Suspects al-Megrahi, left, and Fhimah are interviewed by journalists before leaving Tripoli, Libya, Monday RELATED VIDEO Richard Roth reports on the suspects arrival Windows Media 28K 80K CNN's Richard Roth talks with residents of the Dutch town of Zeist, where the trial will take place Real 28K 80K Windows Media 28K 80K  ALSO Mixed emotions for many families of Pan Am 103 victims  MESSAGE BOARD Lockerbie trial

April 5, 1999
Web posted at: 5:28 p.m. EDT (2128 GMT)

In this story: Trial could take months Mandela gets credit for deal Clinton, Blair express thanks RELATED STORIES, SITES

UNITED NATIONS (CNN) -- The two men accused of blowing up a Pan Am flight over Scotland in 1988, killing 270 people, have arrived in the Netherlands for trial before a Scottish court, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan announced Monday.

The surrender of the two men -- Abdel Basset Ali al-Megrahi, 47, and Lamen Khalifa Fhimah, 43 -- also clears the way for an end to sanctions on Libya that have been in place since 1992.

Annan notified the U.N. Security Council of the suspects' arrival, automatically relieving Libya of U.N sanctions. He called the handover "an important step forward" in international law. The council can vote to lift the sanctions altogether 90 days after they are suspended. ( 188 K/17 sec. AIFF or WAV sound)

Annan said he was confident the suspects will receive a fair trial. International monitors will keep an eye on the proceedings against them, he said.

The two men are accused of planting the bomb that destroyed Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, in December 1988. The bombing killed all 259 aboard the jetliner, and 11 people on the ground died when the plane's shattered hulk plunged to earth.

The 1988 crash of Pan Am Flight 103 killed all 259 aboard the jetliner and another 11 on the ground

Both of the suspects have declared their innocence, and Libya denies any involvement in the bombing.

Al-Megrahi and Fhimah boarded an Italian-provided U.N. plane in Tripoli on Monday, waving to a crowd of supporters on the tarmac as they left. They arrived in the Netherlands about 3:45 p.m. (9:45 EDT), Annan said.

"There was no hitch, no second impulse on the Libyan side," Annan said. "The only difference was we found a crowd where we expected this to be discreet."

Trial could take months

Preparations continued Monday in the Netherlands for the long-awaited trial, which is likely to drag on for months. It will be preceded by extradition proceedings between Britain and the Netherlands, which could be over in minutes or could take months as well, officials said.

The suspects will be held in Rotterdam until formally extradited to a temporary detention unit at Camp Zeist, a former U.S. air base near Utrecht. The detention unit is ready for the suspects, Scottish officials said.

The camp will serve as British territory for the trial.

Sheriff Graham Cox, the regional judge who will oversee pre- trial proceedings, was expected to arrive in the Netherlands on Monday. Scottish prosecutors Norman McFadyen and Jim Brisbane were already there.

Mandela gets credit for deal

Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi agreed to surrender the two men, identified by U.S. officials as Libyan intelligence officers, in a deal brokered by South African President Nelson Mandela.

"Nelson Mandela and a number of international leaders, particularly Saudi Arabia, have been very helpful to us in securing this outcome," British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook said.( 289 K/26 sec. AIFF or WAV sound)

It was Mandela -- whose African National Congress received support from Libya during South Africa's apartheid regime -- who suggested holding a trial in a third country to satisfy Libyan concerns.

Cook and Annan also credited the Saudi government, led by King Fahd and Crown Prince Abdullah.

In return for surrendering Fhimah and al-Megrahi, the Security Council is expected to formally lift sanctions against Libya after a 90-day suspension. The sanctions include limits on international flights and arms sales.

"I hope they will now rejoin fully the community of nations and play their role in it," Annan said.

Clinton, Blair express thanks

Most of the dead aboard Pan Am 103 were Americans. U.S. President Bill Clinton said he was "gratified" by the suspects' surrender. Clinton urged Americans to "remember the men and women who lost their lives" in the Lockerbie bombing.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair said the handover demonstrates that "people will, in the end, be brought to justice."

"There will be a trial now," Blair said. "I hope that is a tremendous relief to those relatives of the victims of the Lockerbie air disaster."

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