Lamin Khalifah Fhimah
Encyclopedia
Lamin Khalifa Fhimah (born 4 April 1956) was a station manager for Libyan Arab Airlines
Libyan Arab Airlines
Libyan Airlines , known as Libyan Arab Airlines over several decades, is the national flag carrier airline of Libya. Based in Tripoli, it operates scheduled passenger and cargo services within Libya and to Europe, North Africa and the Middle East, the majority of which leave from Tripoli...

 at Luqa Airport, Malta. On 31 January 2001, he was found not guilty and acquitted
Acquittal
In the common law tradition, an acquittal formally certifies the accused is free from the charge of an offense, as far as the criminal law is concerned. This is so even where the prosecution is abandoned nolle prosequi...

 of 270 counts of murder in the Pan Am Flight 103 bombing trial
Pan Am Flight 103 bombing trial
The Pan Am Flight 103 bombing trial began on 3 May 2000, 11 years, 4 months and 13 days after the destruction of Pan Am Flight 103 on 21 December 1988...

 by a panel of three Scottish judges sitting in a special court at Camp Zeist, Netherlands, in light of evidence that he was in Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

 at the time of the sabotage and could not have been a participant. His co-accused, Abdelbaset al-Megrahi was found guilty by unanimous decision
Unanimous decision
A unanimous decision is a winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts and others sports involving striking in which all three judges agree on which fighter won the match....

 of the court and sentenced to life imprisonment
Life imprisonment
Life imprisonment is a sentence of imprisonment for a serious crime under which the convicted person is to remain in jail for the rest of his or her life...

, but later released for compassionate reasons.

He was born and lives in Suq el Juma'a, near Tripoli
Tripoli
Tripoli is the capital and largest city in Libya. It is also known as Western Tripoli , to distinguish it from Tripoli, Lebanon. It is affectionately called The Mermaid of the Mediterranean , describing its turquoise waters and its whitewashed buildings. Tripoli is a Greek name that means "Three...

, Libya with his wife and five children.

Trial

Fhimah was represented by solicitor Eddie McKechnie, advocates Richard Keen QC, Jack Davidson QC and Murdo Macleod. Representing Megrahi were his solicitor, Alistair Duff, and advocate
Advocate
An advocate is a term for a professional lawyer used in several different legal systems. These include Scotland, South Africa, India, Scandinavian jurisdictions, Israel, and the British Crown dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man...

s William Taylor QC
William Taylor QC
William Taylor, QC has been a Scottish advocate since 1971 and a QC since 1986. Mr Taylor has also been a barrister in England and Wales since 1990 and a QC there since 1998...

, David Burns QC and John Beckett
John Beckett (lawyer)
John Beckett QC is a Scottish lawyer who was Solicitor General for Scotland, the country's junior Law Officer from October 2006 to May 2007. He was appointed by Labour First Minister Jack McConnell on the appointment of former Solicitor General Elish Angiolini to the senior role of Lord Advocate...

. Both defendants also had access to Libyan defence lawyer, Mr. Maghour. Court proceedings started on 3 May 2000.

The court established that the bomb which resulted in the destruction of Pan Am Flight 103
Pan Am Flight 103
Pan Am Flight 103 was Pan American World Airways' third daily scheduled transatlantic flight from London Heathrow Airport to New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport...

 over Lockerbie
Lockerbie
Lockerbie is a town in the Dumfries and Galloway region of south-western Scotland. It lies approximately from Glasgow, and from the English border. It had a population of 4,009 at the 2001 census...

, Scotland on 21 December 1988 was introduced as luggage on board flight KM180 at Luqa airport. Entries in Fhimah's personal diary indicated that he may have obtained luggage tags from the airport, which could have been used to ensure that the bomb was transferred onto the Pan Am flight. Evidence corroborating this theory was not presented at the trial.

The judges announced their verdict on 31 January 2001. The judges were unanimous in finding the second accused, Lamin Khalifah Fhimah, not guilty of the murder charge. Fhimah was freed and returned to his home at Souk al-Juma in Libya on 1 February 2001.

Greeted Megrahi after release and homecoming

On 20 August 2009, Megrahi, now terminally ill, was granted a release on compassionate grounds and flew home to Tripoli
Tripoli
Tripoli is the capital and largest city in Libya. It is also known as Western Tripoli , to distinguish it from Tripoli, Lebanon. It is affectionately called The Mermaid of the Mediterranean , describing its turquoise waters and its whitewashed buildings. Tripoli is a Greek name that means "Three...

 later that day. Fhimah was one of the first to greet Megrahi at the top of the aircraft steps. Clad in a traditional white boubou and a brown waistcoat, he can be seen grasping Megrahi's right arm in support as he waved a small Libyan flag enthusiastically at the gathered crowd of well-wishers.

External links

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