Pan Am Flight 103: Alleged bomb maker in 1988 attack makes first U.S. court appearance
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — A man accused of making the bomb that destroyed Pan Am Flight 103 in 1988 made his first appearance in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on federal charges.
Abu Agila Mohammad Mas'ud Kheir Al-Marimi, 71, is charged with three counts in connection with the deadly terror attack.
"This is a name that has been on our radar," Glenn Johnson said. "For years, we've known about him."
Glenn and Carole Johnson's daughter, Beth Ann, was among the 270 people killed as a result of the bombing.
"She truly was every mother's ideal child," Carole Johnson said.
Mas'ud did not enter a plea while in court Monday. Through an interpreter, Mas'ud said wanted to hire an attorney of his own and asked for a week to do so, according to CBS News.
This latest indictment and arrest mark the third time charges have been brought by the U.S. against someone in connection to the incident. However, Mas'ud would be the first of the three charged to stand trial on American soil.
Another Libyan — Abdel Basset Ali Al-Megrahi — was convicted and began serving a life sentence in Scotland in 2001. He was released after a cancer diagnosis and died in 2012.
A third man accused of participating in the bombing was acquitted in a Scottish court.
"The Justice Department has worked for more than three decades to seek justice for the 270 innocent victims of the Pan Am 103 bombing," said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department's National Security Division. "Today, Mas'ud is charged for his alleged role in this heinous act of terror and he will appear in an American courtroom to answer for those crimes. To those who would seek to harm Americans anywhere in the world, know that we will find you however far you run and we will hold you accountable however how long it takes."
"I feel sorry for the defense attorney because this man is so horrible," Carole Johnson said.
Beth Ann Johnson, 21, was a senior at Seton Hill University and finishing up a semester abroad in London. Seated in 36B on the passenger plane traveling from London's Heathrow Airport to John F. Kennedy Airport in New York, Beth Ann Johnson was on her way home for Christmas.
Thirty-eight minutes into that flight, a bomb in the forward cargo area exploded over Lockerbie, Scotland. All 259 people on board and 11 on the ground died.
"Two-hundred seventy people, with one heinous act. That person is not even a human being," Carole Johnson said.
Investigators said an alleged 2012 confession from Mas'ud to Libyan officials and travel records connected him to the crime, prompting the Justice Department in 2020 to announce charges.
"The United States believes we have an extremely compelling case and can clearly prove this case beyond a reasonable doubt at trial," said Michael Sherwin, then the acting U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia.
"This is not something that just happened," Glenn Johnson said. "Our family has kept their feet to the fire and kept the pressure up, and we're seeing a little bit more in the way of results."
Although, the still-grieving parents said they will never have complete closure, this arrest and upcoming trial may finally bring them answers.
"We were never after revenge," Glenn Johnson said. "We were after justice. We wanted to know what happened and why."
Mas'ud's arraignment was delayed for one week. He refused to answer any questions until he hires an attorney. He is due back in court for a pre-trial hearing on Dec. 27.
The charges he's facing each carry a maximum sentence of life in prison or death. The government said it would not seek the death penalty because it wasn't legal at the time of the bombing.
The Johnsons said they plan to be inside the courtroom when Mas'ud's trial begins.
