🔗 Share this article

US government attorneys have claimed that a Libyan man freely confessed to taking part in operations directed at American targets, including the 1988's Lockerbie attack and an aborted plot to target a American politician using a explosive-laden overcoat.

Statement Particulars

Abu Agila Mas'ud Kheir al-Marimi is alleged to have acknowledged his role in the deaths of 270 victims when the aircraft was brought down over the Scottish area of the region, during interrogation in a Libya's prison in 2012.

Referred to as the defendant, the senior individual has stated that three masked individuals pressured him to deliver the confession after menacing him and his loved ones.

His lawyers are attempting to block it from being used as evidence in his trial in the US capital in 2025.

Legal Conflict

In reply, legal counsel from the American justice department have declared they can establish in court that the confession was "voluntary, credible and accurate."

The existence of the defendant's alleged statement was initially made public in the year 2020, when the US declared it was charging him with constructing and preparing the explosive device utilized on Pan Am 103.

Defense Allegations

The father-of-six is charged of being a ex- colonel in Libyan intelligence service and has been in American confinement since 2022.

He has entered not guilty to the allegations and is scheduled to face trial at the US court for the Washington DC in April.

The defendant's attorneys are working to prevent the jury from being informed about the confession and have filed a motion asking for it to be excluded.

They argue it was acquired under coercion following the revolution which overthrew Colonel Gaddafi in the early 2010s.

Purported Coercion

They claim ex- members of the dictator's administration were being singled out with wrongful murders, seizures and torture when the defendant was abducted from his dwelling by hostile persons the next year.

He was moved to an informal holding location where additional detainees were allegedly beaten and abused and was by himself in a cramped cell when several hooded men presented him a single sheet of paper.

His lawyers stated its manually written contents began with an order that he was to confess to the Pan Am Flight 103 attack and an additional terror attack.

Major Extremist Attacks

The suspect claims he was instructed to learn what it indicated about the events and recite it when he was interrogated by another person the following day.

Being concerned for his security and that of his family, he claimed he thought he had no choice but to acquiesce.

In their answer to the legal team's request, attorneys from the federal prosecutors have stated the tribunal was being requested to suppress "highly relevant evidence" of Mas'ud's guilt in "two significant terror events directed at American people."

Authorities Rebuttals

They claim Mas'ud's story of events is unconvincing and untrue, and contend that the information of the admission can be verified by reliable independent testimony collected over many periods.

The legal authorities say the suspect and additional previous officials of Gaddafi's intelligence agency were detained in a hidden prison run by a faction when they were interviewed by an experienced Libya's investigator.

They argue that in the disorder of the post-revolution time, the center was "the protected place" for the suspect and the additional operatives, considering the violence and opposition sentiment widespread at the time.

Questioning Details

Based to the law enforcement official who interrogated the defendant, the facility was "well run", the detainees were not restrained and there were no evidence of coercion or pressure.

The official has said that over multiple sessions, a confident and fit suspect described his participation in the explosions of Pan Am 103.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has also asserted he had admitted creating a explosive which detonated in a West Berlin venue in 1986, killing multiple people, including several American servicemen, and harming many additional.

Additional Claims

He is also reported to have described his participation in an attempt on the life of an anonymous US foreign minister at a public event in the Asian country.

Mas'ud is alleged to have explained that someone accompanying the American official was carrying a explosive-laden coat.

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

He decided "not to activate the device" despite his commander in the secret service being alongside at the moment and questioning what was {going on|happening|occurring