It has been more than 10 years since the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103, which killed 270 people

August 23, 1999
Web posted at: 2:55 p.m. EDT (1855 GMT)

From staff and wire reports

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno and Scottish prosecutors met Monday with relatives of victims of the Lockerbie Pan Am 103 bombing, briefing them on the upcoming trial in the Netherlands of two Libyans charged in the crime.

The meeting was closed, but beforehand, some family members expressed skepticism about whether justice would be fully carried out.

"I think the Scottish government and our government are trying to put the best face on what I feel was a very politically motivated compromise," Stephanie Bernstein, whose husband, Michael, died in the crash, told CNN.

To persuade Libya to turn over two suspects for trial, the British and U.S. governments agreed to hold the proceeding in the Netherlands, where it will be conducted under Scottish law.

But a former U.S. administration official told CNN that other conditions were agreed to as well.

A still secret letter from U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, approved in London and Washington, promises Tripoli that the trial will not "undermine" the Libyan government, the former official said. The reference is to Moammar Gadhafi, the Libyan leader who many family members suspect ordered the bombing.

Bernstein would prefer that prosecutors cast their net far wider than the two Libyans awaiting trial.

"I would like to hear that in addition to the suspects that are in custody in the Netherlands, the trial will pursue who ordered the bombing and who was responsible for paying for the bombing," she said. "But I am very skeptical."

Some relatives of the victims think the trial is better than nothing.

"This is the only way we have at present, and I would like it to go forward," said Aphrodite Tsairis, who lost her daughter in the 1988 crash. "I think we are closer at this point than we have ever been in 10 and a half years to finding out the truth."

The two suspects are accused of planting a bomb on a Pan Am airliner that exploded over the small town of Lockerbie, Scotland. All 259 people aboard and 11 people on the ground were killed.

The trial, which is expected to take more than a year, will be Scotland's first criminal proceedings without a jury; instead it will be held in front of a panel of three judges.

Correspondent David Ensor and Reuters contributed to this report.

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.