CAMP ZEIST, Netherlands, Jan 31 (IslamOnline) - Legal experts and observers expressed surprise Wednesday at a Scottish court ruling to punish one and acquit another in the trial of two Libyans accused of bombing a PanAm airliner over the Scottish town of Lockerbie in 1988.
"It was expected that both would be convicted or both would walk free, not just one and one," said a Dutch legal expert who wished not to be identified.
The same view was held by Isamil Zair, correspondent of the Arabic-language London-based al-Hayat magazine, who said that it was not clear as to what criteria the judges relied on to make the distinction between the two men.
One of the two Libyans accused of the Lockerbie bombing has been sentenced for life for his role in killing all 259 people on the plane and another 11 who died on the ground 13 years ago.
The guilty verdict for Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi, a married man with children, was delivered after an unprecedented 84-day trial under Scottish law in the Netherlands.
Legal experts told IslamOnline that the only reason why the two men were treated differently was that al-Megrahi was more senior to Amin Khalifa Fheyma.
They also said the reasoning had no solid ground for the harsh ruling on Megrahi since, he too, had seniors above him, who should share responsibility.
An IslamOnline correspondent in Camp Zeist said that Arab diplomats agreed almost unanimously that there were political motives behind the ruling. They said that the sentence was a compromise accepted by all parties including Libya, which said it would "respect" the ruling.
Both the United States and United Kingdom had pressed hard over the past 12 years to pressure Libya to hand over the two suspects and bring Tripoli under strict U.N. sanctions for its alleged role in the bombing.
Dutch newspapers said a guilty verdict would continue to serve as a strong springboard for those U.S. politicians known for their anti-Arab sentiments to further punish Libya, most likely with the imposition of more sanctions.
