The Lockerbie Case: Lockerbie case rolls merrily on in Switzerland

Sunday, 12 July 2015

Lockerbie case rolls merrily on in Switzerland

On 19 November 2014, I reported on this blog that a special federal prosecutor, Felix Bänziger, appointed in Switzerland had declined to open a criminal investigation against a former federal police officer in connection with the Lockerbie bombing. The complaint, which had been filed by the Zurich businessman Edwin Bollier, was held by Mr Bänziger to be time-barred. See The MEBO and Bollier saga continues.

Today’s edition of the Neue Zürcher Zeitung reports that the appeal division of the Federal Criminal Court in Bellinzona has ruled that because of his previous involvement in Lockerbie matters while employed in the Swiss Attorney-General’s office, Mr Bänziger could not be regarded as impartial and that the Attorney-General must appoint another special prosecutor to consider Mr Bollier’s complaint afresh. See Fall Lockerbie wird wieder aufgerollt. A scrappy translation of the report, courtesy of Google Translate, can be found here.

The court's judgement (in German) can be read here.

1 comment:

SM13 July, 2015
"Today’s edition of the Neue Zürcher Zeitung reports that the appeal division of the Federal Criminal Court in Bellinzona has ruled that because of his previous involvement in Lockerbie matters while employed in the Swiss Attorney-General’s office, Mr Bänziger could not be regarded as impartial and that the Attorney-General must appoint another special prosecutor to consider Mr Bollier’s complaint afresh."

Good news! Why do I sit with a feeling that this could never happen in Scotland.
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