Two articles from the 'Times' and the 'Sunday Times' New evidence hits Lockerbie case BY GILLIAN HARRIS, SCOTLAND CORRESPONDENT May 15 2000 EUROPE http://www.the-times.co.uk/ THE prosecution case against the two Libyans accused of the Lockerbie bombing has suffered a serious setback with the emergence of fresh evidence that could undermine the Crown case. A report by an explosives expert is believed to conclude that the 1lb Semtex bomb that exploded on board PanAm Flight 103 was attached to the inside of the cargo hold and not in a radio-cassette recorder in the luggage hold, as the prosecution alleges. The findings will make it difficult for the prosecution to establish a link between the two Libyan defendants and the explosion which killed 270 people. The report, presented to the prosecution just days before the trial began, casts doubt on when and where the bomb was placed on the New York-bound Boeing 747. The Crown case states that the two Libyans placed the bomb on a plane at Luqa airport in Malta, acting as security staff for Libyan Arab Airlines. The prosecution claims that the bomb travelled from Malta to Frankfurt where it was transferred to Heathrow on a feeder flight, and then placed on Pan Am 103. All luggage from Frankfurt to New York was placed together in an aluminium container. But the report is understood to suggest that such a tiny bomb would not have destroyed an entire aircraft if it had been in the container and it must have been closer to the aircraft's outside. If the device was not in the container and cannot be traced back to Malta, the Crown has no substantial evidence to link the two Libyans with the Lockerbie bomb. The report was commissioned by one of the Crown's own "star witnesses", Edwin Bollier, whose Swiss electronics company, Mebo, is alleged to have made the timer which detonated the bomb. The Crown must now decide whether to call M Bollier to give evidence. It was hoped that he would establish the important link between the accused, Abdel Baset Ali al-Megrahi, 48, and Lamin Khalifa Fhimah, 44, and the bomb's timing device. Sources close to the trial suggest that the prosecution's request for a 12-day adjournment, granted last week, was timed to allow lawyers to consider the report and not, as claimed, to allow them to interview defence witnesses. Lockerbie report sets out new plane bomb theory By Marcello Mega May 14 2000 http://www.the-times.co.uk/news/pages/Sunday-Times/frontpage.html PROSECUTION lawyers in the Lockerbie trial are studying dramatic new evidence which appears to challenge their case against the two Libyan suspects. A report by explosives specialists and aviation engineers which was sent to the prosecution only days before the trial began appears to cast doubt on when and where the bomb was placed on Pan Am flight 103. It was commissioned by Edwin Bollier, a key crown witness, whose firm is alleged to have made the timer device which detonated the bomb. The prosecution contends that the suitcase carrying the bomb originated in Malta, where the two men accused of the atrocity worked for Libyan Arab Airlines. From there it went to Frankfurt, then Heathrow, and was loaded on to Pan Am 103, heading to New York. All the luggage from Frankfurt to New York was placed together in an aluminium container. However, the new report is believed to conclude that for such a small bomb to have had such a devastating effect, it must have been close to the skin of the aircraft and not in the aluminium container. If the bomb was not in the container, any link with Malta and the two Libyans would be more difficult to prove. The crown team spent Friday closeted with their own technical experts to discuss the implications of the report. The additional evidence now presents them with a double quandary. They must decide whether to risk leading evidence to rebut it, or simply to ignore it. But they have the added difficulty of deciding what to do with Bollier, director of the Swiss firm Mebo, who was expected to be a key crown witness. Last week The Sunday Times highlighted the four key crown witnesses, one of whom is Bollier. One senior lawyer said: "They must now have serious concerns about how helpful Bollier will be to their case." Sources close to the case have indicated that the report was a significant factor in the prosecution's request for an adjournment last week. The three judges who are hearing the biggest murder case in British history were told that the crown wished to take statements from four defence witnesses before they were called to give evidence. Lord Sutherland, the senior judge, agreed to adjourn for 12 days. The new report was sent by Bollier to Colin Boyd, the lord advocate, just days before the trial began. Bollier, whose firm once manufactured items for the defence industry, has seen his business destroyed in recent years because of alleged links to the Lockerbie timer device. Earlier this year Bollier was sent photographs of the wreckage of the jumbo jet. He was able to see for the first time the relevant parts of the aircraft where the explosion took effect. He claims the photographs were sent anonymously by a well-wisher. He submitted them to two experts who had previously worked for Boeing and to two explosives experts with military training. It is understood that Bollier received the report about a week before the trial began on May 3 at the special Scottish court constructed at Camp Zeist, a former US air base in the Netherlands. He dispatched it to Boyd who acknowledged receipt and indicated that he would have it translated. The prosecution has informed the defence of the development, and it is understood that both sides wish to have the report's conclusions rigorously scrutinised. Bollier has posted on Mebo's website the headline news from the report: "Very recently received, highly sensitive photographs and technical information . . . will demonstrate that the alleged explosion originated from an impact directly on the skin of the fuselage and not from within the luggage container AVE 4041." A spokesman for Bollier declined to identify the experts but said their names had been passed to the lord advocate. Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi, 48, and Al-Amin Khalifa Fhimah, 44, deny murdering the 270 people who lost their lives in the bombing on December 21, 1988. "Those who cast the votes decide nothing. Those who count the votes decide everything." 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