DATE=2/2/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=LOCKERBIE TRIAL (L ONLY)
NUMBER=2-258733
BYLINE=LAUREN COMITEAU
DATELINE=THE HAGUE
CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

INTRO:  Two Libyans charged with the 1988 bombing of a 
United States passenger airliner over Lockerbie, 
Scotland have pleaded  not  guilty to all the charges 
against them.  Lauren Comiteau in The Hague reports 
lawyers for the two men entered the pleas during a 
court hearing in Edinburgh, Scotland. 

TEXT:  The "not-guilty" pleas came at the end of a 
one-hour preliminary hearing called to resolve 
prosecution and defense differences over protective 
measures for witnesses. 

Prosecutors are concerned about protecting the 
identity of sensitive witnesses -- many of them 
intelligence agents -- when the trial finally gets 
underway in May at a former U-S military base in the 
Netherlands. 

The two sides reportedly agreed that protective 
measures -- which range from voice and image 
distortion to the growing of facial hair -- would be 
decided on a case-by-case basis. 

Once those issues were resolved, a plea was entered -- 
standard procedure under Scottish law.  The two 
accused -- Abdel Basset Ali al-Megrahi and Al-Amin 
Khalifa Fhimah -- were  not  present.  

They will be tried under Scottish law on a former 
military base in the Netherlands that has been 
declared Scottish territory for the duration of legal 
proceedings.  That unusual agreement was reached last 
year after Libyan leader Muammar Gadhafi agreed to 
hand the suspects over in return for an end to United 
Nations sanctions against Libya. 

The two suspects are charged with murder, conspiracy 
to murder, and breaching the Aviation Security Act for 
allegedly planting a suitcase bomb that exploded 
aboard the plane.  All 259 people on the Pan American 
jetliner and 11 on the ground were killed. 

After some delays, both sides now say they will be 
ready to go to court in early May.  That comes as a 
relief to relatives of some of the victims who will 
travel to the Netherlands to observe the court 
proceedings.  After almost 12 years of waiting, they 
will finally get to see someone answer to the charges.  
(Signed)

NEB/LC/JWH/KL



02-Feb-2000 09:40 AM EDT (02-Feb-2000 1440 UTC)
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Source: Voice of America
.