The Libyan intelligence agent suspected of building the bomb that downed Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie in 1988, killing 270 people, appeared in court in Washington DC on Monday, after being kidnapped from his home by a warlord and held by a militia for two weeks before he was handed over to the FBI.
Abu Agila Mohammad Masud Kheir Al-Marimi, who was Muammar Gaddafi’s explosives expert, 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.
But prosecutors told the court they would not pursue the death penalty because it was not constitutionally available at the time of the bombing.
In a mugshot released on Monday, accused Lockerbie bombmaker Abu Agila Masud Kheir Al-Marimi was seen in custody of the Alexandria Sheriff’s Office in northern Virginia
Masud, who was sent to the United States on Sunday, is pictured in court on Monday in Washington DC
Minter is seen standing to represent Masud, who spoke through an interpreter and did not enter a plea
The U.S. has not commented on the circumstances of his release, but on Monday it was reported by The Guardian that he was seized from his home in the capital’s Abu Salem neighborhood by forces loyal to Abdel Ghani al-Kikili, known as ‘Gheniwa’.
Gheniwa commands the Stability Support Authority (SSA) of the Tripoli-based Government of National Unity (GNU).
Masud was living in his home after being released from prison six months ago after serving a 10 year sentence for crimes committed under the former regime of Gaddafi.
Late last month, local Libyan media reported that Masud had been kidnapped by armed men on November 16 from his residence in Tripoli, the capital.
That reporting cited a family statement that accused Tripoli authorities of being silent on the abduction.
The Lockerbie bombing killed 270 people on board the Pan Am flight 103
Masud’s nephew said his uncle was detained by forces linked to GNU defense ministry, then taken to Misrata, 120 miles from the capital.
After his detention, the suspected bomber was taken to a military base in Misrata, where he was held by one of the militias in the port city, the officials said.
Masud’s family contacted those holding him, and a week later were reassured that he would return home safely within a short time, officials told The Guardian.
However, within another week, a ‘team of Americans’ arrived in Misrata, and Masud was put onto a flight in a private jet from the city’s airport to Malta.
Masud’s nephew, Abdulmenam Marimi, told Reuters on Monday that the family only learned he had been moved to the United States when they saw it reported on the news.
Jake Sullivan, Joe Biden’s national security adviser, told reporters at Monday’s White House press briefing: ‘Today is a good day because Masud will be facing justice for his alleged role in the 1988 Lockerbie bombing.
‘I will say that this was done in a lawful manner according to established procedures. For more specifics on how it happened I would refer you to the justice department because they’re best positioned to be able to speak to that.’
In a statement, Michael H Glasheen, the acting assistant director in charge of the FBI Washington field office, said: ‘The lawful arrest and presentment in court of the alleged bombmaker… is the product of hard work and partnerships across the globe.’
Masud is shown listening to Assistant U.S. Attorney Erik Kennerson. Masud’s attorney, Public Defender Whitney Minter, is at at his side as they appear in front of U.S. Magistrate Judge Robin Meriweather
Abdel Ghani al-Kikili, known as ‘Gheniwa’, is pictured right, in baseball cap. A militia under his control reportedly kidnapped Masud from his Tripoli home two weeks ago
The New York-bound Pan Am flight exploded over Lockerbie less than an hour after takeoff from London on December 21, 1988. Citizens from 21 different countries were killed
The families of some of the victims of Pan Am Flight 103 have spoken out to express their gratitude at Masoud’s arrest. Pictured: A memorial service in Lockerbie, Scotland in 2018
On Monday, Erik Kenerson, the federal prosecutor, told Judge Robin Meriweather his office would not pursue the death penalty, but said they Masud’s actions could never be forgiven.
‘His actions killed all 259 passengers and crew on board the aircraft and 11 people on the ground in Lockerbie,’ Kenerson said in court.
‘Countless families have never fully recovered as a result of his actions and never will fully recover.’
Stephanie Bernstein, a Maryland woman whose husband, Michael, was among the 270 victims — he was a Justice Department official returning on the flight from government business — said Masud’s trial was long overdue.
‘It’s what should have happened a long time ago – that we had him in our custody,’ she said, speaking outside court on Monday, after the hearing.
‘It is fitting that we are coming up on the 34th anniversary of the bombing and that we, at last, have the man responsible for making the bomb.
‘It’s a tremendous amount of satisfaction because he is the first person responsible for the death of my husband to actually be tried on U.S. soil.’
Masud is charged with two counts of destruction of an aircraft resulting in death and one count of destruction of a vehicle used in foreign commerce by means of an explosive resulting in death. He faces a sentence of life in prison if convicted.
He did not enter a plea.
‘This is justice. He is being afforded every single right that we have available and he is going to be prosecuted on our soil for the murder of 190 American citizens including my husband,’ said Bernstein as her daughter, who was seven at the time of the bombing, stood at her side.
Stephanie Bernstein, whose husband Michael was killed in the bombing, speaks outside court on Monday
Bernstein’s daughter, who was seven at the time of her father’s death, stands beside her on Monday
On Sunday, she said the news of his arrest was ‘surreal’ because there had been times in the past two years when victims’ families had been told that ‘it looks promising’ only to find that was not the case.
‘At first I thought I was dreaming when I was told what had happened, but it’s happened, and I’m incredibly grateful that this man will be tried in the United States,’ she told AP.
A federal public defender represented Masud during Monday’s hearing, but asked for additional time for Masud to hire his own attorney.
‘I cannot talk until I see my attorney,’ said Masud, speaking through an interpreter.
Masud, who is being held without bail in a Virginia detention center, was given until December 19 to arrange for his own attorney to represent him.
A detention hearing is scheduled for December 27.
Masud’s arrest was announced on Sunday – an important milestone in the decades-long investigation.
American authorities in December 2020 announced charges against Masud, who was in Libyan custody at the time.
Though he is the third Libyan intelligence official charged in the U.S. in connection with the attack, he is the first to appear in an American courtroom for prosecution.
The New York-bound Pan Am flight exploded over Lockerbie less than an hour after takeoff from London on Dec. 21, 1988.
Citizens from 21 different countries were killed. Among the 190 Americans on board were 35 Syracuse University students flying home for Christmas after a semester abroad.
The bombing laid bare the threat of international terrorism more than a decade before the September 11 attacks.
It produced global investigations and punishing sanctions while spurring demands for accountability from victims of those killed.
The university’s current chancellor, Kent Syverud, said in a statement that the arrest was a significant development in the long process ‘to bring those responsible for this despicable act to justice.’
Officials are seen during a commemoration service in the Memorial Garden at Dryfesdale Cemetery to mark the 30th anniversary of the bombing of Pan Am flight 103 in Lockerbie
The announcement of charges against Masud on December 21, 2020, came on the 32nd anniversary of the bombing and in the final days of the tenure of then-Attorney General William Barr, who in his first stint as attorney general in the early 1990s had announced criminal charges against two other Libyans intelligence officials.
The Libyan government initially balked at turning over the two men, Abdel Baset Ali al-Megrahi and Lamen Khalifa Fhimah, before ultimately surrendering them for prosecution before a panel of Scottish judges sitting in the Netherlands as part of a special arrangement.
In November 2021, Najla Mangoush, the foreign minister for the country’s Tripoli-based government, told the BBC in an interview that ‘we, as a government, are very open in terms of collaboration in this matter,’ when asked whether an extradition was possible.
Torn by civil war since 2011, Libya is divided between rival governments in the east and west, each backed by international patrons and numerous armed militias on the ground.
Militia groups have amassed great wealth and power from kidnappings and their involvement in Libya’s lucrative human trafficking trade
On August 20, 2009, al-Megrahi, who was suffering from prostate cancer, was released from his Scottish jail on compassionate grounds.He died in Libya shortly after
Floral tributes left at the Memorial Garden in Dryfesdale Cemetery, are seen in 2018 on the morning of the 30th anniversary of the bombing of Pan Am flight 103
A breakthrough in the investigation came when U.S. officials in 2017 received a copy of an interview that Masud, a longtime explosives expert for Libya’s intelligence service, had given to Libyan law enforcement in 2012 after being taken into custody following the collapse of the government of the country’s leader, Col. Muammar Gaddafi.
In that interview, U.S. officials said, Masud admitted building the bomb in the Pan Am attack and working with two other conspirators to carry it out.
He also said the operation was ordered by Libyan intelligence and that Gaddafi thanked him and other members of the team after the attack, according to an FBI affidavit filed in the case.
That affidavit said Masud told Libyan law enforcement that he flew to Malta to meet al-Megrahi and Fhimah.
He handed Fhimah a medium-sized Samsonite suitcase containing a bomb, having already been instructed to set the timer so that the device would explode exactly 11 hours later, according to the document. He then flew to Tripoli, the FBI said.
Al-Megrahi was convicted in the Netherlands while Fhimah was acquitted of all charges.
Al-Megrahi was given a life sentence, but Scottish authorities released him on humanitarian grounds in 2009 after he was diagnosed with prostate cancer. He later died in Tripoli, still protesting his innocence.
In announcing charges against Masud in 2020, Barr said the U.S. and Scotland would use ‘every feasible and appropriate means’ to bring him to trial.
‘At long last, this man responsible for killing Americans and many others will be subject to justice for his crimes,’ Barr said at the time.
Scotland’s Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service on Sunday announced the arrest as well, saying in a statement that ‘the families of those killed in the Lockerbie bombing have been told that the suspect is in U.S. custody.’
The statement added that ‘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.’