Lamin Khalifah Fhimah ( ar, الأمين خليفة فحيمة, ''al-Amīn Khalīfah Faḥīmah''; born 4 April 1956) is a former station manager for

Libyan Arab Airlines Libyan Airlines ( ar, الخطوط الجوية الليبية; transliterated: al-Khutut al-Jawiyah al-Libiyah), formerly known as ''Libyan Arab Airlines'' over several decades, is the flag carrier of Libya. Based in Tripoli, it operates sch ...

at Luqa Airport,

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

. On 31 January 2001, he was

acquitted In common law jurisdictions, an acquittal certifies that the accused is free from the charge of an offense, as far as criminal law is concerned. The finality of an acquittal is dependent on the jurisdiction. In some countries, such as the ...

of 270 counts of

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person wit ...

in the

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. The 36-week bench trial took place at a specially convened Scottish Court in the Netherlands set ...

by a panel of three Scottish judges sitting in a special court at

Camp Zeist 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 in Utrecht, in the Netherlands, for the trial of two Libyans charged with ...

, Netherlands,Fhimah was found "not guilty"
Verdict of the Scottish Court in the Netherlands in light of evidence that he was in

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

at the time of the bombing and therefore could not have been a participant. His co-accused,

Abdelbaset al-Megrahi ) , birth_date = , birth_place = Tripoli, Kingdom of Libya , death_date = , death_place = Tripoli, Libya , cause = Prostate cancer , nationality = Libyan , race = Arab , g ...

, was found guilty by unanimous decision of the court and sentenced to

life imprisonment Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment for a crime under which convicted people are to remain in prison for the rest of their natural lives or indefinitely until pardoned, paroled, or otherwise commuted to a fixed term. Crimes for ...

, but later released on compassionate grounds, having always maintained his innocence. Fhimah was born and lives in Suq el Juma'a, near

Tripoli, Libya Tripoli (; ar, طرابلس الغرب, translit= Ṭarābulus al-Gharb , translation=Western Tripoli) is the capital and largest city of Libya, with a population of about 1.1 million people in 2019. It is located in the northwest of Libya o ...

, 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, and

advocate An advocate is a professional in the field of law. Different countries' legal systems use the term with somewhat differing meanings. The broad equivalent in many English law–based jurisdictions could be a barrister or a solicitor. However, ...

William Taylor QC William Taylor, QC has been a Scottish advocate since 1971 and a QC since 1986. He has also been a barrister in England and Wales since 1990 and a Queen's Counsel there since 1998. He has specialised in criminal defence work since the 1980s. P ...

, David Burns QC and John Beckett. Both defendants also had access to Libyan defence lawyer, Mr. Maghour. Court proceedings started on 3 May 2000. The judges announced their verdict on 31 January 2001. They were unanimous in finding Fhimah not guilty. Fhimah was released from custody and returned to his home at Souk al-Juma in Libya on 1 February 2001.

References

External links

"Case against Fhimah fatally flawed"
by Gerard Seenan, ''The Guardian'', 1 February 2001
Original Court Opinion
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fhimah, Lamin Khalifah Pan Am Flight 103 1956 births Living people People acquitted of murder People from Tripoli People extradited from Libya Libyan Airlines Maltese people of African descent