In the wake of the extradition of Libyan Bouajila Massoud al-Marimi to the US for his alleged involvement in the Lockerbie case, Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah said the Libyan state has settled the matter long ago and refuses to have the issue dredged up again.
The PM, however, underscored the need to distinguish between the responsibility of the Libyan state and the individual criminal course of the case.
The US says that al-Marimi, a former explosives expert with Gaddafi's intelligence service, was a key member of a cell that planned, made, and placed the bomb on Pam Am flight 103, which killed 270 people.
In a televised address to the nation on Friday evening, Dbeibah said there is no "political acumen" in the closing of the case by the Gaddafi regime as the latter settled the matter by paying billions to the west.
The PM confirmed that they assigned a defence team for Massoud "regardless of his involvement in terrorism," and procedures are underway to arrange a visit for his family to see him in the US.
"The Lockerbie case now concerns a terrorist who made explosives and stuffed them in the luggage of travelers, killing 270 innocent lives, and there is no honour in defending such crime," Dbeibah said.
He added that Libya has, over the past 50 years, been fully cooperative with the US authorities in the investigations related to the Lockerbie case, and the 2003 agreement between Libya and the Security Council on this case obliges them to do so.
Two years ago, the US brought charges against Massoud, who holds Libyan and Tunisian nationalities, and Interpol issued an arrest warrant against him before the Government of National Unity existed," Dbeibah added.
"It has become imperative for us to cooperate in this file for the sake of Libya’s interest and stability and to erase the mark of terrorism from the Libyan people’s forehead."
The PM insisted that the extradition was lawful and that, unlike previous authorities, his government preserved Libyan sovereignty and cooperated within the "international judicial framework."
"In violation of Libyan laws, the Gaddafi regime handed over the suspects for trial outside Libya, and the investigation sessions were attended by foreign officers."
He concluded by accusing some of invoking fake arguments about sovereignty while on the other hand, they are trafficking drugs and are seeking the help of foreign countries to kill their own people.
