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| Africa: North |
| Libya, Germany sign $35M disco bombing settlement |
| 2004-09-03 |
| Libya signed an agreement to pay $35 million in compensation for non-U.S. victims in the 1986 bombing of disco in Berlin, the latest step in Libya's attempts to put its international pariah status behind it. The money will be distributed among 168 claimants: Germans who were wounded or suffered psychological damage and family of a Turkish woman killed in the blast. The April 5, 1986 bombing of the La Belle discotheque in west Berlin also killed two U.S. servicemen and wounded at total of 230 people. Lawyers are seeking separate compensation in U.S. courts for American victims. An executive of a foundation run by Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi's son signed the agreement with German lawyers representing the families of the victims. "The negotiations were very hard but we managed to overcome all the obstacles," Ali Abdel Salam, the executive manager of the Libyan foundation, said a a news conference following the signing. Hans-Joachim Ehrig, one of four German lawyers who sat at the negotiating table with the Libyans, said through a translator, "This is a happy day for the victims who were waiting all those years to get their compensation." The compensation will be paid within six months. |
| Posted by:Steve White |