Death Penalty News

Abu Agila Masud, a Libyan intelligence official recently extradited to U.S. over suspected involvement in the 1988 Lockerbie bombing, will not face the death penalty as he appeared in a U.S. court. Masud is facing multiple charges, including destruction of aircraft resulting in death. Prosecutors said at Monday’s hearing that they would not seek the death penalty and Masud could face life imprisonment if convicted. Each of the charges he faces include a possible sentence of life in prison, the death penalty or a fine of up to $250,000. However, U.S. prosecutors told the court they would not seek death, as they believe the punishment was not legally available at the time of his alleged crime. According to the BBC, Masud is currently seeking legal counsel, which the judge said was his right after Masud rejected the offer of free representation from the public defender’s office. Although he is the third Libyan intelligence official charged in the U.S. in connection with the attack, Masud ...

A Libyan man accused of being involved in making the bomb that destroyed Pan Am flight 103 over the town of Lockerbie in December 1988 is now in US custody, authorities in the United States and Scotland said Sunday. The US charged Abu Agila Mohammad Mas’ud Kheir Al-Marimi for his alleged involvement in the bombing two years ago, a spokesman for the UK Crown Office and Prosecutor Fiscal Service told CNN. The attack killed 270 people as the bomb detonated over the Scottish town as it flew from London to New York. The US Justice Department issued a statement Sunday morning confirming that the US had “taken custody of alleged Pan Am flight 103 bombmaker” Abu Agila Mohammad Mas’ud Kheir Al-Marimi, saying he is expected to make his “initial appearance in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia,” according to a spokesperson. The statement did not identify a specific date for his court appearance, but said more details would be forthcoming. Al-Marimi had been in custody in Libya ...