Bush administration officials today hailed the capture of the terror suspect Abu Abbas in Iraq as the long-sought “nexus” between Baghdad and terrorism, and they met to discuss whether he should be tried in the United States on charges related to the hijacking of the Achille Lauro cruise ship in 1985. Administration lawyers said they believed that they were no longer bound by the amnesty status granted to Mr. Abbas under the 1993 Oslo accords. The Palestinian Liberation Organization demanded Ms. Abbas’s release, but the United States rejected the demand. Federal lawyers are exploring whether to seek an indictment against Mr. Abbas in the killing of Leon Klinghoffer, the 69-year-old American passenger who was shot and pushed in his wheelchair into the Mediterranean. Mr. Abbas has long been cited as the mastermind of the hijacking. Some administration officials were said to be leaning toward an indictment, despite years of legal inaction in the case by the United States. Mr. Klinghoffer’s family and victims’ rights group quickly pushed for him to be brought to justice in America. Full Story
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