Libya’s High Council of State rejects calls to reopen Lockerbie case

By Moataz Wanis

TRIPOLI, Libya (AA) – Libya’s High Council of State has rejected any calls for reopening the case of the 1988 bombing of a US passenger plane over Scotland.

In a statement, the Tripoli-based council called for an explanation of the disappearance of a Libyan citizen accused by Washington of involvement in the bombing, which came to be known as the “Lockerbie” case.

“The file of the Lockerbie case has been completely closed from a political and legal point of view under an agreement reached between the US and Libya in 2008," the statement said.

The statement called on Libya’s parliament, the Presidency Council and the Attorney General to show solidarity and take appropriate measures to end what it described as "absurdity".

The case resurfaced against the backdrop of the disappearance of former Libyan intelligence officer Abu Agila Mohammad Masud Kheir Al-Marimi, who is accused by Washington of involvement in the bombing, in which 270 people were killed.

In 1991, two Libyan nationals were charged in the bombing: Abdel Baset Ali al-Megrahi and Lamen Khalifa Fhimah.

Megrahi was found guilty in Scotland of the Lockerbie bombing in 2001 and freed in 2009 on compassionate release grounds before dying of cancer in 2012.

*Ikram Imane Kouachi contributed to this report.