said, "those two where the two in my house." He checked his diary and he found that there was an entry about it.
Maltese Army log book from day of bombing destroyed
Another interesting piece of information is that the log book of the Maltese Armed Forces on the activities and movement in the Maltese Airport on the 21st December 1988 was destroyed. It was burned by an army official. Army officials later claimed it was destroyed by mistake.
Ghallis Towers in Lockerbie indictment
There has also been revealed information about explosive material which was found in the fields near
Ghallis Tower, in Bahar ic-Caghaq on Malta. The material was found in 31st May 1986, when Maltese police officers were digging to find the body of a missing person reported missing in February 1985. The police has not said what type of explosive it was, but the material was wraped in an Arab language newspaper.
Recently another session behind closed doors was held at Maltese Courts presided by magistrate Tonio Micallef Trigona and the scene of the crime officer that time inspector John C. Ellul and colonel Bertu Camilleri explosive expert gave witness about the finding. The documents regarding the explosive and photographs were sealed and taken by Scottish investigators. Camilleri destroyed the semtex after being ordered by Magistrate Albert De Puget that time. In the new indictment delivered to the two Libyans Ghallis Tower is named for the first time so it is more clear that the investigators are jotting various cases as circumstancial evidence.
Finally, two Maltese Lawyers are forming part of the defence team, they are Emanuel Mallia and Gianella Caruana Curran. Defense team leader Alistair Duff QC was in Malta some weeks ago working with them on the case.
Maltese journalist Joe Mifsud from the Maltese newspaper KullHadd is currently working on coverage of the Lockerbie bombing trial and has covered the criminal investigation since 1988. He can be contacted for more information and further inquiries by any other journalist through his e-mail addres joemif@keyworld.net .
12/12/99 Scotland on Sunday Scots law is in the dock with Lockerbie accused, but fears are unfounded, argues William Paul: " Open court is a very dangerous place for those who prefer to inhabit the shadows. The simple principle of 'having their day in court' is not confined to the Libyan accused who hope to prove their innocence. It is also there for the bereaved families who, four days before Christmas, must endure the 11th anniversary of the bombing hoping they will soon know the real story of what happened to Flight 103. "
12/12/99 The Sunday Herald Brian Mcnair from Film and Media Studies at the University of Stirling gives the real reason why there won't be any TV cameras at the trial of the millennium: "There may be valid security reasons for the restrictions, but fear of a media circus isn't one of them. "
12/13/99 The Syracuse University men's lacrosse program is selling T-shirts to help raise money for its July 2000 trip to the United Kingdom. Plans for the trip include returning to the Lockerbie Memorial and playing the English and Scottish national teams. Anyone interested in purchasing a T-shirt can mail a check or money order made payable to Syracuse University. The T-shirts come in gray or white and in sizes L, XL or XXL. Shirts can be purchased in the lacrosse office at Manley Field House or ordered through the mail by sending a check or money order for $13.
The address is:
Syracuse Men's Lacrosse Office
Roy Simmons
Senior Coaches Center
Manley Field House
Syracuse, NY 13244
08/12/99 Glasgow University - Lockerbie Trial Unit The petition outlined by the Defence Team for the accused has been dismissed this morning by Lord Sutherland. Already there are rumblings about a defence appeal regarding the adjournment of the trial and the juristictional issued regarding the charge of conspiracy however nothing has yet been officially stated.
The start of the upcoming trial has been postponed until May 3, 2000.
Special pre-trial page HERE ! Read more about the ruling and the pre-trial hearing.
07/12/1999 The first pre-trial hearing under the ruling of a Scottish judge is right now taking place at the trial site at Camp Zeist in the Netherlands. Suspects Megrahi and Fhima and their lawyers are trying to motion a prelimenary diet of the petition/indictment for the upcoming trial.
Special pre-trial page HERE ! Read all about the pre-trial hearings, see pictures, get the latest updates etc. Updated regularly the next few days.
Hostile Lockerbie crown-witness questioned by Scottish Police06/12/99 Senior Scottish prosecutors in the Lockerbie bombing case, led by the prosecutor Norman McFadyen, have recently visited the United States to interview a witness who claims to have seen the two Libyan defendants prepare the bomb, according to the British newspaper THE INDEPENDENT. The identity of the mystery witness a Libyan is known to The Independent and has been protected since the man went into hiding in the US in 1992 or earlier. His credibility will be crucial to the full trial, and The Independent did not print his name.
However, this website can reveal that the mystery witness is former Libyan citizen Abdulmajeed Jaeeka. He is number one on the witness list of the prosecution, and his address is the US Justice Dept. in Washington. The witness insisted on dressing as a woman while being questioned recently by Scottish defense attorneys !
Mr. Jaeeka has been in a US witness protection programme in undisclosed locations in America since at least 1992. He claims to know the two Libyan defendants, who worked at the Libyan Arab Airlines (LAA) office in Malta, from which the prosecution alleges the bombing was masterminded. Mr Fhimah was working as station manager for LAA in Malta; Mr Megrahi was chief of the security service's airline security division. When the aircraft blew up Jaeeka is said to have been terrified and to have defected. According to The Independent, mr. Jaeeka is believed to have walked into the US Embassy in Rome as a defector.
According to other sources, mr. Jaeeka was simply at that time already showing mental break-up. In 1988 mr. Jaeeka was allegedly undergoing treatment for mental distability following alcoholic abuse. According to the source, mr. Jaeeka did not enter the Libyan embassy in Rome as a defector, but he did leave it as such, following a physical attack on the Libyan ambassador in his office.
Mr McFadyen took a pre-trial statement from the witness, which will be used in the case against the two Libyan defendants. The witness has been in almost total seclusion for at least eight years, fuelling speculation that he may be in a delicate mental state. The Crown Office in Edinburgh, which represents the prosecution, has declined to comment on its contacts with the witness. The defence team will also be allowed to meet the witness.
The indictment against the alleged bombers who were first named three years after the explosion depends heavily on this man's testimony. Under Scottish law, there should be at least one other witness, to corroborate his testimony. About one third of the people on the 1,000-strong witness list come from the US, and many, like the key witness, have their addresses as the US Justice Department in Washington. Most are FBI Agents but there are thought to be others on the witness protection programme. Like the Libyan witness, they are expected to give their testimony to the trial in the Netherlands from behind a screen. It is yet unclear, whether the Scottish judges will allow anonymous witnesses and/or secret evidence in the trial.
The defence will aim to undermine his credibility by showing that he was either misled or is not telling the truth. But the main focus of their case will be that someone else a Middle Eastern group was directly responsible for the destruction of the aircraft.
Lockerbie crash-suspects want conspiracy charge dismissed26/11/99 The two accused, Megrahi and Fhima, have lodged papers in the High Court in Edinburgh claiming that the Scottish High Court cannot hear charge 1, which is a charge of conspiracy to murder. They claim the court has no jurisdiction because the conspiracy is alleged by the Crown to have taken place in various countries across the world, but not in Scotland. They go on to claim as an alternative that it is oppresive for them to face both a charge of conspiracy to murder and a charge of murder on the same indictment when the only justification for the two charges standing together is that the court has jurisdiction over the second charge.
That is why apre-trial hearing over the Lockerbie bombing will take place in Holland next month. The proceedings will be held on Dec 7 and 8 at the special Scottish court set up at Camp Zeist. It will be the first time the pair - who deny bombing the Pan Am jet which exploded over Lockerbie - have appeared before a Scottish judge. The legal dispute is highly technical and will be heard in what is called a "preliminary diet". The defense lawyers say that the charges link the alleged conspiracy with the murder is "unfair, oppressive and incompetent". Because the two accused have indicated they want to be present during the legal arguments, lawyers and the presiding trial judge, Lord Sutheland, will have to travel to Camp Zeist in the Netherlands where a temporary court room has been made ready.
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