Trial Begins In The 1986 Bombing Of Berlin Disco -- Explosion, Which Killed 2 Gis, Prompted U.S. Raids On Libya

BERLIN - At 1:50 a.m., the La Belle disco's dance floor was packed. Suddenly, the lights went out. There was a faint smell of burning rubber and a deafening explosion.

The April 5, 1986, bombing of the West Berlin club - a popular hangout for U.S. military personnel - killed two American servicemen and a young Turkish woman, wounded 229 and touched off retaliatory U.S. air strikes on two Libyan cities.

After years of investigations, arrests and extradition requests, the case went to trial in Berlin today. Proceedings began amid tight security, with the five accused taking their places behind bulletproof glass.

During the hour-long proceeding, one of the defense lawyers entered a motion alleging that a defendant who turned state's evidence has received undue preferential treatment. The motion could delay the trial for up to two weeks.

Prosecutors say they have evidence of what the United States suspected from the first: Libyan leader Col. Moammar Gadhafi ordered the bombing.

Their lead witness is Musbah Abulghasem Eter, a Libyan and one of the five defendants, described as the Libyan spy agency's point man stationed at the Libyan Embassy in what was then communist East Berlin. He allegedly has confessed to involvement in the bombing and will testify against four other suspects.

Prosecutors say officials at the Libyan Embassy in East Berlin relayed a message to Tripoli, the Libyan capital, a few hours after the attack, saying: "At 1:30 in the morning one of the acts was carried out with success, without leaving a trace behind."

The message was intercepted by the U.S. military, and it was on this basis that then-President Ronald Reagan unleashed the bombardment of the port city of Benghazi and Tripoli, which, according to Libya, killed dozens of people including Gaddafi's adoptive daughter.

Two other employees of the embassy - Ali Chanaa, a German citizen of Lebanese origin, and Yassir Chraidi, a Palestinian - are suspected of organizing the attack. Two German sisters - Ali's ex-wife, Verena Eter, and Andrea Haeussler - are suspected of carrying it out.

Chraidi and the Chanaas are charged with three counts of murder and nine counts attempted murder, as well as causing a fatal blast. Eter and Haeussler are charged as accessories. Chraidi and the Chanaas could face life in prison if convicted. Eter and Haeussler could face sentences of up to 15 years.

Prosecution in the case, being tried in Berlin state court, is based on material found in the files of the former East German secret police that became available only after the collapse of East Germany in 1989.The 87-page indictment describes collusion between the Libyans and East Germany.

The Chanaas allegedly were informants for the East German secret police, known as the Stasi, and files show the Stasi knew about the bombing beforehand.

Two weeks before the bombing, Gadhafi had called for Arab assaults on American interests worldwide after a U.S.-Libyan naval clash in the Mediterranean in which two Libyan patrol boats were sunk.

On March 23, 1986, West Germany's intelligence agency intercepted a radio message from the Libyan spy agency in Tripoli calling for an attack "with as many victims as possible."

The La Belle bombing's alleged mastermind, Said Rashid, is also suspected in the 1988 bombing of U.S.-bound Pan Am Flight 107 over Lockerbie, Scotland. He is still at large.

Information from Reuters is included in this report.