BERLIN, Aug 10: Germany and Libya have reached an agreement on compensating people hurt in the 1986 bombing of a Berlin nightclub, Libya's ambassador here, Said Abdulaati, said on Tuesday.
"The accord will be signed this evening," Mr Abdulaati said. He said Libya had agreed to pay a total of 35 million dollars to non-US nationals who were wounded. The bombing at the "La Belle" discotheque, which was frequented by US servicemen, in then West Berlin killed two GIs and a Turkish woman and wounded more than 250 people.
A lawyer for the civil plaintiffs, Stephane Maigne, said that talks between the German and Libyan negotiators had not ended, but he would not comment on the Libyan ambassador's announcement.
"What I know is that the negotiations are continuing," he said. Until recently, German lawyers were believed to be seeking around 614,000 dollars for each severely wounded person and 332,000 euros for those who were not so badly hurt.
In 2001, a German court sentenced four people to up to 14 years in prison and ruled that Libya was partially responsible for the attack. Tripoli has never accepted blame but in August last year the Qadhafi Foundation, offered to compensate the victims. -AFP
