WASHINGTON, D.C. – Sen. Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ) today joined families of the victims of the Pan Am Flight 103 bombing to announce a final resolution of their claims against the Libyan government. In 2003, Libya accepted responsibility for the Pan Am attack but never completed its obligation to the families. Legislation championed by Sen. Lautenberg, The Libyan Claims Resolution Act, created a process to resolve all outstanding U.S. terrorism claims against Libya—and bring these families long-overdue justice.
“These families of the Pan Am 103 bombing victims have waited 20 years for Libya to pay for its deadly acts of violence—and now they have received long-overdue justice,” Sen. Lautenberg said. “I am pleased that our relentless pressure and support for terror victims has led to this historic moment.”
“Until today, Libyan officials claimed it had long fulfilled justice to the families. For many years, we were the forgotten victims of terrorism. Many people in our own government doubted justice would come – with the exception of Senator Lautenberg – who has stood with us since the beginning,” Kara Weipz, spokesperson for Victims of Pan Am Flight 103, said. “Senator Lautenberg is a hero to the families and to the memory of our loved ones.”
The families of the Pan Am bombing victims have sought justice from the Libyan government for nearly 20 years. On December 21, 1988, Pan Am Flight 103 was destroyed over Lockerbie, Scotland by a bomb placed by Libyan terrorists, killing 270, including 38 from New Jersey.
On October 31, 2008, Libya deposited into a United States account the final amounts it owed to settle the Pan Am 103 case and other cases brought by U.S. terror victims, including the bombing of the Labelle discotheque in Berlin, Germany. Libya’s satisfaction of these obligations was facilitated by the Libyan Claims resolution Act, which:
- Provided for Libya to set up a fund to compensate U.S. victims of Libyan terror;
- Required the Secretary of State to make a certification to Congress that the fund contains adequate funds to pay the settlements in full and to pay fair compensation to others who died or were injured as the result of Libyan terror; and
- Once Libya paid adequate money into the fund to compensate all victims, provided for the dismissal of cases against Libya arising from terrorist acts that occurred before Libya was taken of the state sponsors of terrorism list in 2006.
The Senate legislation was also sponsored by Sens. Joe Biden (D-DE), Richard Lugar (R-IN), John Warner (R-VA), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Carl Levin (D-MI) and George Voinovich (R-OH). In 2006, the Bush Administration removed Libya from the State Department’s list of state sponsors of terrorism without final resolution for U.S. victims.
Lautenberg is one of the Senate’s leaders in seeking justice for victims of state-sponsored terrorism. For years, Lautenberg has pressured the Bush administration to resolve these cases and aid victims and families before the U.S. could normalize its relationship with Libya.
In 2008, the Senator’s legislation for victims of terrorism was signed into law as part of the Fiscal Year 2008 National Defense Authorization Act. This law reaffirmed the rights of plaintiffs to sue state sponsors of terrorism; allowed the seizure of hidden commercial assets belonging to terrorist states; and limited the number of appeals that a terrorist state can pursue in U.S. courts among other things.
Lautenberg also blocked all U.S. government assistance to Libya and the appointment of a U.S. ambassador to Libya until these outstanding cases were resolved.
In 1996, Congress passed and President Clinton signed the Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act and Lautenberg’s “Flatow Amendment” into law. Those measures gave American victims of state-sponsored terrorism the right to sue the responsible state.
# # #
