Helen Engelhardt

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Helen Engelhardt is an activist, [1] author, poet, storyteller and independent audio artist; [2]

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Activities

She has been active in peace, justice and environmental causes for over thirty years. She is a supporter of gay marriage and donated $500 in 2008 to help defeat Proposition 8 in California, a gay marriage ban. [3] She is involved with A Better Choice For New York and was a signatory of a 2010 open letter to Governor David Paterson and members of the New York State Legislature in which she supports a 1–3% tax increase for the wealthy in New York state to help avoid cuts in state services. [4]

Engelhardt is the widow of Tony Hawkins, one of the 259 victims aboard Pan Am Flight 103 which exploded on Wednesday, 21 December 1988 over Lockerbie, Scotland when a bomb was detonated. She attracted public notice shortly after the bombing and again after the 2001 verdict announcements in the trial of Lameen Khalifa Fhima (who was acquitted) and Abdelbaset al-Megrahi (who was found guilty). [5] She spoke out against Libyan leader Muammar al-Gaddafi during his visit to New York City on 23 September 2009 to give his speech to the United Nations General Assembly. [6] She spoke against BP during a 19 July 2010 news conference at Syracuse University in New York where families and lawmakers including Senator Charles E. Schumer urged a federal probe of any BP role in the release of Abdelbaset al-Megrahi. [1]

As an educator and writer, she is involved in building better relationships between peoples of different backgrounds in Brooklyn, New York, where she currently resides . [7] sheShe sings alto with the Brooklyn Jewish Community Chorus and is a Brooklyn Dialogue Circle participant serving on the board of directors. [8] She has been performing original and traditional stories before audiences since 1997 and took first prize in the storytelling competition at the Hemingway Days Festival, Key West, Florida in 1998. [9]

Published works

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scottish Court in the Netherlands</span>

The Scottish court in the Netherlands was a special sitting of the High Court of Justiciary set up under Scots law in a former United States Air Force base, Camp Zeist in Utrecht, in the Netherlands, for the trial of two Libyans charged with 270 counts of murder in connection with the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, on 21 December 1988. A school on the former base was converted into a judicial court for the trial.

Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi was a Libyan who was head of security for Libyan Arab Airlines, director of the Centre for Strategic Studies in Tripoli, Libya, and an alleged Libyan intelligence officer. On 31 January 2001, Megrahi was convicted, by a panel of three Scottish judges sitting in a special court at Camp Zeist in the Netherlands, of 270 counts of murder for the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, on 21 December 1988 and was sentenced to life imprisonment. His co-accused, Lamin Khalifah Fhimah, was found not guilty and was acquitted.

The Pan Am Flight 103 bombing trial began on 3 May 2000, 11 years, 4 months and 13 days after the destruction of Pan Am Flight 103 on 21 December 1988. The 36-week bench trial took place at a specially convened Scottish Court in the Netherlands set up under Scots law and held at a disused United States Air Force base called Camp Zeist near Utrecht.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pan Am Flight 103 bombing investigation</span>

The investigation into the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 began at 19:03 on December 21, 1988 when Pan Am Flight 103 was blown up over Lockerbie in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. The perpetrators had intended the plane to crash into the sea, destroying any traceable evidence, but the late departure time of the aircraft meant that its explosion over land left a veritable trail of evidence. The investigation led to the prosecution, conviction, and imprisonment of Abdelbaset al-Megrahi.

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Matthew Kevin Gannon was a CIA officer who was killed in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland in 1988.

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Herbert Swire, best known as Jim Swire, is an English doctor best known for his involvement in the aftermath of the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103, in which his daughter Flora was killed. Swire lobbied toward a solution for the difficulties in bringing suspects in the original bombing to trial, and later advocated the retrial and release of Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, the originally convicted suspect in the case. Swire also carried a fake bomb onto an aircraft as a demonstration of lax security.

James Alexander Mackay QPM retired as Deputy Chief Constable of Tayside Police in 2001. He has had considerable experience of criminal investigation and major inquiries. He is especially interested in forensic science and has served on national committees particularly in the field of DNA in police investigation.

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Mohammed Abu Talb is an Egyptian-born militant who was convicted on 21 December 1989 of a series of bombings in Copenhagen and Amsterdam in 1985, and was sentenced to life imprisonment in Sweden. He has also been investigated in connection with the 21 December 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pan Am Flight 103</span> Transatlantic flight terrorist bombed in 1988

Pan Am Flight 103 was a regularly scheduled Pan Am transatlantic flight from Frankfurt to Detroit via a stopover in London and another in New York City. The transatlantic leg of the route was operated by Clipper Maid of the Seas, a Boeing 747-121 registered N739PA. Shortly after 19:00 on 21 December 1988, while the aircraft was in flight over the Scottish town of Lockerbie, it was destroyed by a bomb that had been planted on board, killing all 243 passengers and 16 crew in what became known as the Lockerbie bombing. Large sections of the aircraft crashed in a residential street in Lockerbie, killing 11 residents. With a total of 270 fatalities, it is the deadliest terrorist attack in the history of the United Kingdom, as well as its deadliest aviation disaster.

Lockerbie: The Story and the Lessons is a book by aviation security expert Rodney Wallis on the Pan Am 103/Lockerbie bombing case, focusing upon the civil litigation trial brought by surviving family members against the now defunct Pan American World Airways.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hans Köchler's Lockerbie trial observer mission</span>

Hans Köchler's Lockerbie trial observer mission stemmed from the dispute between the United Kingdom, the United States, and Libya concerning arrangements for the trial of two Libyans accused of causing the explosion of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie on 21 December 1988.

Abdelbaset al-Megrahi was convicted on 31 January 2001 by a special Scottish Court in the Netherlands for the bomb attack on Pan Am Flight 103 on 21 December 1988 over Lockerbie. After he was diagnosed with terminal prostate cancer, he was released from prison on compassionate grounds on 20 August 2009, having served 8½ years of a life sentence. His release was authorised by Scottish Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill. The decision attracted significant news coverage, engendering widespread celebration in Libya, a largely hostile reaction in the United States and a more equally divided reaction in Britain.

Events from the year 2001 in Scotland.

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References

  1. 1 2 Moriarty, Rick, and Mark Weiner. "Wounded families suffer new pangs of injustice; want probe of BP role in Lockerbie bomber release." The Post-Standard, 20 July 2010. Web. 23 July 2010.
  2. 1 2 "The Longest Night." Midsummer Sound Company. Midsummer Sound Company, n.d. Web. 23 July 2010. Archived 23 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine .
  3. ↑ "Helen R. Engelhardt, N/A – Proposition 8 Campaign Contributions – Los Angeles Times." Databases, Lists, Maps, Rankings – Data Desk – Los Angeles Times. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 July 2010. .
  4. ↑ "Sharing in the Solution – An Open Letter from Upper-Income New Yorkers to the Governor and the New York State Legislature." A Better Choice For New York. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 July 2010. Archived 24 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine .
  5. ↑ "Full coverage of Fhima´s homecoming Lockerbie Pan Am 103." Plane Truth. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 July 2010. .
  6. ↑ Hawkins, Helen Engelhardt. "Widow of Pan Am Flight 103, Helen Engelhardt Hawkins, is outraged as Moammar Khadafy makes UN speech – NYPOST.com." New York Post. N.p., 29 September 2009. Web. 23 July 2010. [ permanent dead link ]
  7. ↑ "Helen Engelhardt | Directory of Writers | Poets & Writers." Poets & Writers. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 July 2010. .
  8. ↑ "The Dialogue Project Board of Directors." The Dialogue Project dot Org. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 July 2010. Archived 7 February 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  9. ↑ "Speakeasy Stories." Speakeasy Stories. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 July 2010
  10. ↑ Lowenstein, Suse. "Mothers and Sons." Midsummer Sound Company. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 July 2010. [ permanent dead link ].
  11. ↑ Canfield, Jack, Candice Carter, Mark Victor Hansen, Susanna Palomares, Linda Williams, and Bradley Winch. Chicken Soup Stories for a Better World (Chicken Soup for the Soul). Deerfield Beach, FL: HCI, 2005. Print.
  12. ↑ Engelhardt, Helen. "Incident at Altitude – 12/21/88 by Helen Engelhardt." Victims of Pan Am Flight 103. N.p., 21 December 1988. Web. 23 July 2010. Archived 31 August 2009 at the Wayback Machine .
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