Lockerbie prosecution to conclude case

The prosecution is set to begin its closing speech as the Lockerbie trial resumes in the Netherlands.

The prosecution is set to begin its closing speech as the Lockerbie trial resumes in the Netherlands.

It follows the decision by defence lawyers not to offer further evidence on behalf of the two suspects after 77 days of hearings. Judges in Camp Zeist could begin considering their verdicts by the end of the week.

Defendants Al-Megrahi and Lamen Khalifa Fhimah deny blowing up the plane with a rigged suitcase sent from the Mediterranean island of Malta, where they allegedly worked in the office of the Libyan national airline.

The imminent end to the trial comes after Abdel Basset Ali al-Megrahi has changed his mind and decided not to testify in his own defence.

The bomb exploded over Lockerbie while the aeroplane was flying from London to New York. Some 270 people died in the disaster on December 21, 1988.

The trial of the men on charges of murder, conspiracy and violation of the British Aviation Safety Act has been fraught with problems.

The Libyans say they are innocent and are seeking to incriminate Palestinian terrorist groups instead.

If convicted on either of the first two charges, the defendants face a maximum punishment of life imprisonment in Scotland.

About 230 witnesses have been heard in the case. Only three were formally called as defence witnesses in two days of testimony.

The hearings yesterday followed a one-month adjournment called while defence lawyers tried to obtain information from Syria that could implicate a Damascus-based Palestinian group.

The defence claims the terrorist attack was mounted from Germany by the Syrian-backed Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command.

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