US prosecutors say Libyan freely confessed to Lockerbie bombing

Abu Agila Mas'ud Kheir al-Marimi is said to have admitted his role in the murder of 270 people in the 1988 bombing.

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Abu Agila Mas'ud Kheir al-Marimi is said to have admitted his role in the murder of 270 people when Pan Am 103 was brought down over the Scottish town, when he was questioned in a Libyan detention facility in 2012.

Known as Mas'ud, the 74-year-old has claimed that three masked men forced him to make the statement after threatening him and his family.

His lawyers are trying to stop it from being used as evidence in his trial in Washington next year.

In response, lawyers from the US Department of Justice have said they can prove in court that the statement was "voluntary, reliable and accurate."