DATE=5/2/2000 TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT TITLE=LOCKERBIE TRIAL OVERNITER NUMBER=2-261910 BYLINE=RON PEMSTEIN DATELINE=CAMP ZEIST, HOLLAND INTERNET=YES CONTENT= VOICED AT: INTRO: The trial of two Libyan suspects accused of bombing Pan Am flight 103 in December 1988 opens today (Wednesday) in the Netherlands before a Scottish Court. Ron Pemstein reports from Camp Zeist in central Holland, where the trial will take place. TEXT: Eleven-and-a-half years after 270 people lost their lives in and above Scotland, the search for justice begins today. The trial begins with the reading of the indictment against the two suspects, described as Libyan intelligence officers. Under Scottish law, 48-year- old Abdel Baset al-Megrahi and 43-year-old Al-Amin Khalifa Fhimah are presumed innocent and do not have to prove anything. They are charged with murder, conspiracy to murder, and destroying an aircraft. The prosecution, on the other hand, has to prove them guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of placing the bomb aboard the Pan Am airliner that exploded over Lockerbie, Scotland on December 21st, 1988. The suspects were indicted in 1991, but Libya did not make them available for trial until last year. Under a compromise, the trial is not taking place in Scotland or in the United States, where most of the victims were from. The trial is being held at this former American Airbase in central Holland, but it has been declared Scottish territory for the duration. A special prison has been built here to hold the suspects, and a courtroom equipped with bulletproof glass is where they are being tried. Three Scottish judges will hear the evidence, along with an alternate. Unlike a normal Scottish court, there will be no jury. The prosecution plans to call more than one thousand witnesses. That's why this trial could last at least one year. The reason for the amount of witnesses, according to Glasgow University law professor Fraser Davidson, is that Scottish law calls for evidence from more than one source. /// DAVIDSON ACT /// In relation to both the charge of murder and the statutory charges, the key facts are that the aircraft was destroyed, that it was destroyed by an explosive device, that this device was deliberately introduced, and finally, that it was the accused persons who deliberately introduced it. /// END ACT /// Prosecution officials say they have 18 chapters to their charges. The prosecution's first witnesses will be people who saw the explosion in Lockerbie, police officers who inspected the scene, and civil aviation officials. There will be no opening statements. The Scottish defense lawyers have already notified the prosecution they intend to suggest that other suspects, not these Libyan defendants, committed the bombing. The defense has no obligation to prove its contention. The judges have three options under Scottish law: They can pronounce the defendants guilty, not guilty, or say the charges are not proven. That last verdict leaves a cloud over the heads of the defendants, but acquits them the same as a not-guilty verdict. Glasgow law professor John Grant says the Libyan government is targeted by the prosecution's indictment. /// GRANT ACT /// The Libyan government is up front there in the conspiracy and the murder charges. It is alleged that these two individuals were members of the Libyan Secret Service. That surely is the Libyan government. Surely if there is a conviction of [Mr.] Magrahi and [Mr.] Fhimah, then the Libyan government is involved in at least one piece of international terrorism. /// END ACT /// For Scotland, this is a unique trial. It is the biggest trial of mass murder ever. It is being held outside of Scotland without a jury, and it is the most expensive, with more than 100-million-dollars spent to bring these two Libyan suspects to trial. (Signed). NEB/rp/gm-T/gm 02-May-2000 17:22 PM EDT (02-May-2000 2122 UTC) NNNN Source: Voice of America .