American Prosecutors Assert Libyan Freely Confessed to Lockerbie Attack

US government attorneys have stated that a Libyan individual willingly confessed to participating in terrorist acts against Americans, comprising the 1988's Lockerbie bombing and an unsuccessful attempt to assassinate a American politician using a booby-trapped overcoat.

Statement Details

Abu Agila Mas'ud Kheir al-Marimi is alleged to have acknowledged his role in the deaths of 270 people when Flight 103 was exploded over the Scottish area of the region, during interrogation in a Libya's detention facility in 2012.

Known as Mas'ud, the elderly man has stated that three hooded persons forced him to make the statement after intimidating him and his family.

His attorneys are working to stop it from being employed as proof in his court case in DC in the coming year.

Courtroom Battle

In response, attorneys from the federal prosecutors have stated they can demonstrate in court that the admission was "willing, reliable and correct."

The existence of Mas'ud's claimed admission was initially revealed in the year 2020, when the United States declared it was indicting him with creating and activating the IED used on Flight 103.

Legal Team Assertions

The family man is accused of being a ex- high-ranking officer in Libya's secret service and has been in US custody since 2022.

He has entered not guilty to the charges and is due to stand trial at the US court for the District of Columbia in April.

The defendant's lawyers are trying to stop the court from hearing about the confession and have submitted a request asking for it to be withheld.

They argue it was obtained under coercion following the uprising which toppled the Libyan leader in 2011.

Alleged Pressure

They say former officials of the dictator's regime were being victimized with illegal murders, kidnappings and abuse when the defendant was seized from his home by weapon-carrying persons the following period.

He was taken to an unofficial holding location where other prisoners were allegedly beaten and mistreated and was by himself in a cramped cell when three hooded individuals gave him a single document of material.

His attorneys stated its manually written information started with an command that he was to acknowledge to the Pan Am Flight 103 attack and a separate violent act.

Major Terror Attacks

The suspect asserts he was instructed to remember what it said about the incidents and recite it when he was interrogated by a different individual the following morning.

Being concerned for his well-being and that of his family, he stated he felt he had no choice but to acquiesce.

In their answer to the defense's motion, legal counsel from the US Department of Justice have declared the court was being requested to exclude "highly significant testimony" of Mas'ud's responsibility in "several substantial extremist events directed at US citizens."

Government Rebuttals

They assert Mas'ud's version of events is unbelievable and false, and assert that the information of the statement can be corroborated by trustworthy external evidence gathered over several years.

The prosecutors state the suspect and additional previous officials of the dictator's intelligence service were kept in a covert detention facility run by a armed group when they were questioned by an knowledgeable Libya's police officer.

They contend that in the chaos of the post-uprising era, the facility was "the safest location" for Mas'ud and the other agents, accounting for the conflict and opposition attitude prevailing at the period.

Investigation Information

Per to the investigator who questioned the suspect, the location was "well run", the inmates were not restrained and there were no evidence of torture or coercion.

The officer has said that over 48 hours, a confident and fit defendant described his participation in the explosions of Flight 103.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has also stated he had confessed constructing a bomb which detonated in a West Berlin club in the mid-1980s, causing the deaths of several individuals, encompassing two US military personnel, and harming dozens others.

Other Accusations

He is also alleged to have recounted his involvement in an attempt on the lives of an anonymous American diplomatic official at a public event in Pakistan.

Mas'ud is reported to have described that a person accompanying the US figure was wearing a booby-trapped garment.

It was the suspect's mission to activate the device but he opted not to act after learning that the person wearing the garment did not know he was on a deadly operation.

He decided "not to activate the trigger" although his supervisor in the intelligence service being alongside at the period and asking what was {going on|happening|occurring