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Pan Am Flight 103 Bombing Trial
The Pan Am Flight 103 bombing trial began on 3 May 2000, more than 11 years after the destruction of Pan Am Flight 103 on 21 December 1988. The 36-week bench trial took place at a specially convened Scottish Court in the Netherlands set up under Scots law and held at a disused United States Air Force base called Camp Zeist near Utrecht. Trial set-up Venue Upon the indictment of the two Libyan suspects in November 1991, the Libyan government was called upon to extradite them for trial in either the United Kingdom or the United States. Since no bilateral extradition treaty was in force between Libya and either of the two countries seeking extradition, Libya refused to hand the men over but did offer to detain them for trial in Libya, as long as all the incriminating evidence was provided. The offer was unacceptable to the US and UK, and there was an impasse for the next three years. In November 1994, President Nelson Mandela offered South Africa as a neutral venue for the trial ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pan Am Flight 103
Pan Am Flight 103 (PA103/PAA103) was a regularly scheduled Pan Am transatlantic flight from Frankfurt to Detroit via a stopover in London and another in New York City. Shortly after 19:00 on 21 December 1988, the Boeing 747 "Clipper Maid of the Seas" was destroyed by a bomb while flying over the Scottish town of Lockerbie, killing all 243 passengers and 16 crew aboard. Large sections of the aircraft crashed in a residential street in Lockerbie, killing 11 residents. With a total of 270 fatalities, the event, which became known as the Lockerbie bombing, is the deadliest Terrorism in the United Kingdom, terrorist attack in the history of the United Kingdom. Following a three-year joint investigation by Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary and the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), arrest warrants were issued for two Libyan nationals in 1991. After protracted negotiations and United Nations sanctions, in 1999, Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi handed over the two men for trial at ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robin Cook
Robert Finlayson "Robin" Cook (28 February 19466 August 2005) was a British Labour Party politician who served as a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1974 until his death in 2005 and served in the Cabinet as Foreign Secretary from 1997 until 2001 when he was replaced by Jack Straw. He then served as Leader of the House of Commons from 2001 until 2003. Cook studied at the University of Edinburgh before being elected as the Member of Parliament for Edinburgh Central in 1974; he switched to the Livingston constituency in 1983. In Parliament, he was known for his debating ability and rapidly rose through the political ranks and ultimately into the Cabinet. As Foreign Secretary, he oversaw British interventions in Kosovo and Sierra Leone. Cook resigned from his positions as Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons on 17 March 2003 in protest against the invasion of Iraq. At the time of his death, he was President of the Foreign Policy Centre and a Vice- ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Camp Zeist, Netherlands
The Scottish court in the Netherlands was a special sitting of the High Court of Justiciary set up under Scots law in a former United States Air Force base, Camp Zeist near Utrecht, in the Netherlands, for the trial of two Libyans charged with 270 counts of murder in connection with the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, on 21 December 1988. A school on the former base was converted into a judicial court for the trial. Neutral country The court was established in a neutral country as part of a deal between Colonel Muammar Gaddafi of Libya and the British government, before Gaddafi would allow the extradition of the two accused. Special jurisdiction on territory Under a bilateral treaty between the United Kingdom and the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the premises of the court were, for the duration of the trial and any subsequent appeal, under the authority and control of the court. Since the arrangement had been called for by United Nations Security Counc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lockerbie
Lockerbie (, ) is a town in Dumfries and Galloway, located in south-western Scotland. The 2001 Census recorded its population as 4,009. The town had an estimated population of in . The town came to international attention in December 1988 when the wreckage of Pan Am Flight 103 crashed there following a terrorist bomb attack aboard the flight. Prehistory and archaeology In 2006, ahead of the construction of a new primary and secondary school, archaeologists from CFA Archaeology undertook excavations. They discovered the remains of a large (27 m x 8 m) Neolithic timber hall that dated to somewhere between 3950 BC to 3700 BC. The archaeologists found it was in use for some time as some of the posts had been replaced. Flax seeds were found in the timber hall, showing the people were processing flax. This is an extremely rare find with only one other site in Scotland showing evidence of flax production in the Neolithic period. Like with most other Neolithic timber halls, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aviation Security Act 1982
The Aviation Security Act 1982 (c. 36) is an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom Parliament which covers offences against the safety of aircraft; protection of aircraft, aerodromes, and air navigation installations against acts of violence; policing of airports; and funding Aviation Security Act 1982 (c. 36) The act implements security protocols and procedures to all United Kingdom Airports in an effort to increase security in airports. In addition to murder and conspiracy, the defendants of the Pan Am Flight 103 at the Pan Am Flight 103 bombing trial, were accused of breaches of the 1982 Act. See also *List of acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom This is a list of acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from its establishment in 1801 up until the present. Lists of acts by year 19th century * List of acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 * List of acts of the Pa ... References External links * * {{Authority control United Kingdom ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Conspiracy (crime)
In criminal law, a conspiracy is an agreement between two or more people to commit a crime at some time in the future. Criminal law in some countries or for some conspiracies may require that at least one overt act be undertaken in furtherance of that agreement to constitute an offense. There is no limit to the number participating in the conspiracy, and in most countries the plan itself is the crime, so there is no requirement that any steps have been taken to put the plan into effect (compare attempts which require proximity to the full offense). For the purposes of concurrence, the ''actus reus'' is a continuing one and parties may join the plot later and incur joint liability and conspiracy can be charged where the co-conspirators have been acquitted or cannot be traced. Finally, repentance by one or more parties does not affect liability (unless, in some cases, it occurs ''before'' the parties have committed overt acts) but may reduce their sentence. An unindicted co-c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Libya
Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–Libya border, the south, Niger to Libya–Niger border, the southwest, Algeria to Algeria–Libya border, the west, and Tunisia to Libya–Tunisia border, the northwest. With an area of almost , it is the 4th-largest country in Africa and the Arab world, and the List of countries and outlying territories by total area, 16th-largest in the world. Libya claims 32,000 square kilometres of southeastern Algeria, south of the Libyan town of Ghat, Libya, Ghat. The largest city and capital is Tripoli, Libya, Tripoli, which is located in northwestern Libya and contains over a million of Libya's seven million people. Libya has been inhabited by Berber people, Berbers since the late Bronze Age as descendants from Iberomaurusian and Capsian cultures. I ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mebo Telecommunications
Mebo Telecommunications AG (formed in 1969 and registered in Zürich on 24 March 1971) is owned by Swiss businessmen Erwin Meister and Edwin Bollier. Radio Nordsee International – the ''Mebo I'' and ''II'' Mebo bought two vessels in 1969: ''Mebo I'' (formerly "Angela") and the 630 ton '' Mebo II'' (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 ''Almasir ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Edwin Bollier
Edwin Bollier and his partner, Erwin Meister, founded Mebo Telecommunications AG in Zürich, Switzerland in 1969. The firm has traded in various electronic and telecommunication equipment and acted as consultants in the construction of radio stations. Radio Nordsee International In 1969–70, the partners Meister and Bollier established a commercial offshore radio station, Radio Nordsee International (RNI), in international waters aboard the radio ship '' Mebo II'', anchored off Scheveningen,The Netherlands. Transmissions to Northwest Europe began in January 1970. By 1971, the station had established a large listenership, especially in the Netherlands, its programs broadcast simultaneously on mediumwave (105 kW), shortwave (2 X 10 kW), and FM (1 kW). After transmissions ceased in 1974, and a lengthy legal battle with the Dutch government over its impounding of the vessel, in 1977 the ''Mebo II'' sailed for Tripoli, Libya, where it was initially leased to the Liby ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lamin Khalifah Fhimah
Lamin Khalifah Fhimah (, ''al-Amīn Khalīfah Faḥīmah''; born 4 April 1956) is a former station manager for Libyan Arab Airlines at Luqa Airport, Malta. On 31 January 2001, he was acquitted of 270 counts of murder in the Pan Am Flight 103 bombing trial 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 at the time of the bombing and therefore could not have been a participant. His co-accused, Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, was found guilty by unanimous decision of the court and sentenced to life imprisonment, but later released on compassionate grounds, having always maintained his innocence. Personal life Fhimah was born and lives in Souq al Jum'aa, near Tripoli, Libya, with his wife and five children. Trial Fhimah was represented by solicitors Eddie McKechnie and Paul Phillips, advocates Richard Keen QC, Jack Davidson QC and Murdo MacLeod. Representing Megrahi were his solicitor, Alistair Duff, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Abdelbaset Al-Megrahi
Abdelbaset Ali Mohamed al-Megrahi ( , ; 1 April 1952 – 20 May 2012) was a Libyan convicted of the Lockerbie bombing of Pan Am flight 103. He was head of security for Libyan Arab Airlines, director of the Centre for Strategic Studies in Tripoli, Libya, and Libyan intelligence officer. On 31 January 2001, Megrahi was convicted, by a panel of three Scottish judges sitting in a special court at Camp Zeist in the Netherlands, of 270 counts of murder for the bombing of the flight over Scotland on 21 December 1988. He was sentenced to life imprisonment. His co-accused, Lamin Khalifah Fhimah, was found not guilty and was acquitted. Megrahi unsuccessfully appealed his 2001 conviction. In June 2007, the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission granted Megrahi leave to appeal his Lockerbie bombing conviction for a second time. Megrahi abandoned his second appeal in August 2009 as an ongoing appeal would have prevented him from being moved to Libya under the Prisoner Transfer Sch ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Contempt Of Court
Contempt of court, often referred to simply as "contempt", is the crime of being disobedient to or disrespectful toward a court of law and its officers in the form of behavior that opposes or defies the authority, justice, and dignity of the court. A similar attitude toward a legislative body is termed contempt of Parliament or contempt of Congress. The verb for "to commit contempt" is contemn (as in "to contemn a court order") and a person guilty of this is a contemnor or contemner. There are broadly two categories of contempt: being disrespectful to legal authorities in the courtroom, or willfully failing to obey a court order. Contempt proceedings are especially used to enforce equitable remedies, such as injunctions. In some jurisdictions, the refusal to respond to subpoena, to testify, to fulfill the obligations of a juror, or to provide certain information can constitute contempt of the court. When a court decides that an action constitutes contempt of court, it can ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
