🔗 Share this article

American government attorneys have asserted that a Libyan individual willingly confessed to participating in attacks directed at American targets, encompassing the 1988 Lockerbie incident and an aborted conspiracy to target a American government official using a booby-trapped overcoat.

Statement Particulars

Abu Agila Mas'ud Kheir al-Marimi is reported to have acknowledged his role in the killing of 270 people when Flight 103 was exploded over the Scottish community of Lockerbie, during questioning in a Libyan prison in 2012.

Referred to as the defendant, the 74-year-old has asserted that three masked persons pressured him to provide the statement after intimidating him and his family.

His attorneys are attempting to block it from being used as evidence in his court case in Washington in the coming year.

Judicial Battle

In reply, attorneys from the American justice department have stated they can demonstrate in legal proceedings that the admission was "voluntary, credible and truthful."

The existence of Mas'ud's alleged statement was initially made public in the year 2020, when the US declared it was charging him with building and activating the IED utilized on Pan Am 103.

Legal Team Claims

The family man is charged of being a previous official in Libyan intelligence agency and has been in US confinement since 2022.

He has entered not guilty to the accusations and is scheduled to stand trial at the federal court for the Washington DC in April.

His attorneys are attempting to prevent the trial from being informed about the statement and have presented a motion asking for it to be suppressed.

They argue it was obtained under pressure following the revolution which overthrew Colonel Gaddafi in 2011.

Claimed Coercion

They say former members of the leader's administration were being targeted with wrongful killings, abductions and torture when the defendant was seized from his dwelling by armed men the next time.

He was transported to an unregistered holding location where additional prisoners were reportedly assaulted and mistreated and was alone in a tiny room when multiple disguised individuals gave him a one document of material.

His lawyers claimed its handwritten details commenced with an command that he was to admit to the Lockerbie incident and a separate terrorist incident.

Major Terrorist Attacks

Mas'ud asserts he was ordered to learn what it said about the incidents and recite it when he was questioned by another person the following day.

Being concerned for his safety and that of his family, he claimed he felt he had no choice but to obey.

In their response to the defendant's petition, attorneys from the US Department of Justice have declared the judge was being petitioned to suppress "very significant proof" of the defendant's responsibility in "multiple major terror attacks against US citizens."

Authorities Counterarguments

They claim the suspect's story of incidents is unconvincing and untrue, and argue that the details of the confession can be verified by reliable independent testimony gathered over many periods.

The government attorneys claim the defendant and fellow previous personnel of the former leader's intelligence agency were held in a hidden detention facility managed by a militia when they were questioned by an experienced Libyan police officer.

They assert that in the turmoil of the post-uprising time, the center was "the most secure place" for the defendant and the other operatives, considering the hostility and opposition attitude widespread at the period.

Questioning Particulars

According to the law enforcement official who questioned the suspect, the facility was "well run", the prisoners were not bound and there were no evidence of torture or coercion.

The official has stated that over two days, a self-assured and fit Mas'ud explained his participation in the attacks of Flight 103.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has also claimed he had confessed creating a bomb which went off in a German club in the mid-1980s, killing several individuals, encompassing multiple American soldiers, and harming many more.

Additional Claims

He is also alleged to have detailed his involvement in an conspiracy on the life of an unnamed US Secretary of State at a official ceremony in the Asian country.

Mas'ud is said to have explained that an individual accompanying the American figure was wearing a rigged coat.

It was the defendant's task to trigger the bomb but he chose not to act after finding out that the individual bearing the garment did not realize he was on a suicide mission.

He decided "not to push the button" even though his supervisor in the agency being present at the time and inquiring what was {going on|happening|occurring