Libyan accused of Lockerbie bombing charged in US court
WASHINGTON— An alleged former Libyan intelligence agent accused of making the bomb that blew up a Pan Am jet over Scotland in 1988, killing 270 people, appeared in a US court to face charges for the deadliest-ever terror attack in Britain.
Abu Agila Mohammad Masud Kheir al-Marimi, who allegedly worked as an intelligence operative for the regime of Libyan dictator Moamer Kadhafi between 1973 and 2011, faces three counts related to the Lockerbie bombing.
Federal prosecutors said they did not intend to seek the death penalty but Masud could face life in prison if convicted of “destruction of an aircraft resulting in death” and two other related charges.
The judge presiding over the hearing in a US District Court in Washington read the 71-year-old Masud the charges and his rights before ordering him held without bond until a detention hearing on Dec 27.
The balding and white-bearded Masud was provided with an Arabic interpreter for the hearing, his first court appearance since being brought to the United States.
US Attorney General Merrick Garland said Masud’s arrest was “an important step forward in our mission to honor the victims and pursue justice on behalf of their loved ones.
“American and Scottish law enforcement have worked tirelessly to identify, find, and bring to justice the perpetrators of this horrific attack,” Garland said.
Only one person has been convicted for the Dec 21, 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103.
The New York-bound aircraft was blown up 38 minutes after it took off from London, sending the main fuselage plunging to the ground in the town of Lockerbie and spreading debris over a vast area.
The bombing killed all 259 people on the jumbo jet, including 190 Americans, and 11 people on the ground.
Two alleged Libyan intelligence operatives — Abdelbaset Ali Mohmet al-Megrahi and Al Amin Khalifa Fhimah — were charged with the bombing and tried by a Scottish court in the Netherlands.
Megrahi spent seven years in a Scottish prison after his conviction in 2001 while Fhimah was acquitted.
Megrahi died in Libya in 2012, always maintaining his innocence.
According to FBI agent’s affidavit, Masud also admitted to committing the April 1986 bombing of the LaBelle Discotheque in Berlin which killed two US service members and a Turkish woman.
In a statement US Secretary of State Antony Blinken thanked those who helped bring Masud into US custody “following an intensive diplomatic effort.”
“The prosecution of Masud is the product of years of cooperation between US and Scottish authorities and the efforts of Libyan authorities over many years,” Blinken said.
Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK