Lockerbie Trial Inquiry Is Ordered
Judges in the Lockerbie trial ordered an urgent inquiry into court translation facilities Friday after the defense said they were too poor for the two Libyan defendants to understand proceedings fully.
The move could lead to dismissal of the case or an eventual appeal if the accused are found guilty of bombing the Pan Am jumbo jet over Scotland in 1988, experts said.
The defendants will receive verbatim Arabic transcripts of proceedings as far back as the start of the trial.
Abdel Basset Ali Megrahi and Lamen Khalifa Fhimah are accused of planting the bomb that killed all 259 passengers on board Pan Am Flight 103 and 11 residents of the Scottish town of Lockerbie.
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