Lockerbie bombing trial delayed by US judge, as new court date left unconfirmed

Libyan national Abu Agila Masud had been due to go on trial in Washington on May 12. But district court judge Dabney L Friedrich has agreed to a postponement following submissions from the prosecution and defence.

According to a court document, lawyers had raised the issue of the case’s complexity, and the amount of time they had to adequately prepare for both pretrial proceedings and the trial itself.

Lawyers also referred to the issue of “voluminous discovery, including evidence located in other countries”, and the need for the defence to determine how best to defend the case.

A new date for the trial has not yet been set.

Masud denies three charges relating to the attack on Pan Am Flight 103, which remains Britain’s deadliest terrorist atrocity.

All 259 passengers and crew and 11 people on the ground were killed when the plane exploded above Lockerbie on December 21, 1988, 40 minutes into its flight from London to New York.

Former Libyan intelligence officer Abdelbaset al-Megrahi is the only man convicted in relation to the bombing, after being found guilty of 270 counts of murder by a panel of three Scottish judges sitting at a special court in the Hague in 2001.

He was sent to prison in Scotland, but was controversially granted compassionate release in 2009 after being diagnosed with terminal cancer, returning home to Libya where he died in 2012.

Prosecutors have always maintained that Megrahi acted with others in carrying out the attack.

A spokesperson for Scotland’s Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service said: “We appreciate that the prospect of delay will be frustrating for those affected but we urge them not to feel disheartened.

“Scottish prosecutors have a long-standing commitment to pursuing those responsible for the bombing of Pan Am 103. We will move forward with unwavering determination and continue to support US authorities in the prosecution of Masud.”