American Prosecutors Assert Libyan National Willingly Admitted to Lockerbie Bombing
US government attorneys have claimed that a Libyan national man willingly confessed to taking part in attacks directed at US citizens, including the 1988 Lockerbie attack and an unsuccessful attempt to kill a US public figure using a explosive-laden coat.
Admission Information
Abu Agila Mas'ud Kheir al-Marimi is alleged to have confessed his involvement in the deaths of 270 individuals when Flight 103 was destroyed over the Scotland's town of Lockerbie, during interviewing in a Libya's detention facility in the year 2012.
Identified as Mas'ud, the elderly man has stated that three masked persons pressured him to provide the statement after menacing him and his loved ones.
His legal representatives are working to block it from being employed as proof in his trial in Washington next year.
Judicial Dispute
In answer, lawyers from the American justice department have stated they can demonstrate in the courtroom that the confession was "unforced, trustworthy and correct."
The existence of the defendant's alleged admission was originally made public in the year 2020, when the United States announced it was charging him with creating and preparing the explosive device used on Pan Am 103.
Defendant's Assertions
The family man is charged of being a ex- official in Libya's intelligence agency and has been in American detention since 2022.
He has stated not guilty to the charges and is due to appear in court at the US court for the the capital in spring.
Mas'ud's legal team are working to stop the trial from being informed about the admission and have presented a motion asking for it to be excluded.
They argue it was obtained under coercion following the revolution which overthrew the Libyan leader in 2011.
Claimed Pressure
They claim ex- officials of the dictator's government were being victimized with unlawful killings, kidnappings and abuse when the defendant was taken from his home by weapon-carrying men the following time.
He was taken to an unofficial holding location where other prisoners were reportedly abused and mistreated and was by himself in a tiny space when multiple hooded persons handed him a solitary document of documentation.
His attorneys said its handwritten information commenced with an command that he was to admit to the Pan Am Flight 103 attack and an additional terror attack.
Substantial Extremist Attacks
The defendant states he was ordered to remember what it indicated about the occurrences and recite it when he was interviewed by another person the subsequent day.
Worrying for his safety and that of his children, he said he believed he had no option but to acquiesce.
In their response to the legal team's motion, lawyers from the federal prosecutors have said the court was being petitioned to suppress "highly pertinent testimony" of the defendant's guilt in "two substantial extremist attacks targeting Americans."
Prosecution Rebuttals
They say the defendant's account of events is unbelievable and inaccurate, and assert that the contents of the statement can be corroborated by credible separate evidence gathered over numerous years.
The government attorneys say the suspect and fellow former officials of the former leader's secret service were held in a covert prison managed by a faction when they were interviewed by an experienced Libyan police officer.
They argue that in the chaos of the post-uprising period, the facility was "the most secure location" for the defendant and the fellow agents, accounting for the hostility and opposition attitude widespread at the period.
Investigation Information
Per to the police officer who interrogated the defendant, the location was "efficiently operated", the detainees were not bound and there were no evidence of coercion or coercion.
The investigator has said that over 48 hours, a composed and well defendant described his participation in the attacks of Flight 103.
The FBI has also stated he had confessed building a bomb which went off in a German venue in 1986, causing the deaths of three persons, including multiple American military personnel, and harming dozens additional.
Further Accusations
He is also reported to have recounted his involvement in an attempt on the safety of an unnamed American foreign minister at a state funeral in the Asian country.
Mas'ud is reported to have explained that an individual accompanying the US figure was carrying a booby-trapped overcoat.
It was the suspect's task to trigger the device but he chose not to act after learning that the man bearing the garment did not know he was on a suicide mission.
He decided "not to trigger the button" although his commander in the intelligence service being with him at the moment and inquiring what was {going on|happening|occurring