Agela Masud Kheir Al-Marimi could be the identification of yet another citizen. Nothing special. Behind that name, however, is a former Libyan intelligence officer who allegedly made the bomb that caused the explosion of an American passenger plane, a Boeing 747, in 1988 when it flew over the Scottish city of Lockerbie. 259 people died in the air and another eleven on the ground. The US authorities announced his arrest on Sunday.
"The United States has in custody the alleged bomber of Pan Am Flight 103," a Justice Department spokesman said. "It is expected that he will be brought before a court in the District of Columbia court," referring to the federal capital.
In another statement, and revealing the news, Scotland's chief prosecutor noted that the families of the victims had already been informed of the arrest.
Washington authorities called Masud's arrest a milestone. Those responsible for the investigation in the US reported in December 2020 the charges against this alleged terrorist, who was then detained in Libya. Although he is the third Lebanese to be charged by US intelligence in connection with the Pan Am or Lockerbie bombings, this will be the first to appear in US court for prosecution.
Flight 103, based in New York, the city that was its destination, exploded less than an hour after taking off from London, on December 21, 1988. Citizens of 21 countries were traveling on that plane. They all died, a statement that is redundant. Among the passengers were 190 Americans, and of these, 35 were students from Syracuse University (New York State), who were returning home for Christmas after having completed a semester abroad.
The bomb explosion brought to the fore the threat of international terrorism more than a decade before the 9/11 attacks in 2001. The case prompted a global investigation and sanctions were imposed in response to demands for justice from relatives of the dead people.
In their statement, the US investigators have not explained what the circumstances have been for Masud to be in their custody. Local Libyan media claimed that the defendant had been kidnapped by an armed group on November 16 at his residence in Tripoli. This information echoed the complaint of the family that accused the authorities in the Libyan capital of keeping silent about that kidnapping.
