US Judge Postpones Trial of Lockerbie Bombing Suspect Again
Theo Al Jazeera
A US judge has postponed the trial of Abu Agila Mohammad Mas'ud Kheir Al-Marimi, a former Libyan intelligence officer accused in the 1988 Lockerbie bombing, citing new evidence. The trial, which was set to begin jury selection last week, is now expected to start next year. Mas'ud, who denies the charges, faces life in prison if convicted.
A US judge has scheduled a hearing in Washington to discuss the case against former Libyan intelligence officer Abu Agila Mohammad Mas'ud Kheir Al-Marimi, who is accused of involvement in the 1988 Lockerbie bombing. The attack on a commercial airliner killed everyone on board.
Mas'ud, now about 75 years old, faces two counts of destruction of an aircraft resulting in death and could face life in prison if convicted. He has pleaded not guilty and denied building the bomb.
Case spans nearly four decades
Pan Am Flight 103, traveling from London to New York, exploded over Lockerbie, Scotland, on December 21, 1988, just over 30 minutes after taking off from Heathrow Airport. All 259 people on board, including passengers and crew, were killed, along with 11 others on the ground in Lockerbie. The victims came from 21 countries, including 190 American citizens and 43 British citizens, among them 35 Syracuse University students in New York.
The incident is considered the deadliest terrorist attack in British history, even though nearly 40 years have passed.
New evidence and trial delay schedule
Judge Dabney Friedrich unexpectedly postponed the trial, which was slated to begin jury selection last week, citing the discovery of new evidence. According to the Associated Press, federal prosecutors disclosed new evidence to Mas'ud's lawyers just days before jury selection was set to begin. The defense team argued that constitutional and ethical obligations require them to investigate this new development.
Judge Friedrich did not elaborate on the nature of the new evidence. A hearing is now scheduled for next Tuesday, but the trial itself is not expected to begin until next year. The delay is intended to give the defense time to review the new material.
Mas'ud has been held in US custody since 2022. Initially, he was expected to stand trial in May 2025, but that date was canceled after a joint request from prosecutors and the defense due to the case's complexity and the defendant's poor health. The trial was then set for this past April but was postponed again when defense lawyers requested more time to prepare.
Charges against Mas'ud
According to US prosecutors, Mas'ud worked for Libya's external security agency from about 1973 to 2011, rising to the rank of colonel. The US government alleges that Mas'ud and accomplices carried out the bombing on orders from then-Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, who was overthrown and killed during the 2011 civil war.
Prosecutors allege that Mas'ud flew from Libya to Malta carrying a Samsonite suitcase containing the bomb. After meeting an accomplice, he set a timer for the bomb to detonate after 11 hours, then handed the suitcase to an accomplice to place it on the airport conveyor belt, before returning to Tripoli.
Mas'ud is the third person charged in the case. Previously, two other Libyan intelligence suspects, Abd al-Basit al-Magrahi and Al-Amin Khalifa Fahimah, were tried by a panel of Scottish judges in the Netherlands in 2000. Fahimah was acquitted, while al-Magrahi was convicted in 2001 and sentenced to life in prison. Al-Magrahi was released on compassionate grounds in 2009 and died in Libya in 2012, while Fahimah died on August 25 this year. US prosecutors believe both met Mas'ud in Malta to plant the bomb.
