LONDON: The family of the Libyan accused of bringing down Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie have said the US staged an abduction using a local militia leader, The Observer reported on Sunday.
Mohammed Abouagela Masud was charged last week in the US more than 30 years after the 1988 bombing that killed 270 people.
The 71-year-old’s family say he was kidnapped from his home in Tripoli in November by gunmen led by a local warlord on the orders of the US.
Masud, who had previously served a prison sentence in Libya over crimes committed while working for the Qaddafi regime, was detained for 10 days before being transferred to US custody in Malta.
Libya and the US do not share an extradition treaty, and no warrant was issued for his capture. However, officials in Libya have referred to an Interpol warrant as justification.
US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan last week said Masud had been transferred “in a lawful manner according to established procedures.”
But Diana Eltahawy, Amnesty International’s deputy director for the Middle East and North Africa, said: “We have long called for accountability for crimes (including the Lockerbie attack) under international law but this has to be done in a manner that respects due process and upholds fair trial rights.”
She added: “In this case even a facade of legality was not maintained … there was no hearing for (Masud) to challenge the lawfulness of his detention and transfer.”
In response to the claims, Libyan Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh said Masud’s transfer was “lawful” and officials had worked within an “international judicial framework to extradite accused citizens.”
