New York, NY, June 27, 1996...The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and its Leon and Marilyn Klinghoffer Memorial Foundation today welcomed assurances by the Department of Justice that the U.S. is urging the government of Italy to apprehend Abu Abbas.

In a letter to Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director, and Lisa and Ilsa Klinghoffer, Mark M. Richard, Deputy Assistant Attorney General, stated that following Abu Abbas' appearance in Gaza in April "the United States has contacted Italian authorities to urge the government of Italy to seek custody of Abu Abbas pursuant to the outstanding Italian conviction and sentence."

Mr. Foxman and the Klinghoffers said, "We welcome the Justice Department's assurances. Since the attack on the Achille Lauro and the murder of Leon Klinghoffer, we have been demanding that Abu Abbas be brought to justice. It is critical that democratic countries hold terrorists accountable for their actions. We commend the commitment by the U.S. to pursue justice in this case."

In an April 29 letter to Attorney General Janet Reno, ADL and the Klinghoffer Foundation urged the United States not to allow Abu Abbas, the mastermind of the hijacking of the Achille Lauro cruise ship, to escape punishment, and to "pursue any means available to bring this convicted terrorist to justice." In July 1986, Mr. Abbas was convicted in absentia by an Italian court for this terrorist act. Until he appeared in Gaza in late April, his whereabouts were unknown.

The ADL, through its Leon and Marilyn Klinghoffer Memorial Foundation and William and Naomi Gorowitz Institute on Terrorism and Extremism, works to combat the threat of terrorism through educational, political and legal means.

The Anti-Defamation League, founded in 1913, is the world's leading organization fighting anti-Semitism through programs and services that counteract hatred, prejudice and bigotry.