Abu Agila Mohammed Mas’ud Kheir Al-Marimi argues there was ‘a cloak and dagger operation conducted in the dead of night’.
A suspect in the Lockerbie bombing claims he was illegally removed from Libya and handed over “hooded and bound” to FBI agents.
The Libyan argues there was “a cloak and dagger operation conducted in the dead of night” to remove him from Libya to stand trial in the US. He has now asked a Washington DC judge to throw his case out of court.
This is despite the former Scottish Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain KC telling the Scottish Parliament she had received confirmation that Al-Marimi was transferred to US custody “on a lawful basis”.
The US Government charged him with having a role in the bombing in December 2020, and formally requested his “extradition, expulsion or otherwise lawful removal” from Libya to stand trial. At the time, Al-Marimi was serving a jail sentence in Libya for attacking rebel forces during the uprising against Colonel Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.
He was released from prison on compassionate grounds on 30 September 2021 and returned to his family in Tripoli. Two weeks later, he claims a group of armed men wearing masks came to his house and arrested him without telling him why or who they were.
Defence lawyers for Al-Marimi claim this “abduction” was carried out by a militia with “a reputation for brutality and disdain for human rights”.
They allege Al-Marimi was dragged across the floor “with no care for his health and mobility issues” and that his family members were also attacked. He was then taken to a prison and placed in solitary confinement for several days.
On 11 December 2022, Al-Marimi was told to pack his belongings and was handed over to the FBI.
It is understood the FBI questioned Al-Marimi and performed medical examinations on board the flight to the US.
The defence says the militia group staged an illegal kidnapping when diplomatic negotiations ground to a halt.
On the other hand, the US Government says under American law, the court’s jurisdiction was not contingent on the way in which the defendant is brought before it, including by forcible abduction. The prosecution also said the limited exceptions to this rule do not apply in Al-Marimi’s case.
In their submission to the court, the US Government said: “Libya was permitted to transfer the defendant to the US under any method it chose.”
The added: “Any actions of the Libyan militias are not attributable to the US, as would be required for this claim to succeed.”