Mebo Telecommunications
Encyclopedia
Mebo Telecommunications AG
(formed in 1969 and registered in Zürich
on 24 March 1971) is owned by Swiss businessmen Erwin Meister
and Edwin Bollier
.
(formerly "Silvretta"). The latter was fitted out as an offshore radio
ship and broadcast as Radio Nordsee International
between 1970 and 1974, off the coast of Scheveningen and, for a few months, Essex
. The smaller Mebo I was used as a supply tender, and was renamed Angela (after Mrs Meister).
When the Netherlands outlawed the supply of offshore radio
broadcasters, and after a legal battle with the Dutch government over the impounding of the Mebo II
, Mebo leased (later, sold) the Angela and Mebo II
to Libya
in 1977.
Mebo II
was renamed El Fatah and broadcast Libyan radio programmes from Tripoli
harbour. In 1984, both El Fatah and Almasira (ex Angela) were used as target practice by the Libyan navy and airforce, and were sunk in the Gulf of Sidra
.
over Lockerbie
on 21 December 1988 killing 270 people, Erwin Meister
and Edwin Bollier
were summoned to give evidence in the second month of the Lockerbie trial
.
in 1984. Meister's partner, Edwin Bollier, was questioned in week 8. Bollier said Mebo made a range of products including briefcases equipped to radio-detonate IED
s. He agreed that Mebo had sold 20 MST-13 timers to Libya in 1985, which were later tested by Libyan special forces
at their base at Sabha. Bollier said: "I was present when two such timers were included in bomb cylinders". In court, Bollier was shown a number of printed circuit board
fragments which he identified as coming from the Mebo MST-13 timer, but he claimed that these timer fragments appeared to have been modified.
, the former East German intelligence agency, testified behind screens in week 9. Wenzel claimed to have been Bollier's handler in the years 1982–85 and testified that Mebo had supplied the Stasi with timers.
over what he alleged was a 'forged fragment of MST-13 timer'.
that as an electronics engineer he had produced all of the firm's MST-13 timers. Lumpert agreed that the fragments shown to him in court "could be" from that timer and was asked to confirm his signature on a letter concerning a technical fault with the prototype MST-13 timer.
Seven years later, on 18 July 2007, Lumpert claimed he had lied at the trial. In a sworn affidavit
before a Zurich
notary
, Lumpert stated that he had stolen a prototype MST-13 timer PC-board
from Mebo and that he had given it on 22 June 1989, to "an official person investigating the Lockerbie case". Dr Hans Köchler, UN observer at the Lockerbie trial, was sent a copy of Lumpert's affidavit and issued a report on the matter. Dr Köchler told the Glasgow Herald:
granted Megrahi leave for a second appeal against the conviction. Megrahi's appeal at the Court of Criminal Appeal
in Edinburgh was dropped and he was released on 20 August 2009, on compassionate grounds, suffering from terminal cancer, and returned to Libya to a hero's welcome.
Aktiengesellschaft
Aktiengesellschaft is a German term that refers to a corporation that is limited by shares, i.e. owned by shareholders, and may be traded on a stock market. The term is used in Germany, Austria and Switzerland...
(formed in 1969 and registered in Zürich
Zürich
Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...
on 24 March 1971) is owned by Swiss businessmen Erwin Meister
Erwin Meister
Erwin Meister is a Swiss businessman who, with his partner Edwin Bollier, formed the company Mebo Telecommunications in 1969. They bought a Dutch freighter, renamed it Mebo II, and converted it into an offshore radio station.-RNI:...
and Edwin Bollier
Edwin Bollier
Edwin Bollier and his partner, Erwin Meister, founded Mebo Telecommunications AG in Zürich, Switzerland in 1969.-Radio Nordsee International:...
.
Radio Nordsee International – the Mebo I and II
Mebo bought two vessels in 1969: Mebo I and the 630 ton Mebo IIMebo II
The Mebo II was originally the Dutch freighter, "Silvretta," built in 1948 by De Groot en van Vliet, Slikkerveer. It had a weight of 630 tons and a length of 186 feet. In 1969, it was bought by Edwin Bollier and Erwin Meister, renamed and converted into an offshore radio station at the same...
(formerly "Silvretta"). The latter was fitted out as an offshore radio
Offshore radio
Offshore radio is radio broadcasting from ships or fixed maritime structures, usually in international waters. The claimed first wireless broadcast of music and speech for the purpose of entertainment was transmitted from a Royal Naval craft, the HMS Andromeda, in 1907...
ship and broadcast as Radio Nordsee International
Radio North Sea International
Radio North Sea International also known as Radio Nordsee International in German and Radio Noordzee Internationaal in Dutch, was a European offshore radio station, run by the Swiss firm Mebo Telecommunications, jointly owned by Swiss engineer, Edwin Bollier, and his business partner, Erwin Meister...
between 1970 and 1974, off the coast of Scheveningen and, for a few months, Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
. The smaller Mebo I was used as a supply tender, and was renamed Angela (after Mrs Meister).
When the Netherlands outlawed the supply of offshore radio
Offshore radio
Offshore radio is radio broadcasting from ships or fixed maritime structures, usually in international waters. The claimed first wireless broadcast of music and speech for the purpose of entertainment was transmitted from a Royal Naval craft, the HMS Andromeda, in 1907...
broadcasters, and after a legal battle with the Dutch government over the impounding of the Mebo II
Mebo II
The Mebo II was originally the Dutch freighter, "Silvretta," built in 1948 by De Groot en van Vliet, Slikkerveer. It had a weight of 630 tons and a length of 186 feet. In 1969, it was bought by Edwin Bollier and Erwin Meister, renamed and converted into an offshore radio station at the same...
, Mebo leased (later, sold) the Angela and Mebo II
Mebo II
The Mebo II was originally the Dutch freighter, "Silvretta," built in 1948 by De Groot en van Vliet, Slikkerveer. It had a weight of 630 tons and a length of 186 feet. In 1969, it was bought by Edwin Bollier and Erwin Meister, renamed and converted into an offshore radio station at the same...
to Libya
Libya
Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....
in 1977.
Mebo II
Mebo II
The Mebo II was originally the Dutch freighter, "Silvretta," built in 1948 by De Groot en van Vliet, Slikkerveer. It had a weight of 630 tons and a length of 186 feet. In 1969, it was bought by Edwin Bollier and Erwin Meister, renamed and converted into an offshore radio station at the same...
was renamed El Fatah and broadcast Libyan radio programmes from 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...
harbour. In 1984, both El Fatah and Almasira (ex Angela) were used as target practice by the Libyan navy and airforce, and were sunk in the Gulf of Sidra
Gulf of Sidra
Gulf of Sidra is a body of water in the Mediterranean Sea on the northern coast of Libya; it is also known as Gulf of Sirte or the Great Sirte or Greater Syrtis .- Geography :The Gulf of Sidra has been a major centre for tuna fishing in the Mediterranean for centuries...
.
Lockerbie trial
Because a Mebo Telecommunications timing device was alleged to have been used to trigger the bomb that destroyed Pan Am Flight 103Pan 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...
on 21 December 1988 killing 270 people, Erwin Meister
Erwin Meister
Erwin Meister is a Swiss businessman who, with his partner Edwin Bollier, formed the company Mebo Telecommunications in 1969. They bought a Dutch freighter, renamed it Mebo II, and converted it into an offshore radio station.-RNI:...
and Edwin Bollier
Edwin Bollier
Edwin Bollier and his partner, Erwin Meister, founded Mebo Telecommunications AG in Zürich, Switzerland in 1969.-Radio Nordsee International:...
were summoned to give evidence in the second month of the Lockerbie 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...
.
Timers for Libya
In week 7 of the trial, Meister testified that Mebo had supplied Libya with 20 MST-13 timing devices, and identified one of the two accused (Abdelbaset al-Megrahi) as a former business contact. The defence asked Meister, under cross-examination, to explain the purpose of his visit to SyriaSyria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
in 1984. Meister's partner, Edwin Bollier, was questioned in week 8. Bollier said Mebo made a range of products including briefcases equipped to radio-detonate IED
Improvised explosive device
An improvised explosive device , also known as a roadside bomb, is a homemade bomb constructed and deployed in ways other than in conventional military action...
s. He agreed that Mebo had sold 20 MST-13 timers to Libya in 1985, which were later tested by Libyan special forces
Special forces
Special forces, or special operations forces are terms used to describe elite military tactical teams trained to perform high-risk dangerous missions that conventional units cannot perform...
at their base at Sabha. Bollier said: "I was present when two such timers were included in bomb cylinders". In court, Bollier was shown a number of printed circuit board
Printed circuit board
A printed circuit board, or PCB, is used to mechanically support and electrically connect electronic components using conductive pathways, tracks or signal traces etched from copper sheets laminated onto a non-conductive substrate. It is also referred to as printed wiring board or etched wiring...
fragments which he identified as coming from the Mebo MST-13 timer, but he claimed that these timer fragments appeared to have been modified.
Timers for East Germany
Joachim Wenzel, an employee of the StasiStasi
The Ministry for State Security The Ministry for State Security The Ministry for State Security (German: Ministerium für Staatssicherheit (MfS), commonly known as the Stasi (abbreviation , literally State Security), was the official state security service of East Germany. The MfS was headquartered...
, the former East German intelligence agency, testified behind screens in week 9. Wenzel claimed to have been Bollier's handler in the years 1982–85 and testified that Mebo had supplied the Stasi with timers.
Criminal complaint
During week 11 of the trial, Mebo lawyer Dieter Neupert filed an official criminal complaint against the CrownThe Crown
The Crown is a corporation sole that in the Commonwealth realms and any provincial or state sub-divisions thereof represents the legal embodiment of governance, whether executive, legislative, or judicial...
over what he alleged was a 'forged fragment of MST-13 timer'.
False testimony
Former Mebo employee, Ulrich Lumpert, told the Scottish Court in the NetherlandsScottish Court in the Netherlands
The Scottish court in the Netherlands was the special High Court of Justiciary set up under Scots law in a former United States Air Force base called Camp Zeist in Utrecht, in the Netherlands, for the trial of two Libyans charged with 270 counts of murder in connection with the bombing of Pan Am...
that as an electronics engineer he had produced all of the firm's MST-13 timers. Lumpert agreed that the fragments shown to him in court "could be" from that timer and was asked to confirm his signature on a letter concerning a technical fault with the prototype MST-13 timer.
Seven years later, on 18 July 2007, Lumpert claimed he had lied at the trial. In a sworn affidavit
Affidavit
An affidavit is a written sworn statement of fact voluntarily made by an affiant or deponent under an oath or affirmation administered by a person authorized to do so by law. Such statement is witnessed as to the authenticity of the affiant's signature by a taker of oaths, such as a notary public...
before a Zurich
Zürich
Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...
notary
Notary public
A notary public in the common law world is a public officer constituted by law to serve the public in non-contentious matters usually concerned with estates, deeds, powers-of-attorney, and foreign and international business...
, Lumpert stated that he had stolen a prototype MST-13 timer PC-board
Printed circuit board
A printed circuit board, or PCB, is used to mechanically support and electrically connect electronic components using conductive pathways, tracks or signal traces etched from copper sheets laminated onto a non-conductive substrate. It is also referred to as printed wiring board or etched wiring...
from Mebo and that he had given it on 22 June 1989, to "an official person investigating the Lockerbie case". Dr Hans Köchler, UN observer at the Lockerbie trial, was sent a copy of Lumpert's affidavit and issued a report on the matter. Dr Köchler told the Glasgow Herald:
- "The Scottish authorities are now obliged to investigate this situation. Not only has Mr Lumpert admitted to stealing a sample of the timer, but to the fact he gave it to an official and then lied in court".
Conviction
Only one of the two accused Libyans, Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, was convicted of the Lockerbie bombing on 31 January 2001. Six years later, on 28 June 2007, the Scottish Criminal Cases Review CommissionScottish Criminal Cases Review Commission
The Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission is a non-departmental public body in Scotland, established by the Criminal Procedure Act 1995 ....
granted Megrahi leave for a second appeal against the conviction. Megrahi's appeal at the Court of Criminal Appeal
Court of Criminal Appeal
The Court of Criminal Appeal is the name of existing courts of Scotland and Ireland, and an historic court in England and Wales.- Ireland :See Court of Criminal Appeal ...
in Edinburgh was dropped and he was released on 20 August 2009, on compassionate grounds, suffering from terminal cancer, and returned to Libya to a hero's welcome.