Lockerbie bomb-maker trial postponed by US judge days before start

The trial of the man accused of building the bomb that brought down Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie in 1988 has been postponed by a US federal judge. Jury selection was scheduled to start this week for Abu Agila Mohammad Mas'ud Kheir Al-Marimi, a Libyan intelligence operative prosecutors allege confessed to his role in the bombing.

US District Judge Dabney Friedrich postponed the trial, stating that newly discovered evidence and the need for the defense to prepare their case necessitated the delay. A court hearing is set for September 1 to determine the next steps, though a new trial date has not been scheduled.

Mas'ud, now in his mid-70s, has pleaded not guilty to charges related to the 1988 attack, which killed all 270 people on board and 11 on the ground. The bombing led to former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's government accepting responsibility in 2003, making him an international pariah. Mas'ud's defense attorneys have questioned the credibility of evidence, including an alleged 2012 confession to a Libyan police officer.

The case has faced years of legal challenges, highlighting the complexities of prosecuting a decades-old attack with evidence gathered in Libya. Mas'ud was arrested in Libya and brought to the US in 2022. He is accused of constructing a time-delayed bomb placed in a suitcase, which was checked in Malta and eventually made its way onto the flight.

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the newly discovered evidence, as well as evidence located in other countries and the need for the defense to determine how best to defend this case