Abdul Majid Giaka
Encyclopedia
Abdul Majid Giaka is an alleged double agent
who defected from Jamahiriya el-Mukhabarat
(Libya
n intelligence service) and became a CIA asset in August 1988.
Giaka's testimony at the Pan Am Flight 103 bombing trial
in September 2000, which led to the conviction of Abdelbaset al-Megrahi of sabotaging Pan Am Flight 103
on 21 December 1988, was called into question by the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission
in June 2007.
(LAA) at Luqa airport
in Malta
, which he alleged was normally filled by a member of the JSO.
In August 1988 Giaka contacted the US embassy in Malta, and indicated a willingness to provide them with information. He told them that he disapproved of Libyan involvement in terrorism
, but the final straw was that he had been summoned back to Tripoli
in connection with an incident at the airport involving an Egyptian woman. Giaka said that at that stage he wanted to go to the USA, but he agreed to stay in position at Luqa airport to give information to the Americans about terrorist activities. Thereafter he had regular meetings at about monthly intervals with his CIA handlers. Eventually during 1990 he did return to Libya when the Americans stopped making payments to him. In July 1991 however he finally left Libya for Malta from where he was taken on board a US navy ship. Over a period of about three weeks he was questioned by members of the US Justice Department and provided certain information to them. Since then he has been in America on a witness protection scheme
.
Giaka endeavoured from the outset to give a false impression of his importance within the JSO in the hope of persuading the CIA that he was a valuable asset who might in the future be able to provide valuable information. Thus he initially told them that when he joined the JSO he was in the secret files section, when in fact he was in vehicle maintenance; he claimed to be related to King Idris
, which he was not. He also claimed that Muammar al-Gaddafi
and Guido de Marco
, former president of Malta, were in an international Masonic
conspiracy. His continued association with the American authorities was largely motivated by financial considerations. In addition to receiving a monthly salary, initially $1000 increasing to $1500, he also persuaded the CIA to pay for sham surgery to his arm with a view to preventing the risk that he would have to do military service in Libya, and tried to persuade them to finance a car rental business which at one stage he said he wanted to set up in Malta.
office. In July 1991, he added the information that the other accused Libyan, Lamin Khalifah Fhimah
, was the custodian of these explosives. The details of this story only emerged some two and a half years after the initial account, and contained a number of inconsistencies with the first account.
Giaka told investigators that he had seen Megrahi and Fhimah at the luggage carousel, that Fhimah collected a brown Samsonite
type suitcase which he took through Customs, that then he met the two accused who were accompanied by two other people one of whom was introduced to him by the first accused as Abougela Masoud, a technician, that Vincent Vassallo (an associate of the second accused) was also present having arrived in the second accused’s new car, and that they then drove off. As other evidence established that the date of delivery of the second accused’s car was 14 December 1988, it follows that if Giaka’s story is true this incident must have occurred on 20 December 1988. He maintained that he had told his CIA handlers about this incident at the time. The respective CIA cables for this period disclose no mention of this incident at all. Furthermore, Mr Vassallo in evidence said that on 20 December 1988 he was not at the airport, and that in fact both accused came to his house that evening.
Giaka told about a conversation in about 1986 with Said Rashid, the head of the operations section of JSO, when the latter asked if it would be possible to put an unaccompanied bag on board a British aircraft. Giaka said he would investigate, and asked his assistant, Ahmed Salah, also said to be a JSO officer, if it could be done. Salah later reported that it could be done, and Abdul Majid wrote a report to Said Rashid to this effect, sending the report through his superior, the first accused. In his evidence Giaka accepted that he had never reported this to the CIA. He said that his reason for not reporting it was for personal security reasons.
The court stated in its judgement: "We are unable to accept Abdul Majid Giaka as a credible and reliable witness on any matter except his description of the organisation of the JSO and the personnel involved there."
Double agent
A double agent, commonly abbreviated referral of double secret agent, is a counterintelligence term used to designate an employee of a secret service or organization, whose primary aim is to spy on the target organization, but who in fact is a member of that same target organization oneself. They...
who defected from Jamahiriya el-Mukhabarat
Jamahiriya el-Mukhabarat
Mukhabarat el-Jamahiriya is the national intelligence service of Libya. During the 2011 Libyan civil war, agency director Abuzed Omar Dorda was captured by anti-Gaddafi forces, and many of the agency's functions were disrupted or usurped as a result of the conflict.-Operations:Mukhabarat...
(Libya
Libya
Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....
n intelligence service) and became a CIA asset in August 1988.
Giaka's testimony at the Pan Am Flight 103 bombing trial
Pan Am Flight 103 bombing trial
The Pan Am Flight 103 bombing trial began on 3 May 2000, 11 years, 4 months and 13 days after the destruction of Pan Am Flight 103 on 21 December 1988...
in September 2000, which led to the conviction of Abdelbaset al-Megrahi of sabotaging Pan Am Flight 103
Pan Am Flight 103
Pan Am Flight 103 was Pan American World Airways' third daily scheduled transatlantic flight from London Heathrow Airport to New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport...
on 21 December 1988, was called into question by the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission
Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission
The Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission is a non-departmental public body in Scotland, established by the Criminal Procedure Act 1995 ....
in June 2007.
Background
In 1984, Giaka joined the Jamahariya Security Organisation (“JSO”), later named the External Security Organisation. His initial employment was in the vehicle maintenance department for about eighteen months. In December 1985 Giaka was appointed as assistant to the station manager of Libyan Arab AirlinesLibyan Arab Airlines
Libyan Airlines , known as Libyan Arab Airlines over several decades, is the national flag carrier airline of Libya. Based in Tripoli, it operates scheduled passenger and cargo services within Libya and to Europe, North Africa and the Middle East, the majority of which leave from Tripoli...
(LAA) at Luqa airport
Malta International Airport
Malta International Airport is the only airport in Malta and it serves the whole Maltese Archipelago. It is located between Luqa and Gudja. It occupies the location of the former RAF Luqa and was completely re-furbished, becoming fully operational on 25 March 1992...
in Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
, which he alleged was normally filled by a member of the JSO.
In August 1988 Giaka contacted the US embassy in Malta, and indicated a willingness to provide them with information. He told them that he disapproved of Libyan involvement in terrorism
Terrorism
Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...
, but the final straw was that he had been summoned back to Tripoli
Tripoli
Tripoli is the capital and largest city in Libya. It is also known as Western Tripoli , to distinguish it from Tripoli, Lebanon. It is affectionately called The Mermaid of the Mediterranean , describing its turquoise waters and its whitewashed buildings. Tripoli is a Greek name that means "Three...
in connection with an incident at the airport involving an Egyptian woman. Giaka said that at that stage he wanted to go to the USA, but he agreed to stay in position at Luqa airport to give information to the Americans about terrorist activities. Thereafter he had regular meetings at about monthly intervals with his CIA handlers. Eventually during 1990 he did return to Libya when the Americans stopped making payments to him. In July 1991 however he finally left Libya for Malta from where he was taken on board a US navy ship. Over a period of about three weeks he was questioned by members of the US Justice Department and provided certain information to them. Since then he has been in America on a witness protection scheme
United States Federal Witness Protection Program
The United States Federal Witness Protection Program is a witness protection program administered by the United States Department of Justice and operated by the United States Marshals Service that is designed to protect threatened witnesses before, during, and after a trial.A few states, including...
.
Giaka endeavoured from the outset to give a false impression of his importance within the JSO in the hope of persuading the CIA that he was a valuable asset who might in the future be able to provide valuable information. Thus he initially told them that when he joined the JSO he was in the secret files section, when in fact he was in vehicle maintenance; he claimed to be related to King Idris
Idris I of Libya
Idris, GBE , , was the first and only king of Libya, reigning from 1951 to 1969, and the Chief of the Senussi Muslim order.- Early life :...
, which he was not. He also claimed that Muammar al-Gaddafi
Muammar al-Gaddafi
Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar Gaddafi or "September 1942" 20 October 2011), commonly known as Muammar Gaddafi or Colonel Gaddafi, was the official ruler of the Libyan Arab Republic from 1969 to 1977 and then the "Brother Leader" of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya from 1977 to 2011.He seized power in a...
and Guido de Marco
Guido de Marco
Guido de Marco was a Maltese politician, who served as the sixth President of Malta from 1999 to 2004. A noted statesman and lawmaker, de Marco also served as Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of the Interior, Justice, and Minister for Foreign Affairs.He is widely regarded as one of the great...
, former president of Malta, were in an international Masonic
Freemasonry
Freemasonry is a fraternal organisation that arose from obscure origins in the late 16th to early 17th century. Freemasonry now exists in various forms all over the world, with a membership estimated at around six million, including approximately 150,000 under the jurisdictions of the Grand Lodge...
conspiracy. His continued association with the American authorities was largely motivated by financial considerations. In addition to receiving a monthly salary, initially $1000 increasing to $1500, he also persuaded the CIA to pay for sham surgery to his arm with a view to preventing the risk that he would have to do military service in Libya, and tried to persuade them to finance a car rental business which at one stage he said he wanted to set up in Malta.
Lockerbie trial
Although most of Giaka's testimony at the Lockerbie trial was rejected by the court, it was his allegation that Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, one of the two Libyans indicted for the bombing, was an officer of the JSO intelligence agency which led to Megrahi's conviction. At an early meeting with the CIA in October 1988, Giaka was asked if he knew anything of weapons on Malta. He said that he was aware of eight kilos of explosives which had been stored for months at the LAA office. He understood that they had been introduced some time in 1985 when Megrahi was in Malta. They were not kept in a safe, merely in a locked drawer in the desk. He had been asked to help in transferring them to the Libyan embassy. A further report shortly thereafter indicated that they were kept in the VallettaValletta
Valletta is the capital of Malta, colloquially known as Il-Belt in Maltese. It is located in the central-eastern portion of the island of Malta, and the historical city has a population of 6,098. The name "Valletta" is traditionally reserved for the historic walled citadel that serves as Malta's...
office. In July 1991, he added the information that the other accused Libyan, Lamin Khalifah Fhimah
Lamin Khalifah Fhimah
Lamin Khalifa Fhimah was a station manager for Libyan Arab Airlines at Luqa Airport, Malta. On 31 January 2001, he was found not guilty and acquitted of 270 counts of murder in the Pan Am Flight 103 bombing trial by a panel of three Scottish judges sitting in a special court at Camp Zeist,...
, was the custodian of these explosives. The details of this story only emerged some two and a half years after the initial account, and contained a number of inconsistencies with the first account.
Giaka told investigators that he had seen Megrahi and Fhimah at the luggage carousel, that Fhimah collected a brown Samsonite
Samsonite
The Samsonite Corporation makes luggage with its products ranging from large suitcases to small toiletries bags and briefcases. It was started in Denver, Colorado, USA in 1910 byJesse Shwayder, as the Shwayder Trunk Manufacturing Company. Shwayder named one of his initial cases "Samson", after the...
type suitcase which he took through Customs, that then he met the two accused who were accompanied by two other people one of whom was introduced to him by the first accused as Abougela Masoud, a technician, that Vincent Vassallo (an associate of the second accused) was also present having arrived in the second accused’s new car, and that they then drove off. As other evidence established that the date of delivery of the second accused’s car was 14 December 1988, it follows that if Giaka’s story is true this incident must have occurred on 20 December 1988. He maintained that he had told his CIA handlers about this incident at the time. The respective CIA cables for this period disclose no mention of this incident at all. Furthermore, Mr Vassallo in evidence said that on 20 December 1988 he was not at the airport, and that in fact both accused came to his house that evening.
Giaka told about a conversation in about 1986 with Said Rashid, the head of the operations section of JSO, when the latter asked if it would be possible to put an unaccompanied bag on board a British aircraft. Giaka said he would investigate, and asked his assistant, Ahmed Salah, also said to be a JSO officer, if it could be done. Salah later reported that it could be done, and Abdul Majid wrote a report to Said Rashid to this effect, sending the report through his superior, the first accused. In his evidence Giaka accepted that he had never reported this to the CIA. He said that his reason for not reporting it was for personal security reasons.
The court stated in its judgement: "We are unable to accept Abdul Majid Giaka as a credible and reliable witness on any matter except his description of the organisation of the JSO and the personnel involved there."
External links
- Lockerbie Case Judgement
- Lockerbie: the story and the lessons by Rodney Wallis (2001)