US

Lockerbie bombing suspect will not face death penalty, US court told

Abu Agila Mohammad Mas’ud is suspected of building bomb that downed Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie in 1988 and killed 270

Pictures of victims who died in the bombing of Pan Am 103 in 1988 are held up outside a District of Columbia court before Lockerbie bombing suspect Abu Agila Mohammad Mas'ud Kheir al-Marimi's initial appearance. Photograph: EPA

Tue Dec 13 2022 - 06:43

The man suspected of building the bomb that downed Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, in 1988 – killing 270 people – will not face the death penalty, a US court has heard.

Abu Agila Mohammad Mas’ud Kheir Al-Marimi appeared in a federal court in Washington DC on Monday.

He faces three charges, including two counts of destruction of an aircraft resulting in death, and a further count of destruction of a vehicle resulting in death.

Each of the charges are punishable by a sentence of up to life imprisonment, the death penalty or a fine of up to $250,000 (€236,000).

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But US prosecutors told the court they would not pursue the death penalty because it was not constitutionally available at the time of the bombing.

US officials said on Sunday that Libyan Mas’ud, who allegedly worked as an intelligence agent for the country’s former dictator Col Muammar Gadafy, had been detained, although is not clear how he was apprehended.

The Guardian was told he was taken into US custody after being abducted from his home by a warlord and then detained by armed militia for two weeks.

The US Department of Justice announced it had custody of Masud at the weekend, but gave no details of how he had arrived in the US.

A 1988 file picture shows the wreckage of the Pan Am flight 103 aircraft that exploded over the Scottish town of Lockerbie. Photograph: Roy Letkey/AFP/Getty Images

Officials with knowledge of the case in Libya told the Guardian that Masud was seized at his home in the capital’s Abu Salem neighbourhood by forces loyal to Abdel Ghani al-Kikili, known as “Gheniwa”, who commands the Stability Support Authority of the Tripoli-based Government of National Unity.

At the time, Masud’s family told local media that he had been kidnapped by armed men, and accused Tripoli authorities of remaining silent on the abduction.

In 2020, he was charged by the US attorney general William Barr with being the third person involved in the terrorist attack.

At the time, he was said to be in Libyan custody and Mr Barr said US authorities would work “arm in arm” with their Scottish counterparts.

In court on Monday, Mas’ud was asked to state his full name before complaining that he could not clearly hear the voice of the interpreter. Once he could follow proceedings, the charges were read out but he said through the interpreter: “I cannot talk before I see my attorney.”

Prosecutors say Mas’ud is charged with making the bomb that was placed on Pan Am flight 103 that exploded over Lockerbie, killing all 259 passengers and crew onboard, as well as 11 people on the ground four days before Christmas in 1988.

Assistant US Attorney Erik Kenerson said: “Although nearly 34 years have passed since the defendant’s attack, countless families have never fully recovered from his actions and will never fully recover.”

Mas’ud was remanded in custody pending a full detention hearing on December 27th. – Agencies

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