Libyan who was cleared after Lockerbie bombing trial dies aged 70

Al Amin Khalifah Fhimah, a Libyan man who was acquitted after participating in the trial related to the Lockerbie bombing, has passed away at the age of 70. He was accused of causing the deaths of 270 individuals when Pan Am Flight 103 was targeted in December 1988. Fhimah worked as an employee for Libyan Airlines in Malta prior to the incident. His funeral is planned to take place in Tripoli, the capital of Libya.

Fhimah and Abdulbasset Al Megrahi were initially charged by Scotland and the United States in 1991. Due to UN sanctions, both men were subsequently transferred to a Scottish court sitting in the Netherlands. In 2001, Megrahi was convicted of mass murder and sentenced to life imprisonment, while Fhimah was found not guilty. Despite his acquittal, Fhimah maintained his innocence throughout.

The FBI revealed in 2022 that Fhimah might have been implicated in the case again, based on an alleged confession made by another Libyan, Abu Agila Mohammad Masud Kheir Al-Marimi, who is facing trial in the United States. Al-Marimi claims the confession is false and was made under coercion. Although the FBI's claims and the new evidence have sparked discussions about the possibility of a second trial for Fhimah, the US Government's indictment still remains pending.