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“SENATE RESOLUTION 253--RELATIVE TO THE MURDER OF LEON KLINGHOFFER” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Justice was published in the Senate section on pages S4426 on April 30, 1996.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
SENATE RESOLUTION 253--RELATIVE TO THE MURDER OF LEON KLINGHOFFER
Mr. D'AMATO (for himself, Mr. Dole, Mr. McConnell, Mr. Nickles, Mr. Murkowski, and Mr. Hatch) submitted the following resolution; which was considered and agreed to:
S. Res. 253
Whereas, Mohammed Abbas, alias Abu Abbas, was convicted by a Genoan Court in June 1986 and sentenced to life in prison, in absentia, for ``kidnapping for terrorist ends that caused the killing of a person' for his role in the death of an American citizen, Leon Klinghoffer;
Whereas, a report from the Italian magistrate who tried the case against Abbas stated that the evidence was ``multiple, unequivocal, and overwhelming'' and that his actions in training and financing for this operation, and in choosing the target, as well as in planning the escape, made Abbas guilty of the murder;
Whereas, a warrant for Abbas' arrest was unsealed in October 1985 charging him with hijacking, and a bounty of
$250,000 was offered for his arrest;
Whereas, the Justice Department felt that it did not have the evidence to convict him, and citing the conviction, albeit in absentia by the Italian authorities, canceled the warrant for his arrest in January 1988;
Whereas, at an April 1996 meeting of the Palestine National Council in Gaza, Abbas described the killing as ``a mistake'' and that Mr. Klinghoffer was killed because he ``had started to incite the passengers against [the kidnappers]'';
Now, Therefore, be it Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that the Attorney General should seek, from the appropriate foreign government, the detention and extradition to the United States of Mohammed Abbas (also known as Abu Abbas) for the murder of Leon Klinghoffer in October 1985 during the hijacking of the vessel Achille Lauro.
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