Washington — Authorities in Scotland and the U.S. mentioned Sunday that the Libyan man suspected of creating the bomb that destroyed a passenger aircraft over Lockerbie, Scotland, in 1988 is now in U.S. custody.
A Justice Department spokesman confirmed the U.S. had taken custody of Abu Agila Mohammad Masud and “he is expected to make his initial appearance in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.”
Scotland’s Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service mentioned in an announcement: “The families of those killed in the Lockerbie bombing have been told that the suspect Abu Agela Mas’ud Kheir Al-Marimi is in U.S. custody.”
Pan Am flight 103, touring from London to New York, exploded over Lockerbie on Dec. 21, 1988, killing all 259 individuals aboard the aircraft and one other 11 on the bottom. It stays the deadliest terror assault on British soil.
Kara Weipz, president and spokesperson of the group Victims of Pan Am Flight 103 whose brother was killed within the bombing, mentioned Masud’s arrest was “an amazing feat for the families, and finally justice for our loved ones who were innocent.”
“To have one of the people responsible for the murder of our loved ones stand trial in the U.S. is one of the most important things to the families and to all of us,” Weipz mentioned. “The amount of people involved — we kept it on the forefront of six administrations.”
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In 2001, Abdelbaset al-Megrahi was convicted of bombing the flight. He was the one particular person convicted over the assault. He misplaced one attraction and deserted one other earlier than being freed in 2009 on compassionate grounds as a result of he was terminally unwell with most cancers. He died in Libya in 2012, nonetheless protesting his innocence.
“Scottish prosecutors and police, working with U.K. government and U.S. colleagues, will continue to pursue this investigation, with the sole aim of bringing those who acted along with al-Megrahi to justice,” the Crown Office added.
Masud had beforehand acquired a 10-year sentence in Libya for crafting a bomb utilized in a separate assault. The U.S. introduced expenses in opposition to him in 2020 on the thirty second anniversary of the Lockerbie assault and sought his extradition. The legal criticism was largely based mostly on a confession Masud made to Libyan authorities in 2012, in addition to his journey information, which allegedly tied him to the crime.
“At long last, this man responsible for killing Americans and many others will be subject to justice for his crimes,” William Barr, the lawyer basic on the time, mentioned at a news convention.
In an announcement to CBS News, Barr mentioned that he instructed the households of the victims “30 years ago that we would do everything possible to bring the perpetrators to justice. During my last weeks in office in 2020, I pushed this hard — it was unfinished business. We announced charges just before I left and started initial contacts with Libyans.”
“It is critical that terrorists know that they will be tracked down and punished no matter how long it takes,” Barr added.
A breakthrough within the investigation got here when U.S. officers in 2017 acquired a replica of an interview that Masud, a longtime explosives skilled for Libya’s intelligence service, had given to Libyan legislation enforcement in 2012 after being taken into custody following the collapse of the regime of the nation’s chief, Col. Moammar Gadhafi.
In that interview, U.S. officers mentioned, Masud admitted constructing the bomb within the Pan Am assault and dealing with two different conspirators to hold it out. He additionally mentioned the operation was ordered by Libyan intelligence and that Gadhafi thanked him and different members of the group after the assault, in accordance with an FBI affidavit filed within the case.
While Masud is now the third Libyan intelligence official charged within the U.S. in reference to the Lockerbie bombing, he could be the primary to face trial in an American courtroom.
U.S. officers didn’t say how Masud got here to be taken into U.S. custody, however in late November, native Libyan media reported that Masud had been kidnapped by armed males on Nov. 16 from his residence in Tripoli, the capital. That reporting cited a household assertion that accused Tripoli authorities of being silent on the kidnapping.
In November 2021, Najla Mangoush, the international minister for the nation’s Tripoli-based authorities, instructed the BBC in an interview that “we, as a government, are very open in terms of collaboration in this matter,” when requested whether or not an extradition was attainable.
Torn by civil conflict since 2011, Libya is split between rival governments within the east and west, every backed by worldwide patrons and quite a few armed militias on the bottom. Militia teams have amassed nice wealth and energy from kidnappings and their involvement in Libya’s profitable human trafficking commerce.
Margaret Brennan, Andy Triay, Robert Legare, Catherine Herridge and Clare Hymes contributed reporting.