The Maltese Double Cross (1994) - Lockerbie

The Maltese Double Cross was written, directed and produced by the late Allan Francovich.

Faced with threats of legal action, it has been given scant exposure in the UK and the US. It was shown on Channel 4 in the UK in 1995 and was followed by a discussion on the issues the film raised. This was chaired by Sheena McDonald and included Allan Francovich, Jim Swire, Sir Teddy Taylor, Jim Duggan, David Leppard and Oliver 'Buck' Revel. Sadly, the discussion subsequent to the film is not included below.

This is however the best version of the 1994 film available.

Lockerbie Appeal Update

Dr Ludwig De Braeckeleer of OhmyNews International website sheds light on the first stage of the 2nd appeal of Abdelbaset Al-Megrahi.

Once again, he exposes the fundamental flaws in the testimony given, and the Judges at Zeist's vindication of crucial prosecution witnesses, Paul and Tony Gauci. Owners of the Maltese clothes shop where it was said the items of clothing used to conceal the bomb were purchased, their statements on what was bought, by whom and on what date, was essential in the conviction of Megrahi.

It is thought the defence team will also look to introduce a new witness, known about by the police and crown since 1989, who's statement is unequivocal that the date of purchase is not that as stated by Gauci, and agreed by the Judges in 2001. This new witness would not however be presented by defence lawyers until later in the appeal process.

Dr Braeckeleer also examines the other significant piece of evidence produced at the original trial: the MST13 timer, and the charred fragment discovered linking the bomb to Libya and Megrahi.

http://english.ohmynews.com/articleview/article_view.asp?at_code=437023&no=385213&rel_no=1

Article below:

In the first session of the appeal, which began April 28 and will run until May 22, the defense team is determined to thoroughly discredit the testimony of the main trial witness, Tony Gauci. Tony Gauci, a Maltese shopkeeper, is said to have identified Abdelbaset Megrahi as the Libyan man who bought, on Dec. 7, 1988, the clothes inside which the bomb that exploded on Pan Am 103 was hidden.

On the basis of old evidence, new evidence and evidence not heard at the trial because it had not been passed to the defense at the time, Maggie Scott, QC, will, in all likelihood, easily convince the five appeal judges that Megrahi is not the man who bought the clothes and that the purchase occurred on Nov. 23, 1988, when there is no evidence suggesting that Megrahi was on the island and when he has an alibi.

A Dubious Identification

On Nov. 18, 1991, the US Dept. of State issued a "fact sheet" regarding the indictment of Libyan citizens Megrahi and Fimah for their alleged role in the bombing of Pan Am 103 on Dec. 21, 1988.

The sheet reads: In February 1991, Megrahi was described "resembling the Libyan who purchased the clothing items... most likely on Dec. 7, 1988."

On Feb. 15, 1991, Gauci was shown some photographs and failed to identify Megrahi. When asked to concentrate on his picture - a leading procedure to say the least -- Gauci correctly pointed out that the man on the picture was in his 30s while maintaining that the man who had bought the clothing items was very much older.

Previously, on Sept. 13, 1989, during a photofit session, Gauci stated that the buyer was about 50 years old. Born on April 1, 1952, Megrahi was 36 in late 1988. The next day, Gauci again told Detective Chief Inspector Bell that Megrahi was too young to be the man who bought the clothing.

"If the man in the photograph was older by about 20 years, he would look like the man who bought the clothing," Gauci told DCI Bell.In his first interview held on Sept. 1, 1989, Gauci told DCI Bell that the mysterious buyer was 6 feet tall or more. Megrahi is 5 feet 8, a significant discrepancy considering that it comes from a man who sells clothes for a living.

The trial judges were well aware of this striking discrepancy but they failed to provide any explanation as to how it was resolved.A Fraudulent Line-UpDuring an identity parade held at Camp Zeist in 1999, Gauci pointed out that Megrahi resembles the man who bought the clothing items.

In the line up, Megrahi was the only Libyan and was surrounded by people in their 30s and 5 feet 3 tall, i.e. people who at the time of the event would have been about 30 years younger and at least 9 inches shorter than the person originally and repeatedly described by Gauci.

Wrong Date

Regarding the day of the purchase, Tony Gauci remembered that his brother Paul had gone home earlier to watch an evening football game (Rome vs. Dresden), that the man came just before closing time, around 7 p.m., and that there was some very light raining. (The man returned to the shop to buy an umbrella.)

The game allows for only two dates: Nov. 23 or Dec. 7, 1988.The game Rome-Dresden on Dec. 7 was played at 1 p.m., not in the evening. As a result, Paul Gauci thought that the purchases had occurred on Nov. 23, 1988.

And there is more. It did not rain on Sliema on Dec. 7, 1988. Mark Vella, the managing director of METEO-MALTA, told the author that their records - including satellite pictures -- unambiguously indicate that it did not rain on Sliema on Dec. 7. On the other hand, Vella could confirm that it was dripping during the evening of Nov. 23, 1988. (NB. Official copies of their records are available.) When asked to try to assess the most likely day of the purchase by DCI Bell, Tony Gauci stated: "I've been asked to again try and pinpoint the day and date that I sold the man the clothing. I can only say it was a weekday.

There were no Christmas decorations up, as I have already said, and I believe it was at the end of November." During a three years long investigation, the SCCRC has established that the Christmas lights are put up in Sliema on Dec. 6, ruling out Dec. 7 as the date of the purchase.

New Witness

The defense has identified a person, not heard at the trial, who witnessed the purchase of the clothing items. Although he has not been named by the defense, I understand that the witness is David Wright, a longtime friend of the Gauci family.Wright told the police in September and December 1989 that the purchase occurred Nov. 23 and that the buyer was not Megrahi.

His interview was not passed to the defense team at the time of the trial. During the first session of the appeal, which, there will be no new witnesses. "Any new witnesses, if the Appeal Court allows them to be heard -- and the rules about fresh evidence in appeals are very restrictive -- will only feature in later sessions," writes Pr. Black.

Last Pajamas

In a phone interview conducted on Jan. 25, 2008, Tony Gauci stated that the three pairs of pajamas he sold to the mysterious buyer were the last from the 16 delivered from the John Mallia Company on Oct. 31, 1988. On the following day, Tony Gauci called the Mallia Company to order an additional 8 pairs which were delivered 24 hours later.

In Malta, Dec. 8 is a public holiday as the mostly Catholic country celebrates Immaculate Conception Day. As a matter of fact, John Mallia Co. was closed on Dec. 8, again ruling out Dec. 7 as the day of the purchase.

Missing Statements

According to a well informed source, the defense will establish that contradictory statements made by Gauci were not passed to the defense team at the Zeist trial.

Payments

The defense will also establish that the Gauci brothers were paid a large amount of money in exchange for helping the conviction of Megrahi and that the defense had not been informed regarding the payments themselves or the promise of rewards.

The Slalom Shirts

Although it has not yet been announced, I understand that the defense will also question the origin of the Slalom shirts alleged to have been sold by Tony Gauci to the mysterious buyer. This issue is of paramount importance as forensic experts claimed to have discovered in the collar of one of these shirts the fragment of an electronic timer which provided the key link between the bombing and Libya. (NB. This writer has never quite understood how the size of the breast pocket did not match the size of the collar of the shirt recovered at Lockerbie, but that is another story.)

During his first interview with DCI Bell, Tony Gauci made a list of the items he had sold to the mysterious buyer. The list matched exactly the items that forensic experts at RARDE believed to have been in direct contact with the bomb, except for a black umbrella that they eventually "identify".

On that day - Sept. 1, 1989 -- Gauci made no mention of the Slalom shirts.On Jan. 30, 1990, Gauci was shown a SLALOM shirt and was asked if he had sold one to the mysterious buyer. "That man did not buy any shirt, I am sure," Gauci stated to the investigators. Then, on Sept. 10, 1990, Gauci suddenly recalled selling two Slalom shirts. It is not just odd, but contradicts a statement Gauci made on his first interview and repeated at the trial.

During his first interview, Gauci told DCI Bell that he remembered that the bill amounted to 76.5 Maltese pounds (LM). Gauci even clearly remembered that the man paid him with eight 10 LM bills, and that he returned 4 LM as he was not able to give a half pound in change.Quite logically, DCI Bell then asked him to check the price of all the items he had just mentioned. And, lo and behold, the sum added to 76.5 LM... without any Slalom shirt. Had Gauci sold two shirts to the mysterious buyer, the bill would have been 84.5 LM.

Obviously, if the SLALOM shirt is a fabrication, so must be the items discovered inside it, including the infamous fragment of the MST-13 timer.According to Richard Marquise who led the US investigation, without this key piece of evidence, there would have been no indictment. Let us now take a good look at this crucial piece of evidence.

The Third MST13 Prototype

In the summer of 1985, Ulrich Lumpert designed a timer at the request of his employers Bollier and Meister, founders and directors of Mebo, a Swiss electronic company located in Zurich.Lumpert built manually 3 prototypes on a brown, 8-ply board. Two were delivered to a front company of the STASI and the third one was allegedly destroyed.In 1988, at the request of Libyan Intelligence officials, MEBO delivered 20 MST13 timers. The electronic boards of these 20 timers were identical, machine-made on a green 9-ply board. (See LDB001) Although hey bear obvious resemblance with the three initial prototypes, they can easily be distinguished from them.In January 1989, the Lockerbie investigators found part of the collar of a SLALOM shirt, identical to one of the two shirts allegedly bought by Megrahi in Malta on Dec. 7, 1988. See LDB002. (NB. The discovery, made on Jan. 13, was not recorded until Jan. 17.)

The Discovery of PT35(b)

Initially, the evidence bag containing the collar of the SLALOM shirt was labeled "CLOTH" by Thomas Gilchrist. At a time unknown, the label was overwritten with the word "DEBRIS". The proper procedure would have been to cross the initial label and write the new one under it. Instead, DEBRIS was written over CLOTH in a way that makes the old label unnoticeable, unless the label is magnified.

The "DEBRIS" was then "discovered" on May 12, 1989 by Dr. Hayes and labeled PT35(b). The discovery is documented on a second page 51, a loose page stapled to his notebook. Items entered several months later have been given a lower evidence number. All pages from 51 to 55 were renumbered. When asked about these anomalies, Dr. Hayes simply answered that it was an "unfathomable mystery".

The Identification of MST13

On June 15, 1990, while studying a picture of PT35(b), FBI Thomas Thurman was able - thanks to the CIA - to identify it as part of the MEBO MST13 delivered prior to the Lockerbie bombing to Libyan intelligence. See LDB003

There is a small glitch... It is obvious that the fragment PT35(b) does not come from one of the 20 machine-made MST13 timer delivered to Libya. The location of the T shaped touch pad, its absolute and relative dimensions do not match. Moreover the curvature of the fragment round edge equally differs. Compare LDB003(a) and LDB003(b)!

Nevertheless, the design is very close and must have the same origin. And this brings us back to the Lumpert affidavit...

The Lumpert Affidavit

"I confirm today on July 18, 2007, that I stole the third hand-manufactured MST-13 timer PC-board consisting of eight layers of fiber-glass from MEBO Ltd. and gave it without permission on June 22, 1989, to a person officially investigating in the Lockerbie case," Lumpert wrote. "It did not escape me that the MST-13 fragment shown [at the Lockerbie trial] on the police photograph No. PT/35(b) came from the nonoperational MST-13 prototype PC-board that I had stolen," Lumpert added.

On June 6, 2008, Lumpert told the author that he gave the third timer prototype Swiss Commissioner Peter Fluckiger who requested the device at the demand of a "friendly intelligence agency."

A BUPO [Swiss federal police] note concerning the second interview of Inspector Fluckiger with the MEBO company, Badenerstrasse 414, third floor, 8004 Zurich, on Tuesday Oct. 2 1990 states: "After greeting each other and carrying out a general discussion regarding the crisis in the Gulf and its potential consequences for MEBO business, there was a project to develop a new radio network in Kuwait. We then began to discuss business contacts with Libya with reference to the discussion of the 22nd of June 1989."

Commissioner Peter Fluckiger has admitted that he visited MEBO on June 22, 1989. Fluckiger was indeed alone with Lumpert on June 22 1989. Bollier confirmed to the author that neither himself nor Meister were at the office that day.

It would appear that the Crown was well aware that the June 1989 meeting at MEBO clearly contradicts the official version of the Lockerbie investigation, as the following exchange between Mr. Turnbull and Peter Fluckiger at the trial indicates.

Q: Thank you. Now, these photographs you had with you when you went to visit Mr. Bollier on the 2nd of October of 1990?

A: Yes. This photograph and the one we saw earlier. (NB. The photographs of PT35b and the MST13 board)

Q: Thank you. In your memo, which we looked at a moment ago -- and perhaps we should have it back on the screen, Production 1562, image 4. In your note here you speak, I think, in the first paragraph about a previous meeting; is that so?

A: That is correct. Yes.

Q: What was the date of the previous meeting?A: I don't remember this by heart, but I can read it here. I wrote down 22nd of June 1989. It would have been on that date.

Q: Thank you. Was that previous meeting in connection with MST-13 timers?

MR. BURNS: Don't answer that question.

The question the author wishes to put to Richard Marquise is this: If PT35(b) was identified as a fragment of a MEBO MST13 timer on June 15, 1990 by FBI Thurman, what was Commissioner Fluckiger doing at the MEBO offices on June 22, 1989?

CIA Interference

On Nov. 15, 1990, Scottish Detective William Williamson and his colleagues visited MEBO. Prior to his visit, the CIA requested MI6 to "deter or delay the members of the Lockerbie inquiry team from making the visit." As MI6 was unable to do so, CIA agents met with Swiss Intelligence and police services on Nov. 14, 1990.

Detective Williamson was never told about that meeting, let alone about its nature.Again, the Crown appears to be well aware of the significance of this secret meeting, as the following exchange between Keen and Williamson reveals very clearly.

Q: Now, Mr. Williamson, were you made aware of these steps to deter or delay the members of the Scottish Lockerbie inquiry team from making the visit to Switzerland?　　　

A: Absolutely not, sir.

Q: These were never disclosed to you?　　　

A: I have no knowledge of that information you've just read out whatsoever.

Q: Was it disclosed to you that the day before you met with the Swiss police and intelligence services on the first visit the CIA had already met with them?　　　

MR. TURNBULL: Don't answer that.

PS: Following the initial visit of DCI Harry Bell to Malta in September 1989, RARDE scientists looked for a black umbrella that would show traces of explosive residue. On Oct. 3, 1989, RARDE "scientist" Allen Feraday identified part of a black umbrella (evidence number PK/206) that had been in direct contact with the explosion. EUREKA! But again, there is a small problem. The log book indicates that PK/206 was at RARDE Laboratory only from Jan. 16 to Feb. 8, 1989. How did Allen Feraday conduct on Oct. 3, 1989, an experiment on an item which was not in his possession?

21st December 2008.

We remember.

The Crew:
Captain James Bruce MacQuarrie, 55, from Kensington, New Hampshire, USA
First Officer (co-pilot) Raymond Ronald Wagner, 52, from Pennington, New Jersey, USA
Flight engineer Jerry Don Avritt, 46, from Westminster, California, USA
Mary Geraldine Murphy, 51, Twickenham, UK
Milutin Velimirovich, 35, Hounslow, UK (US citizen)
Elisabeth Nichole Avoyne, 44, Croissy-sur-Seine, France, French
Noelle Lydie Berti, 41, Paris, France, French
Siv Ulla Engstrom, 51, Windsor, UK, Swedish
Stacie Denise Franklin, 20, San Diego, USA
Paul Isaac Garret, 41, Napa, USA
Elke Etha Kuhne, 43, Hannover, BRD, German
Maria Nieves Larracoechea, 39, Madrid, Spain
Lilibeth Tobila Macalolooy, 27, Kelsterbach, BRD, Phillipino
Jocelyn Reina, 26, Isleworth, UK, American
Myra Josephine Royal, 30, Hanwell, UK, Dominican Republic
Irja Syhnove Skabo, 38, Oslo, Norway, Finnish
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Passengers of Flight 103
Ahern, John Michael Gerard, bond broker, 26 years, Rockville Center, New York, American
Aicher, Sarah Margaret, playwright, 29 years, American
Akerstrom, John David, 34 years, Medina, Ohio, American
Alexander, Ronald Ely, businessman, 46 years, New York, New York, Swiss
Ammerman, Thomas Joseph, marketing manager, 36 years, Old Tappan, New Jersey, American
Apfelbaum, Martin Lewis, stamp dealer, 59 years, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, American
Asrelsky, Rachel Marie, student, 21 years, New York, New York, American
Atkinson, William Garretson III, engineer, 33 years, American
Atkinson, Judith Ellen, art historian and consultant, 37 years, American
Bacciochi, Clare Louise, hair stylist, 19 years, Warwickshire, England, British
Bainbridge, Harry Michael, attorney, 34 years, Montrose, New York, American
Barclay, Stuart Murray, businessman, 29 years, Canadian
Bell, Jean Mary, 44 years, Berkshire, England, British
Benello, Julian MacBain, student, 25 years, Brookline, Massachusetts, American
Bennett, Lawrence Ray, pharmaceutical chemist, 41 years, Chelsea, Michigan, American
Bergstrom, Philip Vernon, army sergeant, 22 years, Forest Lake, Minnesota, American
Berkley, Alistair David, professor of law, 29 years, American
Bernstein, Michael Stuart,lawyer, U.S. Dept. of Justice, Office of Special Investigation, 36 years, Bethesda, Maryland, American
Berrell, Steven Russell, student, 2O years, Fargo, North Dakota, American
Bhatia, Surinder Mohan, businessman, 51 years, Los Angeles, California, American
Bissett, Kenneth John, student, 21 years, Hartsdale, New York, American
Boatman-Fuller, Diane Anne, playwright, 37 years, American
Boland, Stephen John, student, 20 years, Nashua, New Hampshire, American
Bouckley, Glen John, sales, 27 years, British
Bouckley, Paula Marie, sales, 29 years, New York, American
Boulanger, Nicole Elise, student, 21 years, Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, American
Boyer, Francis, 43 years, Toulosane, France, French
Bright, Nicholas, businessman, 32 years, Brookline, Massachusetts, American
Browner (Bier), Daniel Solomon, 23 years, Parod, Israel, Israeli
Brunner, Colleen Renee, student, 20 years, Hamburg, New York, American
Burman, Timothy Guy, banker, 24 years, London, England, British
Buser, Michael Warren, advertising executive, 34 years, Ridgefield Park, New Jersey, American
Buser, Warren Max, civil engineer, 62 years, Glen Rock, New Jersey, American
Butler, Steven Lee, teacher, 35 years, Denver, Colorado, American
Cadman, William Martin, musician, 32 years, London, England, British
Caffarone, Fabiana, 28 years, London, England, British
Caffarone, Hernan, 28 years, Argentinean
Canady, Valerie, auditor, 25 years, Morgantown, West Virginia, American
Capasso, Gregory, student, 21 years, Brooklyn, New York, American
Cardwell, Timothy Michael, student, 21 years, Cresco, Pennsylvania, American
Carlsson, Bernt Wilson, Swedish UN-diplomat, 50 years, Swedish
Cawley, Richard Anthony, businessman, 43 years, New York, New York, American
Ciulla, Frank, banker, 45 years, Park Ridge, New Jersey, American
Cohen, Theodora Eugenia, student, 20 years, Port Jervis, New York, American
Coker, Eric Michael, student, 20 years, Mendham, New Jersey, American.
Coker,Jason Michael, student, 20 years, Mendham, New Jersey, American
Colasanti, Gary Leonard, student, 20 years, Melrose, Massachusetts, American
Concannon, Bridget, 53 years, Oxfordshire, England, Irish
Concannon, Sean, 16 years, Oxfordshire, England, British
Concannon, Thomas, 51 years, Oxfordshire, England, Irish
Corner, Tracey Jane, 17 years, Sheffield, England, British
Cory, Scott, student, 20 years, Old Lyme Court, Connecticut, American
Coursey, Willis Larry, military, 40 years, San Antonio, Texas, American
Coyle, Patricia Mary, student, 20 years, Wallingford, Connecticut, American
Cummock, John Binning, 38 years, Coral Gables, Florida, American
Curry, Joseph Patrick, army captain, 31 years, bFort Devens, Massachusetts, American
Daniels, William, Allen, research chemist, 40 years, Belle Mead, New Jersey, American
Dater, Gretchen Joyce, student, 20 years, Ramsey, New Jersey, American
Davis, Shannon, student, 19 years, Shelton, Connecticut, American
Della-Ripa, Gabriel, Pan Am Airlines employee, 46 years, Floral Park, New York, Italian
DiMauro, Joyce Christine, marketing director, 32 years, New York, New York, American
DiNardo, Gianfranca, 26 years, Italian
Dix, Peter Thomas Stanley, management consultant, 35 years, London, England, Irish
Dixit, Om, college professor, 54 years, Fairborn, Ohio, Indian
Dixit, Shanti, 54 years, Fairborn, Ohio, American
Dornstein, David Scott, student, 25 years, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, American
Doyle, Michael Joseph, accountant, 30 years, Voorhees, New Jersey, American
Eggleston, Edgar Howard III, air force sergeant, 24 years, Glens Falls, New York, American
Ergin, Turhan, student, 22 years, West Hartford, Connecticut, American
Fisher, Charles Thomas IV, banker, 34 years, American
Flick, Clayton Lee, businessman, 25 years, Coventry, England, British
Flynn, John Patrick, student, 21 years, Montville, New Jersey, American
Fondiler, Arthur, attorney, 33 years, West Armonk, New York, American
Fortune, Robert Gerard, insurance executive, 40 years, Jackson Heights, NY, American
Freeman, Paul Matthew Stephen, 25 years, Canadian
Fuller, James Ralph, corporate vice president, 50 years, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, America
Gabor, Ibolya Robertine, 79 years, Budapest, Hungary, Hungarian
Gallagher, Amy Beth, student, 22 years, American
Gannon, Matthew Kevin, foreign service officer, 34 years, Los Angeles, Ca., American
Garczynski, Kenneth Raymond, industrial engineer, 37 years, North Brunswick, NJ, American
Gibson, Kenneth James, army specialist four, 20 years, Romulus, Michigan, American
Giebler, William David, bond broker, 29 years, London, England, American
Gordon, Olive Leonora, 25 years, London, England, British
Gordon-Gorgacz, Linda Susan, 39 years, London, England, American
Gorgacz, Anne Madelene, 76 years, Newcastle, Pennsylvania, American
Gorgacz, Loretta Anne, 47 years, Newcastle, Pennsylvania, American
Gould, David, college professor, 45 years, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, American
Guevorgian, Andre Nikolai, businessman, 32 years, Sea Cliff, New York, American
Hall, Nicola Jane, 23 years, Sandton, South Africa, South African
Halsch, Lorraine Frances, special education teacher, 31 years, Fairport, NY, American
Hartunian, Lynne Carol, student, 21 years, Schenectady, New York, American
Hawkins, Anthony Lacey, businessman, 57 years, Brooklyn, New York, British
Herbert, Pamela Elaine, student, 19 years, Battle Creek, Michigan, American
Hilbert, Rodney Peter, 40 years, Newton, Pennsylvania, American
Hill, Alfred, 29 years, Sonthofen, Germany, German
Hollister, Katherine Augusta, student, 20 years, Rego Park, New York
Hudson, Josephine Lisa, nurse, 22 years, London, England, British
Hudson, Melina Kristina, student, 16 years, Albany, New York, American
Hudson, Sophie Ailette Miriam, 26 years, Paris, France, French
Hunt, Karen Lee, student, 20 years, Webster, New York, American
Hurst, Roger Elwood, marketing manager, 38 years, Ringwood, New Jersey, American
Ivell, Elizabeth Sophie, dog handler, 19 years, East Sussex, England, British
Jaafar, Khalid Nazir, student, 20 years, Dearborn, Michigan, American
Jeck, Robert van Houten, 57 years, Mountain Lakes, New Jersey, American
Jeffreys, Paul Avron, musician, 36 years, Surrey, England, British
Jeffreys, Rachel, advertising executive, 23, years, Surrey, England, British
Jermyn, Kathleen Mary, student, 20 years, Staten Island, New York, American
Johnson, Beth Ann, student, 21 years, Greensburg, Pennsylvania, American
Johnson, Mary Alice Lincoln, student, 25 years, Wayland, Massachusetts, American
Johnson, Timothy Baron, student, 21 years, Neptune, New Jersey, American
Jones, Christopher Andrew, student, 20 years, Claverack, New York, American
Kelly, Julianne Frances, student, 20 years, Dedham, Massachusetts, American
Kingham, Jay Joseph, pharmaceuticals executive, 44 years, Potomac, Maryland, American,
Klein, Patricia Ann, social worker, 35 years, Trenton, New Jersey, American
Kosmowski, Gregory, marketing executive, 40 years, MiIford, Michigan, American
Kulukundis, Minas Christopher, ship brokerage director, 38 years, London, England, British
LaRiviere, Ronald Albert, 33 years, Alexandria, Virginia, American
Leckburg, Robert Milton, engineer, 30 years, Piscataway, New Jersey, American
Leyrer, William Chase, businessman, 46 years, Bay Shore, New York, American
Lincoln, Wendy Anne, student, 23 years, North Adams, Massachusetts, American
Lowenstein, Alexander Silas, student, 21 years, Morristown, New Jersey, American
Ludlow, Lloyd David, army sergeant first class, 41 years, Macksville, Kansas, American
Lurbke, Maria Theresia, 25 years, Balve Beckum, Germany, German
Mack, William Edward, puppeteer, 30 years, New York, New York, American
Malicote, Douglas Eugene, army specialist four, 22 years, Lebanon, Ohio, American
Malicote, Wendy Gay, 21 years, Lebanon, Ohio, American
Marek, Elizabeth Lillian, actress and peace activist, 30 years, New York, American
Marengo, Louis Anthony, marketing director, 33 years, Rochester, Michigan, American
Martin, Noel George, 27 years, Clapton, England, Jamaican
Maslowski, Diane Marie, currency trader, 30 years, New York, American
McAllister, William John, 26 years, Middlesex, England, British
McCarthy, Daniel Emmet, banker, 31 years, Brooklyn, New York, American
McCollum, Robert Eugene, university professor, 61 years, Wayne, Pennsylvania, American
McKee, Charles Dennis, army major, head of a US Intelligence Team, 40 years, Arlington, Virginia, American
McLaughlin, Bernard Joseph, marketing manager, 30 years, Cranston, RI, American
Melber, Jane Susan, musician and teacher, 27 years, Middlesex, England, American
Merrill, John, seaman, 35 years, Hertfordshire, England, British
Miazga, Suzanne Marie, student, 22 years, Marcy, New York, American
Miller, Joseph Kenneth, accounting firm executive, 56 years, Woodmere, NY, American
Mitchell, Jewel Courtney, army second lieutenant, 32 years, Brooklyn, New York, American
Monetti, Richard Paul, student, 20 years, Cherry Hill, New Jersey, American
Morgan, Jane Ann, attorney, 37 years, London, England, American
Morson, Eva Ingeborg, 48 years, New, York, New York, American
Mosey, Helga Rachael, student, 19 years, West Midlands, England, British
Mulroy, Ingrid Elizabeth, 25 years, Lund, Sweden, Swedish
Mulroy, John, journalist, 59 years, East Northport, New York, American
Mulroy, Sean Kevin, 25 years, American
Noonan, Karen Elizabeth, student, 20 years, Potomac, Maryland, American
O'Connor, Daniel Emmett, U.S. diplomatic service, 31 years, Dorchester, Mass, American
O'Neil, Mary Denice, student, 2l years, Bronx, New York, American
Otenasek, Anne Lindsey, student, 21 years, Baltimore, Maryland, American
Owen, Bryony Elise, 1 year, Bristol, England, British
Owen, Gwyneth Yvonne Margaret, student, 29 years, Bristol, England, British
Owens, Laura Abigail, 8 years, Cherry Hill, New Jersey, American
Owens, Martha, 44 years, Cherry Hill, New Jersey, American
Owens, Robert Plack, 45 years, Cherry Hill, New Jersey, American
Owens, Sarah Rebecca, 14 years, Cherry Hill, New Jersey, American
Pagnucco, Robert Italo, attorney, 51 years, South Salem, New York, American
Papadopoulos, Christos Michael, 45 years, North Lawrence, New York, American
Peirce, Peter Raymond, architect and student, 40 years, Perrysburg, Ohio, American
Pescatore, Michael, businessman, 33 years, Solon, Ohio, American
Philipps, Sarah Susannah Buchanan, student, 20 years, Newtonville, Mass, American
Phillips, Frederick Sandford, student, 27 years, Little Rock, Arkansas, American
Pitt, James Andrew Campbell, student, 24 years, South Hadley, Massachusetts, American
Platt, David, architect, 33 years, Staten Island, New York, American
Porter, Walter Leonard, musician, 35 years, Brooklyn, New York, American
Posen, Pamela Lynn, student, 20 years, Harrison, New York, American
Pugh, William, businessman, 56 years, Margate, New Jersey, American
Quiguyan, Crisostomo Estrella, hotel cashier, 43 years, London, England, Filipino
Ramses, Rajesh Tarsis Priskel, 35 years, Leicester, England, Indian
Rattan, Anmol, 2 years, Warren, Michigan. American
Rattan, Garima, computer programmer, 29 years, Warren, Michigan, American
Rattan, Suruchi, 3 years, Warren, Michigan, American
Reeves, Anita Lynn, 24 years, Laurel, Maryland, American
Rein, Mark Alan, businessman, 44 years, New York, New York, American
Rencevicz, Diane Marie, student, 21 years, Burlington, New Jersey, American
Rogers, Louise Ann, student, 20 years, Olney, Maryland, American
Roller, Edina, 5 years, Hungary, Hungarian
Roller, Janos Gabor, 29 years, Hungary, Hungarian
Roller, Zsuzsana, 27 years, Hungary, Hungarian
Root, Hanne Maria, management consultant, 26 years, Toronto, Canada, Canadian
Rosen, Saul Mark, businessman, 35 years, Morris Plains, New Jersey, American
Rosenthal, Andrea Victoria, student, 22 years, New York, New York, American
Rosenthal, Daniel Peter, student, 20 years, Staten Island, New York, American
Rubin, Arnaud David, 28 years, Waterloo, Belgium, Belgian
Saraceni, Elyse Jeanne, student, 20 years, American
Saunders, Scott Christopher, student, 21 years, Macungie, Pennsylvania, American,
Saunders, Theresa Elizabeth Jane, marketing, 28 years, Sunbury-on-Thames, England, British
Schauble, Johannes Otto, 41 years, Kappellenweg, Germany, German
Schlageter, Robert Thomas, student, 20 years, Warwick, Rhode Island, American
Schultz, Thomas Britton, student, 20, years, Ridgefield, Connecticut, American
Scott, Sally Elizabeth, chef, 22 years, Huntington, New York, British
Shapiro, Amy Elizabeth, student, 21 years, Stamford, Connecticut, American
Shastri, Mridula, 24 years, Oxford, England, Indian
Sheanshang, Joan, 46 years, New York, New York, American
Sigal, Irving Stanley, research biologist, 35 years, Pennington, New Jersey, American
Simpson, Martin Bernard Christopher, financier, 52 years, Brooklyn, New York, American
Smith, Cynthia Joan, student, 21 years, Milton, Massachusetts, American
Smith, Ingrid Anita, chiropodist, 31 years, Berkshire, England, British
Smith, James Alvin, 55 years, New York, New York, American
Smith, Mary Edna, army sergeant, 34 years, Kalamazoo, Michigan, American
Stevenson, Geraldine Anne, 37 years, Surrey, England, British
Stevenson, Hannah Louise, 10 years, Surrey, England, British
Stevenson, John Charles, 38 years, Surrey, England, British
Stevenson, Rachael, 8 years, Surrey, England, British
Stinnett, Charlotte Ann, 36 years, Duncanville, Texas, American
Stinnett, Michael Gary, army specialist, 26 years, Duncanville, Texas, American
Stinnett, Stacey Leanne, 9 years, Duncanville, Texas, American
Stow, James Ralph, businessman, 49 years, New York, New York, American
Stratis, Elia G., accountant, 43 years, Montvale, New Jersey, American
Swan, Anthony Selwyn, 29 years, Trinidadian
Swire, Flora MacDonald Margaret, medical student and researcher, 24 years, London, England, British
Tager, Marc Alex, 22 years, London, England, British
Tanaka, Hidekazu, 26 years London, England, Japanese
Teran, Andrew Alexander, student, 20 years, New Haven, Connecticut, Bolivian
Thomas, Arva Anthony, student, 17 years, Detroit, Michigan, American
Thomas, Jonathan Ryan, 2 months, Southfield, Michigan, American
Thomas, Lawanda, air force sergeant, 21 years, Southfield, Michigan, American
Tobin, Mark Lawrence, student, 21 years, North Hempstead, New York, American
Trimmer-Smith, David William, publishing executive, 51 years, New York, NY, American,
Tsairis, Alexia Kathryn, student, 20 years, Franklin Lakes, New Jersey, American
Valentino, Barry Joseph, exhibit designer, 28 years, San Francisco, California, American
Van-Tienhoven, Thomas Floro, 45 years, Buenos Aires, Argentina, Argentinean
Vejdany, Asaad Eidi, 46 years, South Great Neck, New York, American
Vrenios, Nicholas Andreas, student, 20 years, Washington, DC, American
Vulcu, Peter, stockbroker and student, 21 years, Alliance, Ohio, American
Waido, Janina Jozefa, 61 years, Chicago, Illinois, American
Walker, Thomas Edwin, electronics specialist, 47 years, Quincy, Massachusetts, American
Weedon, Kesha, student, 20 years, Bronx, New York, American
Weston, Jerome Lee, engineer, 45 years, Baldwin, New York, American
White, Jonathan, accountant, 33 years, North Hollywood, California, American
Williams, Bonnie Leigh, military, 21 years, Crown Point, New York, American
Williams, Brittany Leigh, 2 months, Crown Point, New York
Williams, Eric Jon, army sergeant, 24 years, Crown Point, New York, American
Williams, George Waterson, army first lieutenant, 24 years, Joppa, Maryland, American
Williams, Stephanie Leigh, 1 year, Crown Point, New York, American
Wolfe, Miriam Luby, student, 20 years, Severna Park, Maryland, American
Woods, Chelsea Marie, 10 months, Willingboro, New Jersey, American
Woods, Dedera Lynn, air force sergeant, 27 years, Willingboro, New Jersey, American
Woods, Joe Nathan, civilian military worker, 28 years, Willingboro, New Jersey, American
Woods, Joe Nathan, Jr., 2 years, Willingboro, New Jersey, American
Wright, Andrew Christopher Gillies, site agent, 24 years, Surrey, England, British
Zwynenburg, Mark James, investment banker, 29 years, West Nyack, New York, American

Lockerbie Residents.

Joanne Flanagan, 10, British
Kathleen Mary Flannigan, 41, British
Thomas Brown Flannigan, 44, British
Dora Henrietta Henry, 56, British
Maurice Peter Henry, 63, British
Mary Lancaster, 81 British
Jean Aitken Murray, 82, British
John Somerville, 40, British
Lynsey Ann Somerville, 10, British
Paul Somerville, 13, British
Rosalind Hanney Somerville, 40, British

The Bombing of PanAm Flight 103 - Case Not Closed

by William Blum.

The newspapers were filled with pictures of happy relatives of the victims of the December 21, 1988 bombing of PanAm 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. A Libyan, Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al Megrahi,had been found guilty of the crime the day before, January 31,2001, by a Scottish court in the Hague, though his co-defendant,Al Amin Khalifa Fhimah, was acquitted. At long last there was going to be some kind of closure for the families.

But what was wrong with this picture?


What was wrong was that the evidence against Megrahi was thin to the point of transparency. Coming the month after the(s)election of George W. Bush, the Hague verdict could have been dubbed Supreme Court II, another instance of non-judicial factors fatally clouding judicial reasoning. The three Scottish judges could not have relished returning to the United Kingdom after finding both defendants innocent of the murder of 270 people,largely from the U.K. and the United States. Not to mention having to face dozens of hysterical victims' family members in the courtroom. The three judges also well knew the fervent desires of the White House and Downing Street as to the outcome. If both men had been acquitted, the United States and Great Britain would have had to answer for a decade of sanctions and ill will directed toward Libya.


One has to read the entire 26,000-word "Opinion of the Court", as well as being very familiar with the history of the case going back to 1988, to appreciate how questionable was the judges' verdict.

The key charge against Megrahi -- the sine qua non -- was that he placed explosives in a suitcase and tagged it so it would lead the following charmed life: 1)loaded aboard an Air Malta flight to Frankfurt without an accompanying passenger;2)transferred in Frankfurt to the PanAm 103A flight to London without an accompanying passenger; 3)transferred in London to the PanAm 103 flight to New York without an accompanying passenger.


To the magic bullet of the JFK assassination, can we now add the magic suitcase?


This scenario by itself would have been a major feat and so unlikely to succeed that any terrorist with any common sense would have found a better way. But aside from anything else, we have this -- as to the first step, loading the suitcase at Malta:there was no witness, no video, no document, no fingerprints,nothing to tie Megrahi to the particular brown Samsonite suitcase, no past history of terrorism, no forensic evidence of any kind linking him or Fhimah to such an act.


And the court admitted it: "The absence of any explanation of the method by which the primary suitcase might have been placed on board KM180 [Air Malta] is a major difficulty for the Crown case."{1}


Moreover, under security requirements in 1988, unaccompanied baggage was subjected to special X-ray examinations, plus --because of recent arrests in Germany -- the security personnel in Frankfurt were on the lookout specifically for a bomb secreted in a radio, which turned out to indeed be the method used with the PanAm 103 bomb.



Requiring some sort of direct and credible testimony linking Megrahi to the bombing, the Hague court placed great -- nay,paramount -- weight upon the supposed identification of the Libyan by a shopkeeper in Malta, as the purchaser of the clothing found in the bomb suitcase. But this shopkeeper had earlier identified several other people as the culprit, including one who was a CIA agent.{1a} When he finally identified Megrahi from a photo, it was after Megrahi's photo had been in the world news for years. The court acknowledged the possible danger inherentin such a verification: "These identifications were criticised inter alia on the ground that photographs of the accused have featured many times over the years in the media and accordingly purported identifications more than 10 years after the event are of little if any value."{2}



There were also major discrepancies between the shopkeeper's original description of the clothes-buyer and Megrahi's actual appearance. The shopkeeper told police that the customer was"six feet or more in height" and "was about 50 years of age."Megrahi was 5'8" tall and was 36 in 1988. The judges again acknowledged the weakness of their argument by conceding that the initial description "would not in a number of respects fit the first accused [Megrahi]" and that "it has to be accepted that there was a substantial discrepancy."{3}



Nevertheless, the judges went ahead and accepted the identification as accurate. Before the indictment of the two Libyans in Washington in November 1991, the press had reported police findings that the clothing had been purchased on November 23, 1988.{4}



But the indictment of Megrahi states that he made the purchase on December 7. Can this be because the investigators were able to document Megrahi being in Malta (where he worked for Libya Airlines) on that date but cannot do so for November 23?{5}



There is also this to be considered -- If the bomber needed some clothing to wrap up an ultra-secret bomb in a suitcase,would he go to a clothing store in the city where he planned to carry out his dastardly deed, where he knew he'd likely be remembered as an obvious foreigner, and buy brand new, easily traceable items? Would an intelligence officer -- which Megrahiwas alleged to be -- do this? Or even a common boob? Wouldn't it make more sense to use any old clothing, from anywhere? Furthermore, after the world was repeatedly assured that these items of clothing were sold only on Malta, it was learned that at least one of the items was actually "sold at dozens of outlets throughout Europe, and it was impossible to trace the purchaser."{6}



The "Opinion of the Court" placed considerable weight on the suspicious behavior of Megrahi prior to the fatal day, making much of his comings and goings abroad, phone calls to unknown parties for unknown reasons, the use of a pseudonym, etc.The three judges tried to squeeze as much mileage out of these events as they could, as if they had no better case to make.But if Megrahi was indeed a member of Libyan intelligence, we must consider that intelligence agents have been known to act in mysterious ways, for whatever assignment they're on. The court,however, had no idea what assignment, if any, Megrahi was working on.



There is much more that is known about the case that makes the court verdict and written opinion questionable, although credit must be given the court for its frankness about what it was doing, even while it was doing it. "We are aware that in relation to certain aspects of the case there are a number of uncertainties and qualifications," the judges wrote. "We arealso aware that there is a danger that by selecting parts of the evidence which seem to fit together and ignoring parts which might not fit, it is possible to read into a mass of conflicting evidence a pattern or conclusion which is not really justified."{7}



It is remarkable, given all that the judges conceded was questionable or uncertain in the trial -- not to mention all that was questionable or uncertain that they didn't concede -- that at the end of the day they could still declare to the world that"There is nothing in the evidence which leaves us with any reasonable doubt as to the guilt of [Megrahi]".{8}



The Guardian of London later wrote that two days before the verdict, "senior Foreign Office officials briefed a group of journalists in London. They painted a picture of a bright new chapter in Britain's relations with Colonel Gadafy's regime. They made it quite clear they assumed both the Libyans in the dock would be acquitted. The Foreign Office officials were not alone. Most independent observers believed it was impossible for the court to find the prosecution had proved its case against Megrahi beyond reasonable doubt."{9}



There is, moreover, an alternative scenario, laying the blame on Palestinians, Iran and Syria, which is much better documented and makes a lot more sense, logistically and otherwise. Indeed, this was the Original Official Version, delivered with Olympian rectitude by the U.S. government -- guaranteed,sworn to, scout's honor, case closed -- until the buildup to the Gulf War came along in 1990 and the support of Iran and Syria was needed.



Washington was anxious as well to achieve the release of American hostages held in Lebanon by groups close to Iran. Thus it was that the scurrying sound of backtracking became audible in the corridors of the White House. Suddenly -- or so it seemed -- in October 1990, there was aNew Official Version:



It was Libya -- the Arab state least supportive of the U.S. build-up to the Gulf War and the sanctions imposed against Iraq -- that was behind the bombing after all,declared Washington.



The two Libyans were formally indicted in the U.S. and Scotland on Nov. 14, 1991. "This was a Libyan government operation from start to finish," declared the State Department spokesman.{10}



"The Syrians took a bum rap on this," said President GeorgeH.W. Bush.{11}



Within the next 20 days, the remaining four American hostages were released along with the most prominent British hostage, Terry Waite.



The Original Official Version accused the PFLP-GC, a 1968breakaway from a component of the Palestine Liberation Organization, of making the bomb and somehow placing it aboard the flight in Frankfurt.



The PFLP-GC was led by Ahmed Jabril, one of the world's leading terrorists, and was headquartered in, financed by, and closely supported by, Syria. The bombing was allegedly done at the behest of Iran as revenge for the U.S. shooting down of an Iranian passenger plane over the Persian Gulf on July 3, 1988,which claimed 290 lives.



The support for this scenario was, and remains, impressive,as the following sample indicates: In April 1989, the FBI -- in response to criticism that it was bungling the investigation -- leaked to CBS the news that it had tentatively identified the person who unwittingly carried the bomb aboard.



His name was Khalid Jaafar, a 21-year-old Lebanese-American. The report said that the bomb had been planted in Jaafar's suitcase by a member of the PFLP-GC, whose name was not revealed.{12}



In May, the State Department stated that the CIA was"confident" of the Iran-Syria-PFLP-GC account of events.{13}



On Sept. 20, The Times of London reported that "security officials from Britain, the United States and West Germany are 'totally satisfied' that it was the PFLP-GC" behind the crime. In December 1989, Scottish investigators announced that theyhad "hard evidence" of the involvement of the PFLP-GC in the bombing.{14}



A National Security Agency electronic intercept disclosed that Ali Akbar Mohtashemi, Iranian interior minister, had paid Palestinian terrorists $10 million dollars to gain revenge for the downed Iranian airplane.(15)



The intercept appears to have occurred in July 1988, shortly after the downing of the Iranian plane. Israeli intelligence also intercepted a communication between Mohtashemi and the Iranian embassy in Beirut "indicating that Iran paid for the Lockerbie bombing."{16}



Even after the Libyans had been indicted, Israeli officials declared that their intelligence analysts remained convinced that the PFLP-GC bore primary responsibility for the bombing.{17}



In 1992, Abu Sharif, a political adviser to PLO chairman Yasser Arafat, stated that the PLO had compiled a secret report which concluded that the bombing of 103 was the work of a "MiddleEastern country" other than Libya.{18}



In February 1995, former Scottish Office minister, Alan Stewart, wrote to the British Foreign Secretary and the Lord Advocate, questioning the reliability of evidence which had led to the accusations against the two Libyans. This move, wrote The Guardian, reflected the concern of the Scottish legal profession,reaching into the Crown Office (Scotland's equivalent of the Attorney General's Office), that the bombing may not have been the work of Libya, but of Syrians, Palestinians and Iranians.{19}



We must also ask why Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher,writing in her 1993 memoirs about the US bombing of Libya in1986, with which Britain had cooperated, stated: "But the much vaunted Libyan counter-attack did not and could not take place. Gaddafy had not been destroyed but he had been humbled. There was a marked decline in Libyan-sponsored terrorism in succeeding years."{20}

A key question in the PFLP-GC version has always been: How did the bomb get aboard the plane in Frankfurt, or at some other point? One widely disseminated explanation was in a report, completed during the summer of 1989 and leaked in the fall, which had been prepared by a New York investigating firm called Interfor. Headed by a former Israeli intelligence agent, Juval Aviv, Interfor -- whose other clients included Fortune 500companies, the FBI, IRS and Secret Service{21} -- was hired by the law firm representing Pan Am's insurance carrier.

The Interfor Report said that in the mid-1980s, a drug and arms smuggling operation was set up in various European cities,with Frankfurt airport as the site of one of the drug routes. The Frankfurt operation was run by Manzer Al-Kassar, a Syrian,the same man from whom Oliver North's shadowy network purchased large quantities of arms for the contras. At the airport, according to the report, a courier would board a flight with checked luggage containing innocent items; after the luggage had passed all security checks, one or another accomplice Turkish baggage handler for PanAm would substitute an identical suitcase containing contraband; the passenger then picked up this suitcase upon arrival at the destination.

The only courier named by Interfor was Khalid Jaafar, who, as noted above, had been named by the FBI a few months earlier as the person who unwittingly carried the bomb aboard.

The Interfor report spins a web much too lengthy and complex to go into here. The short version is that the CIA in Germany discovered the airport drug operation and learned also that Kassar had the contacts to gain the release of American hostages in Lebanon. He had already done the same for French hostages. Thus it was, that the CIA and the German Bundeskriminalamt (BKA,Federal Criminal Office) allowed the drug operation to continue in hopes of effecting the release of American hostages. According to the report, this same smuggling ring and its method of switching suitcases at the Frankfurt airport were used to smuggle the fatal bomb aboard flight 103, under the eyes ofthe CIA and BKA.

In January 1990, Interfor gave three of the baggage handlers polygraphs and two of them were judged as being deceitful when denying any involvement in baggage switching. However, neither the U.S., UK or German investigators showed any interest in the results, or in questioning the baggage handlers. Instead, the polygrapher, James Keefe, was hauled before a Washington grand jury, and, as he puts it, "They were bent on destroying my credibility -- not theirs" [the baggage handlers].

To Interfor,the lack of interest in the polygraph results and the attempt at intimidation of Keefe was the strongest evidence of a cover-up by the various government authorities who did not want their permissive role in the baggage switching to be revealed.{22}

Critics claimed that the Interfor report had been inspired by PanAm's interest in proving that it was impossible for normal airline security to have prevented the loading of the bomb, thus removing the basis for accusing the airline of negligence.

The report was the principal reason PanAm's attorneys subpoenaed the FBI, CIA, DEA, State Department, National Security Council, and NSA, as well as, reportedly, the Defense Intelligence Agency and FAA, to turn over all documents relating to the crash of 103 or to a drug operation preceding the crash. The government moved to quash the subpoenas on grounds of"national security", and refused to turn over a single document in open court, although it gave some to a judge to view privately.

The judge later commented that he was "troubled about certain parts" of what he'd read, adding "I don't know quite what to do because I think some of the material may be significant."{23}

On October 30, 1990, NBC-TV News reported that "PanAm flights from Frankfurt, including 103, had been used a number of times by the DEA as part of its undercover operation to fly informants and suitcases of heroin into Detroit as part of a sting operation to catch dealers in Detroit."

The TV network reported that the DEA was looking into the possibility that a young man who lived in Michigan and regularly visited the Middle East may have unwittingly carried the bomb aboard flight 103. His name was Khalid Jaafar. "Unidentified law enforcement sources" were cited as saying that Jaafar had been a DEA informant and was involved in a drug-sting operation based out of Cyprus. The DEA was investigating whether the PFLP-GC had tricked Jaafar into carrying a suitcase containing the bomb instead of the drugs he usually carried.

The NBC report quoted an airline source as saying:"Informants would put [suit]cases of heroin on the PanAm flights apparently without the usual security checks, through an arrangement between the DEA and German authorities."{24}

These revelations were enough to inspire a congressional hearing, held in December, entitled, "Drug Enforcement Administration's Alleged Connection to the PanAm Flight 103Disaster".

The chairman of the committee, Cong. Robert Wise (Dem., W.VA.), began the hearing by lamenting the fact that the DEA and the Department of Justice had not made any of their field agentswho were most knowledgeable about flight 103 available to testify; that they had not provided requested written information, including the results of the DEA's investigation into the air disaster; and that "the FBI to this date has been totally uncooperative".

The two DEA officials who did testify admitted that theagency had, in fact, run "controlled drug deliveries" through Frankfurt airport with the cooperation of German authorities,using U.S. airlines, but insisted that no such operation had been conducted in December 1988. (The drug agency had said nothing of its sting operation to the President's Commission on Aviation Security and Terrorism which had held hearings in the first months of 1990 in response to the 103 bombing.)

The officials denied that the DEA had had any "association with Mr. Jaafar in any way, shape, or form." However, to questions concerning Jaafar's background, family, and his frequent trips to Lebanon, they asked to respond only in closed session. They made the same request in response to several other questions.{25}

NBC News had reported on October 30 that the DEA had toldlaw enforcement officers in Detroit not to talk to the mediaabout Jaafar.

The hearing ended after but one day, even though Wise hadpromised a "full-scale" investigation and indicated during thehearing that there would be more to come. What was said in theclosed sessions remains closed.{26}

One of the DEA officials who testified, Stephen Greene, had himself had a reservation on flight 103, but he canceled because of one or more of the several international warnings that had preceded the fateful day. He has described standing on theHeathrow tarmac, watching the doomed plane take off.{27} There have been many reports of heroin being found in the field around the crash, from "traces" to "a substantial quantity"found in a suitcase.{28} Two days after the NBC report, however,the New York Times quoted a "federal official" saying that "no hard drugs were aboard the aircraft."

In 1994, American filmmaker Allan Francovich completed adocumentary, "The Maltese Double Cross", which presents Jaafar asan unwitting bomb carrier with ties to the DEA and the CIA. Showings of the film in Britain were canceled under threat of lawsuits, venues burglarized or attacked by arsonists. When Channel4 agreed to show the film, the Scottish Crown Office and the U.S.Embassy in London sent press packs to the media, labeling thefilm "blatant propaganda" and attacking some of the film'sinterviewees, including Juval Aviv the head of Interfor.{29} Aviv paid a price for his report and his outspokenness.

Over a period of time, his New York office suffered a series ofbreak-ins, the FBI visited his clients, his polygrapher washarassed, as mentioned above, and a contrived commercial fraudcharge was brought against him. Even though Aviv eventually wascleared in court, it was a long, expensive, and painfulordeal.{30}

Francovich also stated that he had learned that five CIAoperatives had been sent to London and Cyprus to discredit thefilm while it was being made, that his office phones were tapped,that staff cars were sabotaged, and that one of his researchersnarrowly escaped an attempt to force his vehicle into the path ofan oncoming truck.{31}

Government officials examining the Lockerbie bombing went sofar as to ask the FBI to investigate the film. The Bureau laterissued a highly derogatory opinion of it.{32}

The film's detractors made much of the fact that the filmwas initially funded jointly by a UK company (two-thirds) and aLibyan government investment arm (one-third). Francovich saidthat he was fully aware of this and had taken pains to negotiatea guarantee of independence from any interference.

On April 17, 1997, Allan Francovich suddenly died of a heartattack at age 56, upon arrival at Houston Airport.{33} His film has had virtually no showings in the United States.

The DEA sting operation and Interfor's baggage-handler hypothesisboth predicate the bomb suitcase being placed aboard the plane inFrankfurt without going through the normal security checks. Ineither case, it eliminates the need for the questionabletriple-unaccompanied baggage scenario. With either scenario theclothing could still have been purchased in Malta, but in anyevent we don't need the Libyans for that.

Mohammed Abu Talb fits that and perhaps other pieces of thepuzzle. The Palestinian had close ties to PFLP-GC cells inGermany which were making Toshiba radio-cassette bombs, similar,if not identical, to what was used to bring down 103. In October1988, two months before Lockerbie, the German police raided thesecells, finding several such bombs. In May 1989, Talb wasarrested in Sweden, where he lived, and was later convicted oftaking part in several bombings of the offices of Americanairline companies in Scandinavia. In his Swedish flat, policefound large quantities of clothing made in Malta.

Police investigation of Talb disclosed that during October1988 he had been to Cyprus and Malta, at least once in thecompany of Hafez Dalkamoni, the leader of the German PFLP-GC, whowas arrested in the raid. The men met with PFLP-GC members wholived in Malta. Talb was also in Malta on November 23, which wasoriginally reported as the date of the clothing purchase beforethe indictment of the Libyans, as mentioned earlier.

After his arrest, Talb told investigators that betweenOctober and December 1988 he had retrieved and passed to anotherperson a bomb that had been hidden in a building used by thePFLP-GC in Germany. Officials declined to identify the person towhom Talb said he had passed the bomb. A month later, however,he recanted his confession.

Talb was reported to possess a brown Samsonite suitcase andto have circled December 21 in a diary seized in his Swedish flat. After the raid upon his flat, his wife was heard to telephonePalestinian friends and say: "Get rid of the clothes."

In December 1989, Scottish police, in papers filed withSwedish legal officials, made Talb the only publicly identifiedsuspect "in the murder or participation in the murder of 270people"; the Palestinian subsequently became another of theseveral individuals to be identified by the Maltese shopkeeperfrom a photo as the clothing purchaser.{34} Since that time, theworld has scarcely heard of Abu Talb, who was sentenced to lifein prison in Sweden, but never charged with anything to do with Lockerbie.

In Allan Francovich's film, members of Khalid Jaafar's family-- which long had ties to the drug trade in Lebanon's notoriousBekaa Valley -- are interviewed. In either halting English ortranslated Arabic, or paraphrased by the film's narrator, theydrop many bits of information, but which are difficult to puttogether into a coherent whole. Amongst the bits ... Khalid hadtold his parents that he'd met Talb in Sweden and had been givenMaltese clothing ... someone had given Khalid a tape recorder, orput one into his bag ... he was told to go to Germany to friendsof PFLP-GC leader Ahmed Jabril who would help him earn some money... he arrived in Germany with two kilos of heroin ... "He didn'tknow it was a bomb. They gave him the drugs to take to Germany. He didn't know. Who wants to die?" ...

It can not be stated with certainty what happened atFrankfurt airport on that fateful day, if, as seems most likely,that is the place where the bomb was placed into the system. Either Jaafar, the DEA courier, arrived with his suitcase ofheroin and bomb and was escorted through security by the properauthorities, or this was a day he was a courier for Manzeral-Kassar, and the baggage handlers did their usual switch. Or perhaps we'll never know for sure what happened.

On February 16, 1990, a group of British relatives of Lockerbie victims went to the American Embassy in London for a meeting with members of the President's Commission on Aviation Security and Terrorism. After the meeting, Britisher Martin Cadman was chatting with two of the commission members. He later reportedwhat one of them had said to him: "Your government and ourgovernment know exactly what happened at Lockerbie. But they are not going to tell you."{35}

Comments about the Hague Court verdict

"The judges nearly agreed with the defense. In their verdict, they tossed out much of the prosecution witnesses'evidence as false or questionable and said the prosecution had failed to prove crucial elements, including the route that thebomb suitcase took." -- New York Times analysis.{36} "It sure does look like they bent over backwards to find away to convict, and you have to assume the political context ofthe case influenced them." -- Michael Scharf, professor, NewEngland School of Law.{37}

"I thought this was a very, very weak circumstantial case. I am absolutely astounded, astonished. I was extremely reluctant to believe that any Scottish judge would convict anyone, even a Libyan, on the basis of such evidence." -- Robert Black, Scottish law professor who was the architect of the Hague trial.{38}

"A general pattern of the trial consisted in the fact thatvirtually all people presented by the prosecution as keywitnesses were proven to lack credibility to a very high extent,in certain cases even having openly lied to the court." "While the first accused was found 'guilty', the secondaccused was found 'not guilty'. ... This is totallyincomprehensible for any rational observer when one considersthat the indictment in its very essence was based on the jointaction of the two accused in Malta."

"As to the undersigned's knowledge, there is not a singlepiece of material evidence linking the two accused to the crime. In such a context, the guilty verdict in regard to the firstaccused appears to be arbitrary, even irrational. ... This leadsthe undersigned to the suspicion that political considerationsmay have been overriding a strictly judicial evaluation of thecase ... Regrettably, through the conduct of the Court,disservice has been done to the important cause of internationalcriminal justice." -- Hans Koechler, appointed as an international observer of the Lockerbie Trial by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan.{39}

So, let's hope that Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al Megrahi is really guilty. It would be a terrible shame if he spends the rest of his life in prison because back in 1990 Washington's hegemonicplans for the Middle East needed a convenient enemy, which just happened to be his country.

NOTES

1. "Opinion of the Court", Par. 39
1a. Mark Perry, Eclipse: The Last Days of the CIA (Wm. Morrow, New York, 1992), pp.342-7.
2. "Opinion of the Court", Par. 55
3. "Opinion of the Court", Par. 68
4. See, e.g., Sunday Times (London), Nov. 12, 1989, p.3.
5. For a detailed discussion of this issue see, "A Special Reportfrom Private Eye: Lockerbie the Flight from Justice", May/June2001, pp.20-22; Private Eye is a magazine published in London.
6. Sunday Times (London), December 17, 1989, p. 14. Malta is, infact, a major manufacturer of clothing sold throughout the world.
7. "Opinion of the Court", Par. 89
8. Ibid.
9. The Guardian (London), June 19, 2001
10. New York Times, Nov. 15, 1991
11. Los Angeles Times, Nov. 15, 1991
12. New York Times, April 13, 1989, p.9; David Johnston,Lockerbie: The Tragedy of Flight 103 (New York, 1989), pp.157,161-2.
13. Washington Post, May 11, 1989, p. 1
14. New York Times, December 16, 1989, p.3.
15. Department of the Air Force -- Air Intelligence Agencyintelligence summary report, March 4, 1991, released under a FOIA request made by lawyers for PanAm. Reports of the interceptappeared in the press long before the above document wasreleased; see, e.g., New York Times, Sept. 27, 1989, p.11;October 31, 1989, p.8; Sunday Times, October 29, 1989, p.4. Butit wasn't until Jan. 1995 that the exact text became widelypublicized and caused a storm in the UK, although ignored in theU.S.
16. The Times (London), September 20, 1989, p.1
17. New York Times, November 21, 1991, p. 14. It should be bornein mind, however, that Israel may have been influenced because ofits hostility toward the PFLP-GC.
18. Reuters dispatch, datelined Tunis, Feb. 26, 1992
19. The Guardian, Feb. 24, 1995, p.7
20. Margaret Thatcher, The Downing Street Years (New York, 1993),pp.448-9.
21. National Law Journal, Sept. 25, 1995, p.A11, from papersfiled in a New York court case.
22. Barron's (New York), December 17, 1990, pp.19, 22. A copy ofthe Interfor Report is in the author's possession, but he hasbeen unable to locate a complete copy of it on the Internet.
23. Barron's, op. cit., p. 18.
24. The Times (London), November 1, 1990, p.3; Washington Times,October 31, 1990, p.3
25. Government Information, Justice, and Agriculture Subcommitteeof the Committee on Government Operations, House ofRepresentatives, December 18, 1990, passim.
26. Ibid,
27. The film, "The Maltese Double Cross" (see below).
28. Sunday Times (London), April 16, 1989 (traces); Johnston, op.cit., p.79 (substantial). "The Maltese Double Cross" filmmentions other reports of drugs found, by a Scottish policemanand a mountain rescue man.
29. Financial Times (London), May 12, 1995, p.8 and article byJohn Ashton, leading 103 investigator, in The Mail on Sunday(London), June 9, 1996.
30. Ashton, op. cit.; Wall Street Journal, December 18, 1995,p.1, and December 18, 1996, p.B2 31. The Guardian (London), April 23, 1994, p.5
32. Sunday Times (London), May 7, 1995.
33. Francovich's former wife told the author that he had not hadany symptoms of a heart problem before. However, the author also spoke to Dr. Cyril Wecht, of JFK "conspiracy" fame, who performedan autopsy on Francovich. Wecht stated that he found no reason to suspect foul play.
34. Re: Abu Talb, all 1989: New York Times, Oct. 31, p.1, Dec. 1,p.12, Dec. 24, p.1; Sunday Times (London), Nov. 12, p.3, December5; The Times (London), Dec. 21, p.5. Also The Associated Press,July 11, 2000
35. Cadman in "The Maltese Double Cross". Also see The Guardian,July 29, 1995, p.27
36. New York Times, Feb. 2, 2001
37. Ibid.
38. Electronic Telegraph UK News, February 4, 2001
39. All quotations are from Koechler's report of February 3,2001, easily found on the Internet

Written by William Blum , author of: Killing Hope: US Military and CIA Interventions SinceWorld War II andRogue State: A Guide to the World's Only SuperpowerThis essay is a chapter in the book, Everything You Know Is Wrong,a sequel to the book You Are Being Lied To.

http://members.aol.com/bblum6/panam.htm

The Goben Memorandum?

Much has been made of a secret document that had been apparently seen by the Prosecution team during the original trial in 2000, but not revealed to the Defence team at Zeist.

In the weeks following the SCCRC decision to recommend the case for appeal, speculation, and indeed some quite definite assertions were made in the media as to this, or perhaps another document that was not revealed to the defence team, and this document's origin. It was assumed to be from either the US government itself, or one of it's agencies. However, the Defence team, led by Maggie Scott revealed at Megrahi's procedural hearing in October that the document they demanded was not from the US, nor any of it's agencies.

Since then, given the complex issues surrounding the case and plethora of foreign governments who have had an interest in the investigation, there has been little speculation from where the document might originate.


Is this the document Megrahi's Defence team are waiting for?

Private Eye magazine reported in 2001: Soon after FBI agent Edward Marshman had finished giving his evidence at Zeist in 2000, the trial was subject to a long delay.

The Prosecution team explained that they had had notice from a foreign government that more information might be available that would be relevent to the trial. The foreign government, it was revealed later, was Syria and the information was known as the Gober Memorandum, of which the full text was now in the hands of the government in Damascus.

Goben was the Palestinian "professor" based in Yugoslavia, who was said to have played a crucial part in the PLFP-GC/Iranian plot to blow up an American aircraft in revenge for the Iranian airbus wrecklessly shot from the skies by gung-ho USS captain over the Persian Gulf in July 1988.

On his death bed, it was rumoured that Goben has set out the entire 'Autumn Leaves' conspiracy. (The Autumn Leaves operation was carried out in Neuss, Germany in autumn 1988 by the BKA in which several arrests were made including Khreesat and Dalkamoni, and Toshiba radio's converted to bombs were confiscated)

He had since died and, after a few more weeks' delay to the trial at Zeist, the Syrian government made it clear that if there was any such memorandum, they had no intention of releasing it.

Articles:

The Goben Memorandum - http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,509150,00.html

FBI agent Edward Marshman at Zeist- http://tiny.cc/lFRSC

Megrahi Defence call for secret document - http://africa.reuters.com/wire/news/usnL11531443.html

Operation Autumn Leaves - http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/1026312.stm

Abu Nidal Behind Lockerbie, Says Aide

From CNN, August 23, 2002.

CAIRO, Egypt -- A former close aide to Abu Nidal has alleged the fugitive Palestinian terrorist was behind the 1988 Lockerbie bombing.

In a series of interviews published in the Arabic Al Hayat newspaper, Atef Abu Bakr said Abu Nidal told a meeting his radical Fatah-Revolutionary Council was behind the explosion on Pan Am fight 103.

The claims come days after Abu Nidal was found dead in a hotel room in Iraq.
Abu Bakr is a former spokesman for the group and one of Abu Nidal's closest aides between 1985 and 1989 when he split with him over leadership of the organisation. Abu Bakr's whereabouts were not known.

"Abu Nidal told a... meeting of the Revolutionary Council leadership: I have very important and serious things to say. The reports that attribute Lockerbie to others are lies. We are behind it," Abu Bakr was quoted as saying in the interview to be published in the paper's Friday edition.
Abu Bakr did not say when the alleged meeting took place. The gathering was attended by five members of the council, including Abu Bakr and Abu Nidal.

'"If any one of you lets this out, I will kill him even if he was in his wife's arms,"' Abu Bakr quoting Abu Nidal as saying.
Ghassan Sharbal, al-Hayat's assistant editor who conducted the interview, said he spoke to Abu Bakr before Abu Nidal's death was announced this week. He refused to provide other details.
In March, a Scottish appeals court upheld the murder conviction of former Libyan intelligence agent Abdel Basset Ali al-Megrahi for multiple murder.

Al-Megrahi was jailed for life, with a minimum term of 20 years. A second Libyan, Lamen Khalifa Fhimah, was acquitted.

The Libyan was convicted of murdering the 270 people killed when the New York-bound Pan Am flight exploded over the Scottish town of Lockerbie on December 21, 1988.
Relatives of the Lockerbie victims renewed their calls for an independent inquiry into attack in light of Abu Bakr's remarks.

Jim Swire, a spokesman for families of British victims, said Nidal's possible involvement was "one more of the many questions which we feel absolutely demand an independent inquiry into Lockerbie."

British Labour MP Tam Dalyell is also calling for an inquiry into the possibility of a Nidal link to the Lockerbie bombing.

Dalyell, who has long argued that the Libyans were not responsible for the attack, said: "I understand that close associates of Nidal are now saying that he, and he alone, was responsible for Lockerbie.

"If these allegations are true they blow everything relating to Lockerbie out of the water, including the trial in Holland."

Earlier this week Iraqi secret services chief Taher Jalil Habbush told reporters that Nidal shot himself in the mouth as he was about to be arrested by Iraqi authorities for communicating with a foreign country.

Habbush said Nidal pulled out a revolver and shot himself after saying he wanted to change his clothes when Iraqi agents came to his Baghdad apartment to take him away.

Copyright 2002 CNN.

Abu Nidal - http://lexicorient.com/e.o/abu_nidal.htm

Chronical Telegram 22 December 1988

http://tiny.cc/7Snx8 - pdf file.

Post Script to Jim Swire...The Untold Story

From 1st July 2007:

Friday’s (Lesley) Riddoch Questions with Lockerbie relative leader Jim Swire was a pleasant case of déjà vu.

In 1994 when I was Asst Editor of the Scotsman, I took the decision to screen a film made by the late Alan Frankovich called the Maltese Double Cross. The film argued that Iran not Libya was behind the Lockerbie bombing and though it was meant to be screened by the London Film Festival, they dropped it after getting a legal challenge from….someone. This got me interested. Lockerbie was the biggest single act of terrorism on British soil and no-one wanted to screen a film trying to explain what happened.

A solid week followed with reporter Stephen Breen, working through the film frame by frame to answer the many, many reservations raised by the Scotsman’s lawyers. I booked an Edinburgh cinema, which discovered it was double-booked -- at the last minute. Happily, the Glasgow Film Theatre came to the rescue. Along with Jim Swire.

His daughter Flora was killed on Pan Am Flight 103 in 1988 and earlier that day Jim had been at the Commons where Tam Dalyell showed Frankovich’s film in a private screening. He agreed to head to Glasgow the next day and to take the second tape of the film with him.

Unlike Tam, we were showing the film in public and could be sued for defamation if we put a foot wrong. We had several last minute edits ordered by the lawyers and there was no other way but Jim to get the film to Glasgow on time.

While Jim and Tam were at the Commons, the only other copy of the Maltese Double Cross was stolen in a burglary at a Birmingham Human Rights Office, which, as I recall, was also burned to the ground. Which left me feeling a trifle jumpy, heading for Glasgow with the first tape in a shopping bag, praying that Jim Swire would make it in time, with the second. Minutes before the start, with a cinema fill of hacks, spooks and humans, he appeared.

Exhausted but optimistic the film would raise questions, open doors, open minds…… And here he is again. 13 years later, looking not a day older with his wife Jane. Still hopeful that the true story of the Lockerbie bombing will emerge and quite convinced that Al Megrahi, the man convicted and given leave to appeal again this week, is actually innocent.

Like many other relatives, Jim and Jane hardly allow themselves to believe the guilty man or men will ever be found. But after the appeal they’ll press for an independent inquiry to find out what they really want to know. Why did the British authorities ignore all the warnings that caused other countries to take people off the flight from Heathrow.

I really hope we won’t all be gathering again in another 13 years time. But who knows?

http://www.lesleyriddoch.com/2007/07/post-script-to-.html