Key facts
- Al Amin Khalifah Fhimah, who stood trial for the Lockerbie bombing, has reportedly died at age 70.
- Fhimah was acquitted of murdering 270 people in the 1988 attack on Pan Am Flight 103.
- A second Libyan, Abdulbasset Al Megrahi, was convicted for his role in the bombing.
- Libyan Airlines announced Fhimah's death via a Facebook post.
- Fhimah had denied involvement and was welcomed home by Muammar Gaddafi after his acquittal.
- In 2022, new evidence emerged suggesting Fhimah was implicated in the plot.
Al Amin Khalifah Fhimah, a Libyan who was tried and acquitted in connection with the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, has reportedly died at the age of 70. The attack killed 270 people.
Fhimah was accused alongside Abdulbasset Al Megrahi of carrying out the bombing. While Fhimah was found not guilty, Megrahi was convicted. Fhimah had always denied any involvement and was welcomed back to Libya by then-leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi following his acquittal.
Libyan Airlines announced Fhimah's death on Facebook, expressing condolences to his family. Fhimah had worked for the airline in Malta prior to the bombing.
In 2022, the FBI revealed that Fhimah had been implicated again in the case through an alleged confession by another Libyan, Abu Agila Mohammad Masud Kheir Al-Marimi. Al-Marimi reportedly told a police officer that he, Fhimah, and Megrahi were all members of the Libyan intelligence service and participated in the plot to bomb the plane.
This alleged confession and other new evidence from Libya had led to speculation that Fhimah might face a second trial, as the US indictment against him from 1991 remains outstanding. Scotland's Double Jeopardy (Scotland) Act 2011 allows for a retrial if new evidence substantially strengthens a case. However, pursuing a prosecution would have been legally challenging and politically sensitive given his prior acquittal.