Libyan Man Confesses to Lockerbie Bombing Under Questioning

Fri Oct 10 2025 09:09:16 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)

In a startling revelation, US prosecutors state that a Libyan man admitted his involvement in the 1988 Lockerbie bombing, along with other attacks. However, the defendant claims his confession was coerced.

Abu Agila Mas'ud Kheir al-Marimi, a Libyan national, is facing trial for his alleged role in the infamous Lockerbie bombing that killed 270 people. Prosecutors assert that he confessed his involvement willingly during questioning in 2012, but Mas'ud contends that he was forced into a false confession. His defense attorneys are seeking to suppress his statement in an upcoming trial, arguing it was obtained under duress amidst a post-revolutionary backdrop in Libya.

US prosecutors have claimed that a Libyan man, Abu Agila Mas'ud Kheir al-Marimi, freely confessed to participating in attacks against Americans, including the 1988 Lockerbie bombing and an attempted assassination of a US politician using a bomb-laden overcoat.

Mas'ud, now 74, reportedly confessed to his role in the tragic incident where Pan Am 103 was shot down over Lockerbie, Scotland, killing 270 individuals, while being questioned at a Libyan detention facility in 2012. He asserts, however, that this confession was not voluntary, claiming he was threatened by three masked men who coerced him out of fear for his family.

His defense lawyers are currently working to ensure that this alleged confession does not become a part of the evidence in his upcoming trial in Washington next year. They argue that the confession was obtained under duress during a chaotic post-revolutionary period in Libya following the fall of Colonel Gaddafi in 2011.

In a counter-argument, prosecutors from the US Department of Justice have maintained that they can present evidence demonstrating the confession was 'voluntary, reliable and accurate,' and highlight its relevance to prove Mas'ud's involvement in major terrorist attacks against Americans.

Mas'ud, who has pleaded not guilty, previously served as a colonel in Libya's intelligence service and was apprehended in 2022. His confession, which was initially revealed to the public in 2020, is being challenged based on claims of duress and coercion during his interrogation by authorities.

Details surrounding the confession's validity have surfaced, with the US government asserting that during questioning, Mas'ud provided detailed accounts of his involvement in the Lockerbie bombing as well as the bombing of a West Berlin nightclub in 1986 that resulted in the deaths of U.S. servicemen.

A hearing concerning the future of the confession as admissible evidence is to be scheduled, underscoring the complexities surrounding this case involving one of the most notorious terrorist attacks in history.