Three sentences from the United States Department of Justice confirmed this key development in the Lockerbie story.
“America has taken custody of suspected bomb maker of Pan Am Flight 103 Abu Agila Mohammad Mas’ud Kheir Al-Marimi.
“He is expected to make his initial appearance in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.
“Additional details will be released, including information on public access to the initial appearance.”
Who is Abu Agila Mohammad Mas’ud Kheir Al-Marimi?
Masoud, as he is known, was named in a 2020 US Department of Justice legal document as the man who made the bomb that blew up Pan Am 103 over Lockerbie in 1988.
He had been in the framework for many years before that as the technician behind the pump.
According to the affidavit, Masoud worked alongside the other two men accused of the bombing: Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi and Al Amin Khalifa Fhimah.
The US government alleges that Masoud was a technical expert working for the Libyan Intelligence Service known as the External Security Organization (ESO) which carried out operations against other Libyan nations and dissidents under the direction of the Libyan Government and, times, under direct orders from then. leader Muammar Gaddafi.
The US legal document claims that Masoud worked as a bomb maker for ESO between 1973 and 2011.
Abu Agila Mohammad Mas’ud Kheir al-Marimi is in US custody
What was your alleged involvement in the Lockerbie bombing?
The US Department of Justice alleges that Masoud was ordered by his superiors to fly to Malta in December 1988 with a suitcase containing an explosive device.
In Malta, Masoud spent several days in a hotel preparing the device, setting a timer for it to go off exactly 11 hours later.
Masoud is alleged to have delivered the suitcase to Fhimah on the morning of 21 December 1988 at Luqa airport in Malta.
Fhimah, who worked with al-Megrahi as a security officer for Libyan Arab airlines, is said to have checked the suitcase on an Air Malta flight to Frankfurt.
Investigators have said the suitcase flew by itself to Frankfurt before being transferred to Pan Am Flight 103A to London Heathrow, the connecting flight for Pan Am 103.
At Heathrow it transferred to Flight 103 and exploded 38 minutes after takeoff at 31,000 feet over the Scottish town of Lockerbie.
On what evidence does the US Department of Justice base its accusations?
The evidence against Masoud relies heavily on a confession he is said to have made to a Libyan law enforcement official while in custody in late 2012, following the ouster and death of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.
According to the confession transcripts, Masoud was asked open questions about his possible involvement in the 2011 Libyan revolution and any operations outside Libya. It is claimed that he admitted his involvement in the attack and gave details of his role.
He is also said to have admitted involvement in the 1986 bombing of the LaBelle nightclub in Berlin, popular with US soldiers, in which three people were killed and 230 injured.
The fact that his “confession” took place at a time when Libya was controlled by warlords will complicate the US prosecutor’s case.
270 people died on December 21, 1988
How was he arrested?
This is where it gets cloudy. The Americans have not released details about how or where he was detained.
Interestingly, last month it was reported that Masoud had been “kidnapped” from Libyan custody. A local Libyan media report, citing the current intelligence chief in Tripoli, said he was captured by a “squad of unknown affiliation, without any significant coordination with the intelligence service.”
According to London-based Asharq Al-Awsat, a secret deal was reached between the Americans and the Tripoli-based Government of National Unity (GNU) to allow the handover of Masoud.
The Americans have not commented, but the suggestion is that GNU leader Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh turned a blind eye to the hijacking. The quid pro quo would be US approval of his government.
What happens now?
The Americans have said that Masoud will appear in court in Washington DC, but have not said when. Critically, they have not said where he is being held.
He is in US custody, but where? In America or in another country awaiting transfer to America? Will he be officially extradited?
All are, so far, unanswered questions.
Was Libya really responsible?
The case of the Lockerbie bomber or bombers has been plagued with controversy and allegations of miscarriage.
The dominant narrative, backed by one conviction, is that Libya was responsible: the bombing was a retaliation against US bombing raids on Libya in 1986.
However, conspiracies emerged that Iran and a Palestinian terror group had been responsible.
In 2003, the Libyan government admitted responsibility for the bombing in the hope that sanctions would be lifted.
In a letter to the United Nations, the country’s then foreign minister said Col Gaddafi said he did not order the bombing but the government “accepted responsibility for the actions of its officials.”
This eventually led to the trial of two men. Al Amin Khalifa Fhimah was cleared of his involvement in the plot. Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi was sentenced.
Two appeals against his conviction failed. He was released on humanitarian grounds in 2009 and died in Libya in 2012.
US officials say the third man, Masoud, will appear in a Washington court in the coming days.
