Obama administration urged to pursue Pan Am case against Qadhafi

The bombing of Pan Am flight 103 in 1988 resulted in the deaths of 270 people, including 189 Americans.

    Several top U.S. lawmakers and political leaders have urged the Obama administration to pursue the Pan Am Flight 103 bombing case against Libyan leader Muammar Qadhafi in case he is arrested and prosecuted by the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Justice for the U.S. victims of terrorist attacks committed by Mr. Qadhafi and his regime must remain a top priority for our country, Senator Frank Lautenberg said in a letter to the Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

“Mr. Qadhafi be arrested and sent to the ICC, he must stand trial for his terrible crimes against our fellow citizens,” Mr. Lautenberg said.

Mr. Lautenberg urged Ms. Clinton to work with Libya’s transitional government to ensure that if Mr. Qadhafi is tried before the ICC he is charged with these terror attacks perpetrated by him and his regime.

As a first step, I call on this new government to arrest and extradite the mastermind behind the bombing of Pan Am 103, Abdelbaset Mohmed Ali al-Megrahi, so justice can finally be done,  Republican presidential aspirant Mitt Romney said in a statement.

Early this year, the ICC had issued arrest warrants for Muammar Qadhafi, his son Saif al-Islam Qadhafi, and Libya’s intelligence chief Abdullah al-Senussi for crimes against humanity allegedly committed against civilians in Libya since February 15 this year.

Jens David Ohlin, international law expert and associate professor of Law at Cornell University, said with the Qadhafi regime crumbling, the next step is to await their transfer to The Hague to await prosecution before the International Criminal Court.

“I would be willing to wager money that the chief prosecutor will prosecute Mr. Qadhafi, his intelligence chief and his son Saif under a new and controversial doctrine known as indirect co-perpetration” he said.