Libyan's acquittal triggers fury

By Hasan Suroor

LONDON, JAN. 31. One of the longest and diplomatically most contentious mass murder trials in British legal history ended today when one of the two Libyans charged with bombing a Pan Am flight 12 years ago, killing 270 people, was found guilty while the other was acquitted amid scenes of anger, disappointment and sheer emotional exhaustion.

Abdul Baset Ali-al Megrahi (49), believed to be a former Libyan intelligence man, was sentenced to 20 years' imprisonment for his role in planting a time bomb on the plane which crashed over Lockerbie, in Scotland, minutes after it took off from Heathrow in London at 7 p.m. on December 21, 1988. His co-accused, Al Amin Khalifa Fhimah, was acquitted, and was free to go home.

The verdict was delivered by three Scottish judges in the Netherlands where the trial took place as a measure of political neutrality following Libyan fears that a trial in either Britain or the U.S. may not be fair. The 82-page judgment awarded life imprisonment to Megrahi in view of the ``horrendous nature of the crime'', and the judges later pronounced that given his age, he would be required to serve 20 years.

Megrahi, who has two children and is described by his family members as a ``gentleman'', would be moved to a prison in Scotland, and is likely to appeal against the verdict. His family members, who had indicated their satisfaction with the way the trial had gone and were expecting an acquittal, were hugely disappointed, though Megrahi himself did not show any overt emotions.

Fhimah, of course, was overjoyed. Those present at the court said there was a ``collective gasp'' when the verdict was announced and one of Britain's leading campaigners for the families of the air crash victims, Dr. Jim Swire, collapsed and was helped out of the court.

A number of relatives of the victims had travelled to the Netherlands, while some had been present throughout the trial which took place at a former American airbase, Zeist camp.

Nearly 15,000 witnesses deposed and 180,000 pieces of evidence from 20 countries were examined during what has been described as the longest and costliest trials costing œ 60 millions. But the judges took only 12 days to reach a verdict.

This morning, only the verdict was announced at first and the sentence was pronounced later in the afternoon.

The British families said they would demand an independent inquiry as they thought that the two accused were simply ``fall guys'' in what they believe was a state-sponsored act of terrorism.

At Lockerbie, there was little reaction with people generally heaving a sigh of relief that a lingering and tragic saga was finally behind them.

Not the end: Libya

AP reports from Tripoli:

A senior Libyan official played down the conviction of Megrahi, saying Wednesday's verdict was ``not the end of the story or the end of the world.''

Mr. Al-Siddiq al-Shibani, the senior official, told state television that he was certain Scottish authorities would ensure the ``comfort and protection'' of Megrahi while he pursues an appeal.

``The verdict against the Libyan citizen does not mean the end of the story or the end of the world,'' said Mr. Al-Shibani, who is in charge of legal affairs in the Foreign Ministry.

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