World News
Trial of alleged Lockerbie bombmaker delayed following disclosure of new evidence
A US federal judge postponed the trial of former Libyan intelligence official Abu Agila Mohammad Mas’ud Kheir Al-Marimi after prosecutors turned over new materials to defense lawyers.
The short version
- A US federal judge postponed the Washington, D.C., trial of alleged Lockerbie bombmaker Abu Agila Mohammad Mas’ud Kheir Al-Marimi after prosecutors disclosed newly discovered evidence days before jury selection was to begin.
- Mas’ud, a former Libyan intelligence officer in his mid-70s, faces two counts of destruction of an aircraft resulting in death for his alleged role in the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103.
- Mas’ud has pleaded not guilty, and his trial is now expected to be pushed to next year to allow his defense team time to investigate the new disclosures.
Key facts
- US District Judge Dabney Friedrich postponed the trial of Abu Agila Mohammad Mas’ud Kheir Al-Marimi after prosecutors turned over newly discovered evidence to defense attorneys shortly before jury selection.[Al Jazeera]
- The 1988 explosion of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, killed 259 people on board and 11 people on the ground.[Al Jazeera]
- Mas’ud was charged by US prosecutors on December 21, 2020, entered US custody in 2022, and faces two counts of destruction of an aircraft resulting in death.[Al Jazeera]
- Mas’ud has pleaded not guilty and denies allegations that he built or planted the bomb.[Al Jazeera]
What remains uncertain
- The exact nature and substance of the newly discovered evidence disclosed by federal prosecutors was not publicly specified by the court.[Al Jazeera]
- A new start date for the trial has not been finalized, though expectations indicate it may not begin until next year.[Al Jazeera]