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Acquitted man dies
Al Amin Khalifa Fhimah, a Libyan man acquitted after standing trial over the Lockerbie bombing, has died at 70, according to reports.
“Al Amin Khalifa Fhimah was cleared of involvement in the bombing, which killed 270 people”
The Telegraph said Fhimah was cleared of involvement in the bombing that killed 270 people when Pan Am Flight 103 exploded above Lockerbie on Dec 21, 1988.
The Telegraph also noted that his co-accused Abdelbaset al-Megrahi was the only man convicted in relation to the incident after being found guilty of 270 counts of murder by three Scottish judges in the Hague in 2001.
BBC reported that a Facebook post by Libyan Airlines announced Fhimah's death and expressed the company's condolences, and said his funeral is set to take place on Wednesday in Tripoli, the capital of Libya.
BBC added that Fhimah worked for the carrier in Malta before the bombing of Pan Am 103 and that the charges against him and Megrahi were first announced by Scotland and the United States in 1991.
Condolences and legal delays
Libyan Airlines announced Fhimah’s death “with deep sorrow and profound grief” in a Facebook post, and The Telegraph quoted the message extending “our heartfelt condolences and sincere sympathy to his noble family and all his colleagues and loved ones.”
BBC said the charges against Fhimah and Megrahi were first announced by Scotland and the United States in 1991, and that in 2001 three judges convicted Megrahi of mass murder and jailed him for life but found Fhimah not guilty.
BBC reported that Abu Agila Mohammad Masud Kheir Al-Marimi is now due to stand trial in Washington in January, after a federal court judge agreed to postpone the case for a third time.
Cadena 3 Argentina said the terrorism trial of the alleged bomb builder Abu Agila Mohammad Mas’ud Kheir Al-Marimi was scheduled to begin Wednesday in Washington, D.C., but was postponed on Monday due to the appearance of new evidence.
Cadena 3 Argentina quoted Stephanie Bernstein saying it is "astonishing" that new evidence emerges decades later and just before the trial, adding that "That shows there is still information out there, so that makes the delay somewhat easier to accept".
What remains at stake
With Fhimah’s death announced, BBC said the indictment against Fhimah announced by the US Government in 1991 is still outstanding, even as it reported that the postponement of Al-Marimi’s trial was not connected to Fhimah's reported death.
“The indictment against Fhimah announced by the US Government in 1991 is still outstanding.”
BBC also described how the Double Jeopardy (Scotland) Act 2011 could allow a suspect to be tried a second time if new evidence substantially strengthens the case, and said Scottish and US prosecutors would have looked at taking fresh action against Fhimah if Al-Marimi was convicted in Washington next year.
BBC reported that Al-Marimi has denied making the bomb that brought down the jumbo jet and claims the confession is false and was made under duress.
Cadena 3 Argentina said the case saw a significant advance in 2017 when U.S. authorities uncovered a 2012 interview in which Al-Marimi allegedly admitted building the bomb and collaborating with two other conspirators to carry out the attack.
Cadena 3 Argentina quoted Bert Ammerman saying, "This was an attack against the United States. This was an act of war," as it described families who have waited almost four decades for perpetrators to face justice in a U.S. court.