Note that Lord
Hamilton is to preside for the appeal (HERALD). Also Bollier is making new
allegations again — namely that the CIA tried to bribe him to perjure himself
(see HERALD comments).
######################
Guardian
Fresh doubts on Lockerbie
conviction
Severin
The Guardian
The key prosecution witness in the
Lockerbie bombing trial was allegedly offered a $2m reward in return for giving
evidence, raising fresh doubts about the safety of the case.
Lawyers for Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi, the Libyan
convicted of murdering 270 people on board Pan Am Flight 103, have evidence
that detectives investigating the bombing recommended that Tony Gauci, a
shopkeeper from
Mr Gauci's testimony at the trial was crucial to
al-Megrahi's conviction. He told the trial at
The defence team
believe Mr Gauci may have received a larger sum from the
They are to press for full disclosure of these payments,
and the release of a potentially vital
The secret document is believed to dispute prosecution
claims that al-Megrahi used a digital timer bought from a Swiss company, Mebo,
and then planted the bomb on a flight from
The (
More pressure on Crown over
Lockerbie bomb timer
LUCY ADAMS and KEVIN SCHOFIELD
The Crown Office was under increasing pressure last night
to make a statement on claims that the prosecution in the Lockerbie trial
withheld vital information from Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al Megrahi's defence
team.
Politicians said it was vital that the Lord Advocate, Elish
Angiolini, explain to parliament why the report on the timer which allegedly
detonated the bomb over the town has still not been disclosed.
The Herald revealed earlier this week that the existence of
the report was one of the reasons why the Scottish Criminal Cases Review
Commission had ruled that Megrahi's appeal against conviction should be heard.
Calls for Ms Angiolini to make a statement came as it
emerged that Lord Hamilton, the Lord President
and
Tam Dalyell, the former Father of the House of Commons and
a long-standing Lockerbie campaigner, yesterday said the prosecution's failure
to pass on its report to the defence team "threatens the good name of
Scottish justice internationally". He said: "The Crown has to be
challenged on this because fundamental issues seem to be at stake. It looks as
if the Crown has simply not fulfilled what any layman like me would suppose was
its obligation to the court."
Alex Neil, the SNP MSP, said it was essential that the
Crown Office explains its position.
He said: "I believe the Crown Office has a
responsibility to answer these allegations. They cannot wait until next year
when the appeal may be held. This has to be clarified now by the Lord
Advocate."
Bill Aitken, the Scottish Conservatives' justice
spokes-man, said that while he doubted Megrahi's innocence, the allegations
needed to be investigated.
He said: "Clearly, if these allegations were to be
true, they would impact upon the appeal. But of course, the waters are becoming
very muddied."
Last month a review on disclosure commissioned by the
previous Scottish Executive said prosecutors should be legally bound to provide
full information to defence lawyers in advance of a trial.
Lord Coulsfield, who chaired the review, was also one of
three judges who presided at the Lockerbie trial in the
He called for legislation requiring the prosecution to have
regard to "the over-riding requirement of a fair trial".
Pauline McNeill, Labour's Shadow Justice Secretary, agreed
that the system must be clarified. "I'm concerned about the number of
cases where disclosure is becoming an issue, which suggests work needs to be
done. Whether it's legislation that's required, or a clearer framework, we need
to give the Crown more guidance," she said.
A spokesman for the Crown Office said it would be
"inappropriate" to comment on the Lockerbie case while Megrahi's
appeal is still to be heard.
Posted by:
Edwin & Mahnaz Bollier, MEBO Lid, Zurich/Switzerland on
Edwin Bollier VR, MEBO Ltd
Also the key witness Edwin Bollier was allegedly offered 1991 a new personality
and up to USD 4m reward in return for giving a wrong statement that the MST-13
timerfragment descends from a MST-13 timer supplied to Libya, but Bollier had
rejected the offer.
Witness at Kamp van Zeist 2000.
Edwin Bollier first a witness during the "Lockerbie-Case" now with
international legal support from Switzerland, will bring a charge against
official ones on the "Lockerbie investigation Team" because of
deliberate manipulation of the central proof MST-13 timer fragment. Please
visit The "Lockerbie-Fraud" on our webpage:
www.lockerbie.ch
Mr. Abdelbaset al Megrahi and