Confession in Lockerbie Bombing Case: Libyan Man Claims Duress

Sat Oct 11 2025 01:35:37 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)

Abu Agila Mas'ud Kheir al-Marimi, accused of involvement in the Lockerbie bombing, asserts that his confession was forced under threat. US prosecutors dispute this claim, saying they can verify the reliability of his statements.

In an ongoing legal battle, Abu Agila Mas'ud Kheir al-Marimi, a Libyan man charged in the 1988 Lockerbie bombing, claims his confession was coerced. Prosecutors argue that his admission, made during an interrogation in a Libyan facility, is both voluntary and credible. The trial awaits a crucial hearing on whether the statement can be admitted as evidence.

US prosecutors have recently claimed that Abu Agila Mas'ud Kheir al-Marimi, a Libyan man implicated in attacks on Americans including the Lockerbie bombing, freely confessed to his involvement during interrogations in Libya.

In 2012, Mas'ud, now 74, allegedly admitted to playing a role in the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, which killed 270 people. He has maintained that his confession was coerced, asserting that three masked men threatened him and his family to extract the statement.

Lawyers defending Mas'ud are seeking to bar this confession from being used as evidence in his upcoming trial set for next April in Washington, citing claims of threat and duress. The US Department of Justice, however, asserts that they can prove in court the confession was voluntary, reliable and accurate. The confession's details were made public after Mas'ud was charged with building and activating the bomb used in the attack in 2020.

Mas'ud's assertion of coercion stems from the tumultuous period following the revolution that ousted Libya's Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, with lawyers contending he was kidnapped and subjected to intimidation. He alleges a single sheet of paper requiring him to confess was handed to him while he was detained in an unofficial prison facility.

In countering the defense's claims, prosecutors have pointed to corroborative evidence collected over many years, which they argue supports the authenticity of Mas'ud's confession. Furthermore, they refuted Mas'ud's allegations that he was tortured or threatened, citing testimonies from those involved in questioning him.

The upcoming hearing will determine if Mas'ud's confession will be presented to the jury, amidst claims that it constitutes critical evidence regarding two significant terrorist attacks on American targets.