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RELATED VIDEO CNN's Richard Roth reports on the suspects' arrival and arraignment in the Netherlands Windows Media 28K 80K

In this story: List of victims read aloud Lengthy trial expected Dutch territory ceded to Scots U.S. to continue sanctions RELATED STORIES, SITES

April 6, 1999
Web posted at: 8:59 p.m. EDT (0059 GMT)

CAMP ZEIST, Netherlands (CNN) -- Two Libyan suspects in the bombing of a Pan Am jetliner sat in silence Tuesday during their arraignment as Scottish police read aloud the names of all 270 victims.

Abdel Basset Ali Mohamed al-Megrahi and Lamen Khalifa Fhimah were fingerprinted and photographed and gave DNA samples before they were separately arraigned in Arabic and English.

The two suspects were handed over by the Libyan government Monday, and the United Nations suspended its 7-year-old sanctions against the North African country for harboring them.

List of victims read aloud

The suspected former intelligence agents are accused of planting a suitcase bomb aboard Pan Am Flight 103, which exploded over Lockerbie, Scotland, on December 21, 1988, killing all 259 people on board and 11 on the ground.

The suspected bombers of Pan Am Flight 103 were read the names of each victim

After both suspects were read the list of victims, which included 189 Americans, the men appeared briefly before Scottish regional judge Sheriff Principal Graham Cox.

The men were asked to confirm their identities and that they had access to defense lawyers. They did not enter pleas.

"The men are charged with conspiracy, murder and contravention of the Aviation Security Act of 1982," a court official told reporters after the five-minute proceeding.

Lengthy trial expected

The trial process will be much longer. Under Scottish law, the two must be committed for trial before three High Court judges by April 15.

After that, lawyers for both sides will have 110 days to prepare their cases, although that period will probably be extended to give defense lawyers more time.

"The crown (Scottish prosecutors) has had 10 years to prepare their case. The defense will need a substantial amount of time to prepare," said one legal expert.

Susan Stewart, chief spokesperson for the Scottish government, said the trial could be delayed six months or a year. The trial itself is expected to take a year or longer.

Dutch territory ceded to Scots

The trial will take place at Camp Zeist, a deserted U.S. air base 48 kilometers (30 miles) south of Amsterdam.

The men will be held in an underground facility on the grounds and will be served food consistent with their Islamic diet. They will have access to exercise facilities and a prayer room that includes a compass to help them face east, toward Mecca.

Construction is under way on the courtroom, a sports complex and other facilities intended for a long stay. The Scots have renamed the air base "Her Majesty's Prison, Zeist," complete with a coat of arms.

The Dutch government has ceded the territory to Britain for the duration of the trial.

U.S. to continue sanctions

The arrangement is a result of Libya's insistence that the trial be held in a neutral country instead of the United States or Britain.

U.N. sanctions imposed since 1992 were suspended after the men arrived in the Netherlands on Monday. The United Nations also said it will consider lifting sanctions altogether if Libya publicly denounces terrorism and complies with other U.N. demands.

The United States and Britain welcomed the transfer, but Washington plans to continue its sanctions against Libya.

The United States can be consulted by the Lord Advocate of Scotland but will have no formal place in the prosecution, U.S. officials said Monday.

Correspondent Richard Roth, The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

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