Dutch airbase venue for Lockerbie trial

Amsterdam - Dutch and British authorities have agreed that a Dutch airbase should be the venue for the proposed trial of two …

Amsterdam - Dutch and British authorities have agreed that a Dutch airbase should be the venue for the proposed trial of two Libyan men accused of the Lockerbie bombing, the Dutch foreign ministry said yesterday.

The Dutch Foreign Minister, Mr Jozias van Aartsen, and the British ambassador to The Hague signed an agreement confirming the site as Camp Zeist, part of the Soesterberg airbase near The Hague, the ministry said.

The British Foreign Secretary, Mr Robin Cook, thanked the Dutch government for its co-operation in permitting the trial, which will be held under Scottish law, to go ahead.

The United Nations Security Council has voted to suspend sanctions against Libya upon the arrival in the Netherlands of the two suspects, Abdel Baset Ali Mohamed al-Megrahi and Lamen Khalifa Fhimah.