West Berlin discotheque bombing facts for kids
Quick facts for kids West Berlin discotheque bombing |
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| Part of terrorism in Germany | |
Roxy-Palast, the building where the La Belle nightclub was located
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| Location | Hauptstraße 78, West Berlin, West Germany |
| Coordinates | 52°28′23″N 13°20′12″E / 52.47306°N 13.33667°E |
| Date | 5 April 1986 1:45 a.m. (CET/CEST) |
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Attack type
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Bombing |
| Weapons | Plastic explosive |
| Deaths | 3 (2 US soldiers, 1 Turkish civilian) |
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Non-fatal injuries
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229 |
| Perpetrators | Verena Chanaa, Yasir Shraydi, Musbah Eter, Ali Chanaa |
On April 5, 1986, a nightclub called La Belle was bombed in West Berlin. Three people were killed, and 229 others were hurt. This club was a popular place for United States soldiers. Two of the people who died and 79 of those injured were Americans.
The US government quickly blamed Libya for the attack. Ten days later, the US president at the time, Ronald Reagan, ordered airstrikes on the Libyan cities of Tripoli and Benghazi. Many believed these attacks were meant to kill the Libyan leader, Colonel Muammar Gaddafi.
However, at first, many people doubted Libya's involvement. In 1987, the head of the West German investigation team said there was no proof against Libya. Other European intelligence groups agreed with this view. Later, in 2001, a German court found that the bombing was planned by the Libyan Intelligence Service and the Libyan embassy. But the court also said that the US and German governments did not fully share their evidence. The court did not find Gaddafi himself directly responsible for the attack.
Contents
Why the Attack Happened: Background
The bombing happened during a time of growing disagreements between the United States and Libya. These problems started in the early 1980s and got much worse in early 1986.
Rising Tensions Between Countries
In 1986, US planes flew many times over the Gulf of Sidra. Libya claimed this gulf as its own waters, but the US did not agree. Libyan forces then shot at American planes. This led to the US launching its own airstrikes.
Two weeks before the bombing, Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi called for Arab people to attack American interests around the world. This call came after a US airstrike killed 35 sailors on a Libyan patrol boat. The boat was in international waters that Libya claimed as its own.
La Belle Nightclub: A Popular Spot
The place where the bombing happened was a nightclub called La Belle. It was well-known as a favorite spot for American soldiers stationed in West Germany.
The Attack Itself
A bomb was placed under a table near the disc jockey's booth. It exploded at 1:45 AM local time.
The Explosion
One person who saw the event said he had just stepped outside the club. The blast knocked him backward. He quickly got up and went back inside to find his wife. Many people inside were trying to help those who were hurt near the explosion.
The bomb destroyed a large part of the floor. This caused many people to fall into the cellar below the dance floor.
People Affected: Victims
The explosion instantly killed two people. They were Nermin Hannay, a Turkish woman, and US Army Sergeant Kenneth T. Ford. Another American sergeant, James E. Goins, died from his injuries two months later.
Injuries and Long-Term Effects
At least 230 people were injured in the blast. More than 50 of them were American service members. This was because the club was a popular place for them to hang out. Some of the victims were left with permanent disabilities from their injuries.
Who Was Blamed and What Happened Next
Right after the bombing, the American government, led by President Ronald Reagan, blamed Libya.
Initial Investigations and US Response
However, the investigation team in West Germany did not find any proof that Libya was involved. Other intelligence groups across Europe also found no evidence linking Libya to the attack.
Nine days after the bombing, President Reagan ordered airstrikes against the Libyan capital of Tripoli and the city of Benghazi. These attacks killed at least 30 soldiers and 15 civilians. It was also reported that Gaddafi's adopted baby daughter, Hana, was killed, but this claim has been questioned.
Later Discoveries and Court Ruling
After Germany became one country again, old files from the Stasi (the secret police in East Germany) became available. These files led to Musbah Eter, a Libyan who worked at the Libyan embassy in East Berlin. He was later accused of helping with the attack.
In 2001, a court in Germany ruled that the bombing was "planned by the Libyan secret service and the Libyan Embassy." The court found four people guilty who were believed to be involved. However, the court also said that its decision was made harder because the German and American governments were not fully willing to share their secret information. The trial was described as "murky" by BBC News. Importantly, the trial did not find proof that the Libyan leader, Muammar Gaddafi, was directly involved.
The Trial and Convictions
Even though reports blamed Libya, no one was officially accused of the bombing until Germany reunited in the 1990s. This is when the Stasi archives were opened.
Finding the Suspects
The Stasi files helped German prosecutor Detlev Mehlis find Musbah Abdulghasem Eter. He was a Libyan who worked at the Libyan embassy in East Berlin. The Stasi files showed him as an agent, and Mehlis said he was the Libyan spy agency's main contact at the embassy.
Starting in 1996, several suspects were sent to Germany from other countries. Yasser Mohammed Chreidi, a Palestinian man, was accused of being the main planner of the attack. He was sent from Lebanon to Germany in May 1996. Chreidi was thought to be an activist with a group called the Fatah Revolutionary Council. This group was led by Abu Nidal and was financed by Libya in the 1980s.
The Court Case and Verdicts
Eter and four other suspects were arrested in 1996 in different countries like Lebanon, Italy, Greece, and Berlin. Their trial began a year later.
The trial in Germany lasted four years, ending in 2001. The court found that the bombing was "planned by the Libyan secret service and the Libyan Embassy." Four people were found guilty of being involved:
- Verena Chanaa, a German citizen, was found guilty of murder. She had carried a bag with the bomb into the La Belle club.
- Yasir Shraydi, a Palestinian who worked at the Libyan embassy in East Berlin, was found guilty of attempted murder.
- Musbah Eter was found guilty of being an accomplice, meaning he helped with the crime.
- Ali Chanaa, Verena Chanaa's ex-husband, was also found guilty.
A fifth person, Andrea Häusler, who was with Verena Chanaa at the club, was found not guilty. Prosecutors could not prove that she knew the bomb was in Chanaa's bag. Verena Chanaa and Yasir Shraydi were sentenced to 14 years in prison. Musbah Eter and Ali Chanaa were sentenced to 12 years.
The court decided that the three men had put the bomb together in the Chanaas' apartment. The explosive was believed to have been brought into West Berlin in a special bag used for official diplomatic mail from Libya. The court also clearly stated that prosecutors could not prove that Muammar Gaddafi was involved in the bombing.
Paying for Damages: Compensation
In August 2003, newspapers reported that Libya was willing to talk about paying money to the non-US victims of the bombing. A year later, in August 2004, Libya agreed to pay a total of $35 million to people who were not US citizens.
Later Payments
In October 2008, Libya paid $1.5 billion into a special fund. This money was meant to pay families of victims from several events:
- The Lockerbie bombing (the remaining 20% of an earlier agreement).
- American victims of the West Berlin discotheque bombing.
- American victims of the 1989 UTA Flight 772 bombing.
- Libyan victims of the 1986 US bombing of Tripoli and Benghazi.
See also
In Spanish: Atentado a la discoteca La Belle para niños
- List of terrorist incidents in 1986
- Operation El Dorado Canyon
- Gulf of Sidra incident (1989)
- Gulf of Sidra incident (1981)
- Pan Am Flight 73
- Pan Am Flight 103
- UTA Flight 772
- 1988 Naples bombing
- State-sponsored terrorism
