Lamin Khalifah Fhimah ( ar, الأمين خليفة فحيمة, ''al-Amīn Khalīfah Faḥīmah''; born 4 April 1956) is a former station manager for Libyan Arab Airlines 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 of 270 counts of

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

in the Pan Am Flight 103 bombing trial by a panel of three Scottish judges sitting in a special court at Camp Zeist, 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 countries, Nordic c ...

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

Abdelbaset al-Megrahi Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi ( ar, عبد الباسط محمد علي المقرحي, ; 1 April 1952 – 20 May 2012) was a Libyan who was head of security for Libyan Arab Airlines, director of the Centre for Strategic Studies in Tripoli, ...

, 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 fo ...

, 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 ...

s William Taylor QC, 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