Libyan Acquitted in Lockerbie Bombing Dies at 70
Libyan Acquitted in Lockerbie Bombing Dies at 70
The News
Al Amin Khalifah Fhimah, the Libyan cleared at trial over the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103, has died aged 70, his former employer Libyan Airlines announced.
The airline confirmed the death in a Facebook post, saying it did so "with deep sorrow and profound grief" and extending condolences "to his noble family and all his colleagues and loved ones."
Fhimah stood accused of murdering the 270 people killed when Pan Am 103 exploded over Lockerbie, Scotland, on December 21, 1988. Three Scottish judges found him not guilty in 2001 and convicted his co-accused, Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, on 270 counts of murder.
The BBC reports his funeral is set for Wednesday in Tripoli.
Timeline
Pan Am Flight 103 explodes over Lockerbie, killing 270 people.
Scotland and the United States announce charges against Fhimah and Megrahi. The U.S. indictment against Fhimah has never been withdrawn.
Fhimah appears at a court hearing in connection with the case.
After years of United Nations sanctions on Libya, the two men are handed over for trial before a Scottish court sitting in the Netherlands. In 2001 the judges convict Megrahi and jail him for life, and acquit Fhimah, who is welcomed home to Tripoli by Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.
The Scottish government grants Megrahi compassionate release after a terminal cancer diagnosis.
Megrahi dies in Libya.
The FBI reveals Fhimah was implicated again, through an alleged confession by another Libyan, Abu Agila Mohammad Masud Kheir Al-Marimi, who is said to have told a Libyan police officer that he took part in the plot alongside Fhimah and Megrahi when all three were in Libyan intelligence.
Libyan Airlines announces Fhimah's death.
Reactions
Fhimah always denied any involvement in the bombing.
Al-Marimi denies making the bomb and says the alleged confession is false and was made under duress.
Stephanie Bernstein, vice president of the Victims of Pan Am Flight 103 group, told The Independent there has been "astonishment" at the latest delay to Al-Marimi's trial in Washington, which is expected to push it back by months. Bernstein, whose husband Michael Bernstein died in the bombing, said many family members are elderly and had been preparing to travel to Washington: "I hope and I pray that they will still be able to do that when a new trial date is set." She added: "That is a hope that we've had — that as many of our family members as possible will live to see this trial."
What's Next
The case against Al-Marimi continues in federal court in Washington. The BBC reports he is now due to stand trial in January after a judge postponed the case for a third time at the defense's request, following the emergence of "newly discovered" evidence. The Independent reports a further hearing is scheduled in Washington next month to discuss the status of the case, and that U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich's order did not specify the nature of the new evidence.
The BBC says the postponement was not connected to Fhimah's reported death.
More
Fhimah worked for Libyan Airlines in Malta, where he was station manager for several years, leaving shortly before the bombing.
Under the Double Jeopardy (Scotland) Act 2011, a suspect can be tried a second time for the same crime if new evidence emerges that was not available at the original trial and substantially strengthens the case. The BBC understands Scottish and U.S. prosecutors would have considered fresh action against Fhimah had Al-Marimi been convicted, though the BBC reports any such prosecution would have been legally challenging and politically sensitive given his 2001 acquittal.
Megrahi remains the only person ever convicted over the attack.
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