Front Page
Politics
Economy
International
Sports
Society
Culture
Videos
Newspapers
Ahram Online
Al-Ahram Weekly
Albawaba
Almasry Alyoum
Amwal Al Ghad
Arab News Agency
Bikya Masr
Daily News Egypt
FilGoal
The Egyptian Gazette
Youm7
Subject
Author
Region
f
t
مصرس
Egypt's CBE expects inflation to moderate in '24, significantly fall in H1-25
Egypt to host 3rd Africa Health ExCon from 3-6 June
Poverty reaches 44% in Lebanon – World Bank
Eurozone growth hits year high amid recovery
US set to pour fresh investments in Kenya
Taiwanese Apple,Nvidia supplier forecasts 10% revenue growth
EFG Holding revenue surges 92% to EGP 8.6bn in Q1 2024, unveils share buyback program
Egyptian military prepared for all threats, upholds national security: Defence Minister
Philip Morris International acquires 14.7% stake in Egypt's largest cigarette maker Eastern Company
Gold prices slide 0.3% on Thursday
US Biogen agrees to acquire HI-Bio for $1.8b
Body of Iranian President Raisi returns to Tehran amidst national mourning
Egypt secures $38.8bn in development financing over four years
Palestinian resistance movements fight back against Israeli occupation in Gaza
President Al-Sisi reaffirms Egypt's dedication to peace in Gaza
Egypt to build 58 hospitals by '25
Egypt's Health Minister monitors progress of national dialysis system automation project
Giza Pyramids host Egypt's leg of global 'One Run' half-marathon
Madinaty to host "Fly Over Madinaty" skydiving event
Nouran Gohar, Diego Elias win at CIB World Squash Championship
Coppola's 'Megalopolis': A 40-Year Dream Unveiled at Cannes
World Bank assesses Cairo's major waste management project
K-Movement Culture Week: Decade of Korean cultural exchange in Egypt celebrated with dance, music, and art
Empower Her Art Forum 2024: Bridging creative minds at National Museum of Egyptian Civilization
Egyptian consortium nears completion of Tanzania's Julius Nyerere hydropower project
Sweilam highlights Egypt's water needs, cooperation efforts during Baghdad Conference
Swiss freeze on Russian assets dwindles to $6.36b in '23
Prime Minister Madbouly reviews cooperation with South Sudan
Egyptian public, private sectors off on Apr 25 marking Sinai Liberation
Debt swaps could unlock $100b for climate action
Amal Al Ghad Magazine congratulates President Sisi on new office term
Financial literacy becomes extremely important – EGX official
Euro area annual inflation up to 2.9% – Eurostat
BYD، Brazil's Sigma Lithium JV likely
UNESCO celebrates World Arabic Language Day
Motaz Azaiza mural in Manchester tribute to Palestinian journalists
Russia says it's in sync with US, China, Pakistan on Taliban
It's a bit frustrating to draw at home: Real Madrid keeper after Villarreal game
Shoukry reviews with Guterres Egypt's efforts to achieve SDGs, promote human rights
Sudan says countries must cooperate on vaccines
Johnson & Johnson: Second shot boosts antibodies and protection against COVID-19
Egypt to tax bloggers, YouTubers
Egypt's FM asserts importance of stability in Libya, holding elections as scheduled
We mustn't lose touch: Muller after Bayern win in Bundesliga
Egypt records 36 new deaths from Covid-19, highest since mid June
Egypt sells $3 bln US-dollar dominated eurobonds
Gamal Hanafy's ceramic exhibition at Gezira Arts Centre is a must go
Italian Institute Director Davide Scalmani presents activities of the Cairo Institute for ITALIANA.IT platform
Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.
OK
Reasonable doubt
Judit Neurink
Published in
Al-Ahram Weekly
on 18 - 01 - 2001
By Judit Neurink
Although all they have to do is cast sufficient doubt, lawyers for the two
Libyans
accused of bombing Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland in December 1988, went through the evidence point by point to reveal the holes in the prosecution's case.
The defence lawyers had to conclude their case without a document that they had hoped to obtain from
Syria
, allegedly linking the Palestinian militant group the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command (PFLP-GC) to the bombing of the Pan Am flight.
Syrian
officials said the state was not involved in the case, and that any such requests should be made directly to the
Damascus
-based PFLP-GC. The radical Palestinian group had also denied any link to the bombing in which 270 people were killed.
Even so, defence attorney William Taylor asserted that before the court could find the accused guilty of the bombing, the judges had to be completely sure that the involvement of the PFLP-GC was irrelevant. And, he painted a picture of an organisation which had the means and the motive to plant a bomb aboard an American airliner.
To support his argument about the PFLP-GC's involvement, Taylor cited the arrest of a number of PFLP-GC members in Neuss,
Germany
who were subsequently discovered to have in their possession a schedule of Pan Am flights and some unused Lufthansa baggage labels. Taylor suggested the labels could have been used to put an unaccompanied bag aboard a Lufthansa flight before it was transferred to the ill-fated plane. The scenario presented by the prosecution puts the beginning of the bag's journey at the
Malta
Airport, where the two
Libyan
defendants worked for
Libyan
Airlines.
Most importantly, members of the PFLP-GC cell arrested in
Germany
were found to have the same kind of bomb which prosecutors said was later used for the Lockerbie bombing. This bomb was concealed in the same manner: it was encased in a Toshiba cassette recorder which was placed in a Samsonite suitcase.
Taylor suggested that the PFLP-GC certainly had more than one bomb maker and that even though little of the bomb had been recovered, "it is too much of a coincidence that the same material was used two months later. This is relevant information that points away from the accused."
The gaps that Taylor pointed out in the prosecution's case were manifold said jurists watching the trial. For instance the "
Malta
-link," as it is called by insiders, has not been proven. A few weeks ago the Scottish law professor Robert Black, who during the 1990s was one of those in favour of trying the
Libyans
in a neutral country under Scottish law, said that no evidence has been submitted that proves the bag carrying the bomb started it's journey at Luqa Airport in
Malta
.
Just where the bag began its journey is key. The prosecution says Abdel-Basset Ali Al-Megrahi, 48, and Al-Amin Khalifa Fhimah, 44, were
Libyan
secret agents who used Fhimah's position as a former manager of Arab
Libyan
Airlines in
Malta
to introduce the bag in the system at Luqa Airport. It was then sent to
London
, via
Frankfurt
, to be placed on Pan Am flight 103. But Taylor made clear in his summation that security at Luqa was tight, with an effective system to count and recount bags. The number of bags on board the flight to
Frankfurt
matched the passenger check-in record. And he said there is no evidence that Al-Megrahi and Fhimah really were members of the
Libyan
intelligence services.
Quoting testimony given by an employee at
Frankfurt
Airport, Taylor reiterated the defence's point that security there was lax. "It cannot be ruled out that a bag could be added to the baggage cart in
Frankfurt
," the witness had said.
As for the bomb used, Taylor emphasised that much remains unknown. Although semtex was the substance that was probably used, there is no incontrovertible proof that this was used in the bomb. He suggested that a fragment of a timer found among the crash debris had been tampered with before it was sent for forensic examination and showed that notes about its discovery had been added later. "Irregularities and peculiarities attached to this item are such that the court ought to have some hesitation in being satisfied as to the item's provenance," he said.
After the defence closes its arguments, which it is expected to do by the end of this week, the three Scottish judges will adjourn. Jurists at the trial expect they will not take long to come to a decision. Judges will have to choose among three verdicts: guilty, not guilty or not proven.
Observers at the trial say the judges are under a great deal of pressure. If the two accused are acquitted,
Libya
can sue the world community for damages resulting from eight years of sanctions imposed on
Libya
due to its alleged involvement in the crime.
If the
Libyans
are found guilty -- and there are not many observers at Camp Zeist who believe this will happen -- they face the possibility of a life sentence in a Scottish jail. Mohamed Ali Al-Megrahi, the eldest brother of one of the accused, said in an interview with the Dutch daily Trouw that he will move to Scotland if this is the outcome of the trial.
The families of the two
Libyans
have been watching the trial closely since it began in May 2000, but had not commented on it before. Two of the Megrahi brothers are now living in Holland, visiting Abdel-Basset in jail on a daily basis. The trial has had grave consequences for their family, Mohamed Al-Megrahi said. Their children have been harassed at school, are failing exams, and the families have lost friends blaming Abdel-Basset for the sanctions
Libya
has had to endure. Al-Megrahi links the death of Fhimah's mother following a heart attack in 1999 to the extradition of her son before the trial. Also the families have had to sell property and land to be able to be present at Camp Zeist.
"It is the waiting that is the worst," said Al-Megrahi. But as bad as the position of the defendants families is, Al-Megrahi said that the families of the 270 crash victims are the most deserving of sympathy. "My brother is in jail, but he is alive. They lost their relatives, and will perhaps never find the truth about how and why this happened.''
© Copyright Al-Ahram Weekly. All rights reserved
Send a letter to the Editor
Clic
here
to read the story from its source.
Related stories
A spectacular miscarriage
Curtain falls on Lockerbie
The truth behind Lockerbie
In a tight spot, or down a slippery slope?
Report inappropriate advertisement