The trial of two Libyans charged with the Lockerbie bombing continues Tuesday with keenly awaited testimony from a Libyan agent turned CIA informer, reported AFP.
Abdul Majid Giaka, 40, is said to be able to directly link the accused to the bomb that blew Pan American Flight 103 out of the sky over Lockerbie, Scotland in December 1988, killing 270 people, said the agency.
The judges decided last week not to allow further delays to the appearance of Giaka, who has been living under protection in the USA, said the BBC.online.
Abdel Basset Ali al-Megrahi, 48, and Al-Amin Khalifa Fhimah, 44, have both pleaded not guilty to putting a suitcase concealing the bomb onto a flight out of Malta, tagged for transfer in London onto New York-bound Pan Am Flight 103.
Giaka had been set to take the witness box a month ago, when the murder and conspiracy trial before a special Scottish court at this former US air base in Holland resumed after a summer recess.
But his testimony was delayed amid intense legal wrangling over cables from the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) relating to his work, as defense lawyers sought to cast doubt on the star witness’s credibility.
The defense had argued for more time, claiming they had not been given full access to papers about him compiled by the CIA, said the BBC.
Now living in the United States under a federal witness protection scheme, Giaka was due to enter the court under tight security, possibly in disguise, with a screen to block him from the public gallery, according to AFP — (several Sources)
© 2000 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
