Britain, Libya probe 1984 death
2004-04-08 07:49
London - Britain and Libya are to hold a joint investigation into the murder of a London policewoman shot dead outside the Libyan embassy in the British capital 20 years ago, British officials announced Wednesday.
The probe into the death of police constable Yvonne Fletcher - which seriously damaged relations between the nations for many years - will be led by British police officer and a Libyan magistrate, the Foreign Office said in a statement.
"The investigation will be conducted in accordance with Libyan law," a Foreign Office spokesman said.
"It has been agreed that witnesses will be summoned by the Libyan investigating magistrate and questioned in the presence of British members of the investigation team."
The announcement followed the return to London on Tuesday of a British police team from a three-day visit to Tripoli to investigate the 1984 shooting.
The increased co-operation comes shortly after British Prime Minister Tony Blair held landmark talks with Libya's leader, Muammar Gaddafi, in Tripoli late last month.
A spokesperson for London's Metropolitan Police said it viewed the decision as a positive development, but refused to comment further on the investigation.
Bullet in the back
Fletcher was killed by a bullet in the back while policing a peaceful demonstration outside the Libyan embassy on April 17, 1984. Eleven demonstrators were also injured by gunfire.
The fatal shot was believed to have been fired from inside the embassy. Whoever was responsible for the murder is presumed to have left the embassy along with staff who flew back to Libya under diplomatic immunity following an 11-day stand-off.
The shooting of the 25-year-old policewoman is one of the few remaining blocks to relations between Britain and Libya, which have improved greatly in recent months.
Last year Tripoli agreed to pay compensation for the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 108 over Lockerbie, Scotland, that killed 270 people and remains Europe's worst-ever terrorist atrocity.
Libya has also reaped great diplomatic benefits from the announcement in December that it was abandoning any attempts to develop weapons of mass destruction.
- AFP