What did Abu Agila Masud do? Lockerbie bombing suspect detained in US prison

Abu Agila Masud, a Libyan intelligence official, was taken into custody on Sunday, December 11, 2022, after he became the primary suspect in the deadliest terror attack in the UK.

Abu Agila Mohammad Mas'ud Kheir Al-Marimi was charged about three decades back when he was suspected of helping build a bomb that destroyed Pan Am Flight 103 in 1988 and left about 270 people dead.

In 2020, the Wall Street Journal reported that Abu Agila Masud was held in Libya, whereas the Libyan authorities did not confirm the same.

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Abu Agila Masud was taken into US custody for bombing the Boeing 747 in 1988

Thirty-two years back, on December 21, 1988, Pan Am Flight 103 was flying from London to New York. Around 38 minutes after taking off from London, the aircraft exploded, killing 259 people on board and 11 on the ground. The explosion took place while the plane was over Lockerbie, Scotland.

The Lockerbie victims included 190 Americans, among whom many were Syracuse University students going home for Christmas. There were victims from 20 other nations as well.

In 2020, Abu Agila Masud was charged with being the primary bomb maker in the 1988 terror attack. These charges were primarily based on Masud's confession to the Libyan authorities in 2012. Two years after the charges, Masud was taken into US custody on Sunday, December 11.

The Libyan intelligence official allegedly confessed to having built the bomb and that the Libyan intelligence had ordered that attack on the aircraft.

Apart from Masud, in November 1991, Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi and Al Amin Khalifa Fhimah were accused of being involved in bombing the Boeing 747. They were charged with 270 counts of murder, violation of Britain’s Aviation Security Act, and conspiracy to murder.

After the trials, Megrahi was found guilty, while Fhimah was cleared of all charges. The Scottish government later let go of Megrahi as he was diagnosed with advanced stage of cancer and died in 2012.

After Masud was taken into custody, Kent Syverud, Chancellor of Syracuse University, stated,

“The development was a notable step in the process to bring those responsible for this despicable act to justice.”

Abu Agila Masud was allegedly a bomb maker for then-Libyan dictator Moammar Khadafy. Masud is facing charges, including the destruction of an aircraft resulting in death.

William Barr, the then US Attorney General, announced the charges at a press conference and said,

“At long last, this man (Abu Agila Masud) responsible for killing Americans and many others will be subject to justice for his crimes.”

Barr also spoke to the victims’ families and said,

“30 years ago, we would do everything possible to bring the perpetrators to justice. During my last weeks in the office in 2020, I pushed this hard — it was unfinished business. We announced the charges just before I left and started initial contacts with Libyans.”

He added,

“It is critical that terrorists know that they will be tracked down and punished no matter how long it takes.”

It is not yet clear how the US government negotiated the extradition of Masud. However, in November 2021, Abu Agila Masud was supposedly kidnapped and held by the armed forces in Libya. Masud’s family claimed that the Libyan government did not take active steps in the case.

Megrahi’s lawyer Aamer Anwar also raised questions about Masud’s arrest. He said,

“The US criminal complaint against Masud states that he bought the clothes to put into the Samsonite suitcase that is claimed went on to blow up Pan Am Flight 103. The problem for the US department of justice is that the case against Megrahi is still based on the eyewitness testimony of Toni Gauci, stating that Megrahi bought the clothes.”

He added,

“How can both Megrahi and Abu Agila Masud now be held responsible? In July this year, the UK Supreme Court rejected our leave to appeal seeking to overturn the conviction of the Scottish High Court which maintained Al-Megrahi was the bomber.”

One of the victims’ families does not want Masud’s trials to be held in the US

According to several court documents, Abu Agila Masud was a professional bomb maker and had been a significant part of many operations outside Libya. He is also known to have joined Libya’s External Security Organization Intelligence service in the 1970s.

A spokesperson for the UK Crown Office and Prosecutor Fiscal Service stated,

“Scottish prosecutors and police, working with UK Government and US colleagues, will continue to pursue this investigation, with the sole aim of bringing those who acted along with Al Megrahi to justice.”

In 2021 Najla Mangoush, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Libya, was asked whether Masud’s extradition was possible. She stated,

“We, as a government, are very open in terms of collaboration in this matter.”

The victim’s families have expressed their gratitude to the British and US law enforcement officials and mentioned,

“Our loved ones will never be forgotten, and those who are responsible for their murder on December 21, 1988, must face justice.”

Masud would be the first accused in the Lockerbie bombing to face trials in the US. The father of one of the victims of the terror attack, Dr. Jim Swire, spoke against the fact that the trials would be in the US. According to Swire, the trials must be held in the UN court. He said,

“There are so many loose ends that hang from this dreadful case, largely emanating from America, that I think we should remember what Mandela said to the world and us then and seek a court that is free of being beholden to any nation directly involved in the atrocity itself.”

According to Scottish officials, the victims’ families have been notified that the alleged terrorist has been arrested and is in US custody. Abu Agila Masud was supposed to appear in Washington DC's federal court on Monday.