U.S., U.K. Demands Libya Accept Responsibility for Lockerbie

Feb. 1, 2001 -- A day after a special court found him not guilty of murdering 270 people on board Pan Am 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, Lamen Khalifa Fhimah arrived back in the Libyan capital of Tripoli to a hero's welcome.

Fhimah stepped off a Dutch military aircraft at Tripoli's MaatikaAirport today to a media crush as dozens of reporters rushed toward him. Security officers were present at the airport as Fhimah's family awaited his arrival.

He arrived on a Dutch military flight from the Netherlands where he stood trial.

The Libyan government, according to the BBC, has been tailoring its response in Libyan newspapers, calling his release a historic and unprecedented victory for Libya, which confronts the arrogance and oppression of colonialism.

The unusual language is being seen as an attempt by the Libyan government to distract attention from the fact that a Libyan citizen was convicted of one of the greatest crimes committed in recent history.

In receiving Fhimah at his official residence, Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi told reporters, "I have proven evidence that he [Abdel Basset Ali al-Megrahi, who was convicted] is innocent and I'll reveal the evidence Monday."

One Jailed, One Free

On Wednesday, a panel of three Scottish judges in the Netherlands found the 44-year-old Libyan not guilty of murdering 270 people in the bombing of Pan Am 103 in 1988.

His co-defendant Megrahi however was convicted of the bombing and sentenced to life in jail.

Fhimah, who is reportedly married with five children, was employed by Libyan Arab Airlines as a station manager in Malta until shortly before the bombing.

The announcement came as Scottish legal experts today said they expected Fhimah's former colleague Megrahi to appeal the ruling.

Under Scottish law, which the case was heard under, Megrahi has 14 days to appeal the conviction.

In Edinburgh today, the country's Lord Advocate told the Scottish Parliament that though Megrahi was not acting alone, new evidence was needed before any further charges could be pressed.

"He was convicted of committing murder while acting alongwith others and in the furtherance of the purposes of theLibyan intelligence services," said Colin Boyd.

But further charges could be pressed only if and when new evidence becomes available, he added.

Pressure on Libya

In the wake of Wednesday's verdict, the governments of the United States and Britain as well as relatives of the victims have been pushing Libya to accept responsibility for the bombing.

But in Tripoli today, Libyan Foreign Minister Abdul Rahim Shalkum told the BBC that Libya would not accept responsibility for the bombing. "Never," he said. "It is against just this man. Just a man...not against a state."

However, signaling a more conciliatory tone after Wednesday's verdict, Shalkum today called for better relations with the U.S. and Britain.

In a faxed statement to the media, Shalkum said Libyawished "to turn a new page in its relations with Britain and the U.S. and establish new relations based on respect for its sovereignty and independence." But he added that, "we will not give in to blackmail."

However, Libya's ambassador to Britain, Mohammed al-Zwai earlier told the BBC that Libya may consider paying compensation to the families of the victims if the appeal process for the convicted bomber fails.

Under terms of a U.N. Security Council resolutions, Libya must accept responsibility for the mass murder of the 270 people killed in the 1988 bombing and pay compensation to the families of the victims.

GUILTYABDEL BASSET ALI AL-MEGRAHI — Former head of operations forLibyan Arab Airlines at Malta's Luqa Airport. He was found guilty of murder.Prosecutors said Megrahi, 48, worked for the LibyanIntelligence Services. NOT GUILTYLAMEN KHALIFA FHIMAH — The second defendant, age 44, wasacquitted. Employed by Libyan Arab Airlines asstation manager in Malta until shortly before the bombing. Prosecutors dropped allegations that he was also amember of the Libyan Intelligence Services.

Swift International Reaction

Wednesday's verdict drew calls from Libya to lift the economic sanctions imposed by the United Nations Security Council after the bombing, a call that was backed by the Arab League today.

In Washington, President Bush welcomed the conviction and said Libya should take responsibility for compensating the victims' families.

"The United States government will continue to pressure Libya to accept responsibility for this act, and to compensate the families," he said.

The British Foreign Office has said the sanctions could be fully lifted under a number of very specific conditions, including ceasing all terrorism, fully disclosing its information on the bombing, and paying compensation to families of the victims.

'Tremendous Relief'

The initial reaction from families of the victims to Wednesday's verdict has been guarded.

Speaking to reporters at the Federal Court building in lower Manhattan on Wednesday where families of the victims has gathered to hear the verdict, Matt Coyle, of Connecticut, whose daughter Tricia, 20, a Boston College student, died in the bombing said there was relief in the room.

"My stomach was in a knot," said . "And after the verdict came, there was tremendous relief."

The decision came after innumerable delays and adjournments, and diplomatic and bureaucratic wrangles since the Dec. 21, 1988, bombing, which killed 259 people on the plane, and 11 on the ground.

The trial itself cost some $90 million and involved 10,232 pages of testimony from 235 witnesses.

The trial wasn't actually held on Scottish soil. Libya only agreed to surrender the defendants for trial after U.S. and British authorities agreed to a trial by a Scottish court on neutral ground.

On Jan. 18, the judges began their deliberations on 85 days of hearings. They announced their decision yesterday at a specially built, high-security courthouse at Camp Zeist.

Revenge Thought to Be the Motive

The conviction has intensified suspicions that the attack was intended as an act of revenge by Gadhafi against the United States for the 1986 bombing of Libya, in which an adopted daughter died.

Prosecutors said that al-Megrahi, 48, aviation security chief for Libyan intelligence and Fhimah, 44, the former Libyan Arab Airlines station manager in Malta, sent a bomb in a suitcase from Malta that eventually wound up on the doomed jet.

The guilty verdict came as a surprise after widespread criticism that the prosecution made numerous gaffes.

Near the end of the trial, prosecutor Alastair Campbell asked judges to overlook gaps in the evidence, admitting it was a "circumstantial case."

Prosecutors also dropped charges of conspiracy and violation of air safety regulations to focus on the toughest to prove: murder.

The defense suggested Palestinian extremists were motivated by vengeance for another act of perceived U.S. aggression: The downing of an Iranian civilian Airbus jetliner by the U.S. missile cruiser USS Vincennes earlier in 1988.

The two Libyans became suspects in 1992, but Gadhafi had refused to surrender them until April 1999, nearly a decade after the U.N. Security Council had imposed broad economic sanctions on Libya.

In return for suspension of the sanctions, Gadhafi allowed the two men to stand trial in a neutral country.

ABCNEWS' Nathan Thomas in London and ABCNEWS.com's Michael James in New York contributed to this report.