Terrorist Attack Killed 170 People Over African Desert
A federal judge has
ordered the Government of Libya and six of its officials to pay a
total of approximately $6 billion in damages arising from the
mid-air suitcase bombing of a French-operated UTA Flight 772, DC-10
wide-body jet. The 1989 attack killed 170 people from Europe,
Africa and the United States and was one of the deadliest terrorist
events in commercial aviation history before September 11, 2001. It
came only nine months after a similar suitcase bombing of Pan Am
Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, which killed 270 people.
The case stems from the September 19, 1989 bombing of UTA Flight
772, which was flying from N'djamena, Chad to Paris, France when a
suitcase bomb exploded in the cargo hold at an altitude of 35,000
feet. The aircraft crashed into the Tenere Desert in northeastern
Niger, killing all 170 passengers and crew, including seven
Americans. The families of the Americans brought suit in federal
court, along with the US firm that owned the aircraft, pursuant to
a 1996 law that stripped terrorist states such as Libya of their
immunity from suit. Among the seven Americans killed on the flight
was Bonnie Pugh, the wife of then U.S. Ambassador to Chad, Robert
Pugh.
Stuart H. Newberger, the lead lawyer for the victim families,
said, "This award proves that the rule of law will always prevail
over state-sponsored terrorism. At the end of the day, all 170
victims of UTA Flight 772 will be remembered and honored by this
decision. Indeed, it is because of rulings like this that Libya has
rejected terrorism and re-joined the civilized nations of the
world."
Background
Shortly after the UTA 772 tragedy, the Libyan regime, under the
leadership of its leader Colonel Muammar Qaddaffi, came under
suspicion as the bombing occurred so soon after the Lockerbie
tragedy. Following several years of intense and detailed
investigation, leading French terrorism investigator Magistrate
Judge Jean-Louis Bruguiere, with the assistance of the FBI and
other law enforcement agencies, issued a detailed report concluding
that Libya was directly responsible for the bombing.
Subsequently, in 1999, a French criminal court convicted in
absentia six Libyan officials for their direct role in the UTA 772
bombing. The six convicted officials remain in Libya, which has
refused to extradite them to France.

Over the last few years, Libya has voluntarily paid several
hundred million dollars in damages to the European and African
victims of the UTA 772 bombing, mostly through the Qaddaffi
Charitable Foundation, which is headed by Saif Qaddafi, the
leader's Western-educated son. It also paid almost $2 billion to
settle the Pan Am 103/Lockerbie case, a move which helped Libya's
efforts to end United Nations sanctions of the country. The UTA 772
case decided today in Washington was brought separately from the
French proceedings and settlements because the U.S. victims have
the right to sue state sponsors of terrorism as well as government
officials -- a right which the European and African victims do not
have.
Court Order
The court order issued today was the result of a case first
filed in the Washington, D.C. federal court in 2002. In April of
last year, after several years of legal delays by Libya, U.S.
District Judge Henry H. Kennedy ruled that Libya was directly
responsible for the UTA 772 bombing, basing his decision on
detailed and mostly undisputed evidence from both the French
criminal case as well as information provided by the US Department
of State. The US Government has supported the US victims in the
case and through quiet diplomatic efforts with the Libyan
Government.
In August of last year, Judge Kennedy conducted a three-day
trial to determine the amount of damages Libya and its officials
must pay the families and the owner of the aircraft. Significantly,
this is the first case ever decided in which the terrorist state
appeared in court and had attorneys defend the case through final
judgment. Libya's decision to appear in court and defend the case
was based in part on its well-publicized abandonment of terrorism
and nuclear weapon development, as well its desire to engage the
United States and the European Union on political and commercial
levels. It was on that basis that President Bush removed Libya from
the "state sponsor of terrorism list" in 2006 and restored
diplomatic relations for the first time in decades, a decision
which followed earlier actions to lift United Nations' sanctions
and other commercial restrictions on the Qaddaffi regime.
The rapid improvement in U.S.-Libya relations was demonstrated
just this month when Libyan Foreign Minister Abdel Rahman Mohammed
Shalgam became the first high-ranking Libyan official to visit
Washington in over 36 years. In addition to meetings with Secretary
of State Condoleeza Rice, Shalgam met with a number of CEOs from
some of the largest U.S. companies doing business with Libya.
Commerce between U.S. companies and Libya amounted to several
billion dollars just last year, an amount that is likely to
increase greatly. As the direct result of the president's lifting
of economic sanctions, most major U.S. oil companies are now paying
billions of dollars in fees and royalties directly to the Libyan
Government for oil and gas concessions, and Libya itself is
spending hundreds of millions of dollars in the U.S. for equipment,
materials, and services.
John Metzger, counsel for Interlease, Inc., the American firm
that owned the DC-10 aircraft, said, "The day of accountability for
Libya has been a long time coming. We are grateful that the court
has determined that Libya committed this terrorist act. While
nothing will bring back these loved ones, this decision makes clear
that terrorism is not only abhorrent, but hits the terrorist state
where it hurts -- in their pocketbook."

Libya has not announced whether it will appeal the court order,
but will have until February 25 in which to make that decision. It
has already acknowledged to President Bush that it will honor U.S.
court judgments as part of the new relationship with the United
States. In the absence of a settlement of the judgment, the growing
commerce between Libya and these US companies will be subject to
compulsory court attachment to satisfy the award.