He showed a photograph of the Lockerbie scrap, a rough square with one curved edge, marked with a large '1' and the remains of two copper tracks, next to a complete 'MST-13' board, part of which it seemed to match closely. The indictment charges Megrahi and Fahimah with obtaining from MEBO 20 electronic timers capable of triggering bombs. The defense suggested U.S. authorities may have interfered in the British investigation, building on conspiracy theories that key evidence might have been tampered with or introduced. He quoted an unidentified report that said the CIA had interviewed Swiss officials the day before Williamson. Defence lawyers said that poor translation meant the two defendants did not fully understand the proceedings at the Scottish Court in the Netherlands.
Interpretation has to be practical and effective.
The interpretation here seems to have been far from that. Mr Keen said the men were entitled to a verbatim translation. If the issue cannot be resolved by the court in the Netherlands, it could be referred under the European Convention for Human Rights to the High Court in Edinburgh, and then to the judicial committee of Britain's Privy Council, Mr Bonnington said. The prosecution said translators working from glass-enclosed booths overlooking the courtroom had been under pressure but denied they were providing their own summaries. In that case it's all over.