On 6 February at 3 am (local time), Zubayr al Bakoush, a Libyan man who is an alleged member of the terrorist group Ansar al Sharia and later of the Benghazi Revolutionary Shura Council (BRSC) and is accused of being a key participant in the 2012 Benghazi attacks, arrived at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland near Washington D.C. on board a special airplane of the FBI.
Later the same day, he made his initial appearance before the Magistrate Judge for the District of Columbia. He was charged in 2015 in a now unsealed eight count U.S. federal indictment, including terrorism offenses, multiple counts of murder, attempted murder, and arson related to the 11-12 September 2012 assaults on the U.S. Special Mission and CIA Annex in Benghazi, Libya, which killed Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and three other Americans. Al-Bakoush told the federal judge that he has ‘complete trust in the court and jury,’ stressing that he has ‘confidence for justice.’ If convicted, he could face the death penalty or up to life in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.
Attorney General Pamela Bondi, FBI Director Kash Patel and U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro emphasized that the indictment of al-Bakoush reflects a long standing commitment to holding accountable those responsible for the Benghazi attacks, despite the passage of more than a decade. According to the indictment, al-Bakoush helped coordinate and participate in the armed assaults, which involved breaching the Mission compound, setting fires, attacking security personnel, and later launching a mortar attack on the CIA Annex.
Patel said that he was arrested outside U.S. territory without providing any details other than that the US worked with ‘partners overseas’. Pirro, who will be prosecuting the case, said there are more of ‘them’ out there and pledged, ‘Time will not stop us from going after these predators, no matter how long it takes.’ A senior FBI official emphasized that the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force ‘will never cease its tireless pursuit of any terrorist involved in the massacre of our nation’s citizens, regardless of when or where the onslaught occurred.’
The details of how and where he was arrested are contested, though the most reliable sources indicate he was detained in Tripoli. Some sources say al-Bakoush was arrested by Interpol forces in Turkey and handed over to US forces. Others indicate he was extradited from Tripoli.
Libya’s (eastern) National Security Council, as quoted by Russia’s RIA Novosti, condemned the U.S. detention of a suspect in the 2012 Benghazi attack as unlawful. It said Washington coordinated only with the Government of National Unity (GNU), which the eastern authorities view as illegitimate, and bypassed other Libyan authorities, which it considers a violation of proper legal procedures.
Tamim al-Ghariyani, a key leader among the displaced people of Benghazi, claimed that Zubair al-Bakoush is innocent of the U.S. charges, as he was previously investigated for two months in 2020 and cleared of all wrongdoing by 2021. Al-Ghariyani said that despite a recent peaceful detention and release by Tripoli’s Internal Security Agency (ISA), al-Bakoush was abducted again four days ago by unidentified forces. The decision to charge him now for the 2012 Benghazi attack is arguably a tactical move to shield the U.S. public from the Epstein Island controversy and the related accusations against Donald Trump.
Al-Bakoush was arrested by the GNU’s Internal Security Agency on 18 November for unknown reasons. He was released on 25 December and transferred to a hospital to receive treatment for a health condition he developed during his detention. Al-Bakoush was released from the clinic in early January and returned to his family home in Tripoli.
On 7 February, Omar al‑Bakoush, the brother of Zubayr al-Bakoush, denied media claims that his brother was arrested in Turkey or in another country, insisting instead that he was seized at his apartment in Tripoli and handed over to the Americans, before being transferred to the United States, just as Dabaiba did with Abu Agheela Masoud al-Marimi.
The GNU has not commented on al-Bakoush’s arrest and transfer to the US.