🔗 Share this article

US prosecutors have stated that a Libyan suspect willingly admitted to being involved in terrorist acts against American targets, encompassing the 1988's Lockerbie incident and an failed conspiracy to kill a US public figure using a explosive-laden garment.

Statement Particulars

Abu Agila Mas'ud Kheir al-Marimi is reported to have acknowledged his participation in the killing of 270 victims when Flight 103 was brought down over the Scotland's area of Lockerbie, during interrogation in a Libya's prison in the year 2012.

Referred to as the suspect, the senior individual has claimed that several masked men forced him to provide the statement after menacing him and his loved ones.

His legal representatives are attempting to prevent it from being used as evidence in his court case in Washington in the coming year.

Courtroom Battle

In reply, attorneys from the American justice department have stated they can establish in legal proceedings that the statement was "willing, trustworthy and accurate."

The availability of the defendant's alleged statement was originally disclosed in the year 2020, when the United States announced it was accusing him with building and preparing the IED employed on Pan Am 103.

Defendant's Assertions

The defendant is alleged of being a former colonel in Libyan secret service and has been in US confinement since 2022.

He has entered not responsible to the charges and is expected to stand trial at the federal court for the District of Columbia in spring.

The defendant's legal team are attempting to stop the court from being informed about the statement and have submitted a petition asking for it to be excluded.

They contend it was secured under pressure following the revolution which removed the Libyan leader in 2011.

Purported Pressure

They say previous members of the leader's administration were being victimized with unlawful murders, kidnappings and abuse when the defendant was abducted from his dwelling by weapon-carrying individuals the subsequent period.

He was moved to an informal detention center where fellow inmates were allegedly abused and mistreated and was alone in a tiny cell when several hooded persons handed him a single document of paper.

His legal representatives claimed its handwritten details began with an instruction that he was to confess to the Lockerbie incident and a separate terrorist incident.

Substantial Terror Attacks

The defendant claims he was instructed to memorise what it indicated about the occurrences and recite it when he was interrogated by another person the following day.

Worrying for his security and that of his offspring, he stated he thought he had no option but to obey.

In their response to the defense's motion, attorneys from the US Department of Justice have declared the tribunal was being petitioned to withhold "highly pertinent testimony" of the defendant's responsibility in "two major extremist events targeting American people."

Authorities Responses

They claim the suspect's story of events is unbelievable and false, and assert that the contents of the admission can be verified by credible independent testimony gathered over several decades.

The legal authorities state the defendant and other previous personnel of Gaddafi's secret service were detained in a hidden prison managed by a faction when they were interrogated by an knowledgeable Libyan investigator.

They contend that in the turmoil of the post-revolution era, the facility was "the safest environment" for the suspect and the other personnel, considering the hostility and resistance feeling dominant at the time.

Questioning Details

Based to the law enforcement official who interrogated the defendant, the center was "well run", the prisoners were not confined and there were no evidence of torture or coercion.

The officer has claimed that over two days, a composed and fit Mas'ud explained his participation in the attacks of Pan Am 103.

The federal authorities has also asserted he had acknowledged creating a device which detonated in a German club in the mid-1980s, killing three persons, including multiple American military personnel, and wounding many more.

Further Claims

He is also reported to have recounted his involvement in an conspiracy on the safety of an anonymous US diplomatic official at a official ceremony in Pakistan.

The defendant is alleged to have stated that someone travelling the US politician was bearing a booby-trapped coat.

It was Mas'ud's task to trigger the bomb but he opted not to proceed after finding out that the person wearing the coat did not know he was on a fatal assignment.

He chose "not to push the device" despite his commander in the intelligence service being present at the period and inquiring what was {going on|happening|occurring