Libya Sets Demands in Berlin Bomb Compensation Talks
June 20, 2004
Hussin Akeel, one of the Libyan negotiators, said meeting the demands would "positively influence" the talks, according to German news magazine Focus.
The demands came as a surprise to German lawyers for the more than 160 non-American victims of the attack on Berlin's "La Belle" nightclub, which killed two American soldiers and a Turkish woman.
A German court ruled in 2001 that the Libyan secret service had planned the attack and sentenced four people to long prison terms. A federal appeals court is expected to decide on Thursday whether the cases have to be tried again.
Although five rounds of talks had been unsuccessful, German negotiators had kept talking about an "open and constructive atmosphere" and said they expected to reach an agreement in the near future.
The amount of money paid to the victims had been the main problem so far as the German lawyers are demanding more money than the Libyans are willing to pay. The money, potentially as much as $40 million (€33.2 million), is expected to come from the charitable foundation of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi.
Gadhafi needs an agreement on the matter in order for Libya to be admitted to an EU partnership program with Mediterranean countries. Membership would help Gadhafi in his efforts to rejoin the international community.