The nephew of Abu Agila Masoud Al-Marimi, a former Libyan intelligence operative accused of being involved in the 1988 Lockerbie bombing, has publicly spoken out about the circumstance surrounding his uncle’s recent extradition to the United States.
Abdelmonem Al-Marimi told reporters on Thursday that a group of armed men a broke into his uncle’s house in Tripoli’s Abu Salim neighbourhood on 17 November and abducted him. He said both the daughter and wife of Abu Agila Masoud were assaulted by the armed group as both women attempted to stop men from taking him away.
Appearing visibly emotional, Abdelmonem Al-Marimi described the abduction of his uncle as “ugly” and “inhumane”, adding that the incident traumatized children living in the family’s house.
On November 25th, Abdelmonem Al-Marimi said the family received a phone call from Abu Agila, telling them that he is being held by a militia known as the Joint Force in the port city of Misurata.
Abdelmonem Al-Marimi said that the family learned about Abu Agila extradition to the U.S. through the media. Following the extradition, Abdelmonem said the family tried to meet with Prime Minister of the Government of National Unity, Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh, to discuss Abu Agila’s case, but the premier refused to meet with the family members.
Abdelmonem Al-Marimi said his uncle’s extradition to the U.S. will “open the door for blackmailing Libya” as the Lockerbie bombing case is widely considered closed following the conviction of Abdelbaset Al-Megrahi.
The Guardian: Dbeibeh’s government, US agreed on abduction of Masud 3 months ago