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Judge Postpones Trial of Abu Agila Mohammad Mas'ud Kheir Al-Marimi Over New Evidence in Lockerbie Bombing Case

A federal judge in Washington, D.C., has postponed the trial of Abu Agila Mohammad Mas'ud Kheir Al-Marimi, a former Libyan intelligence official charged with creating the bomb that downed Pan Am Flight 103 in 1988. U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich ordered the delay after defense attorneys received newly discovered evidence from prosecutors over the weekend. The trial, which was set to begin with jury selection on Wednesday, will now be delayed until a status hearing is held on September 1. The bombing, which occurred nearly 40 years ago, killed 270 people, including 190 Americans and 43 from the United Kingdom. Prosecutors allege that Al-Marimi, who served as a colonel in the Libyan intelligence service, carried out the attack at the direction of Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi. While Al-Marimi has denied the bombmaker's identity, the defense team requested the delay to fulfill their constitutional and ethical obligations to investigate the new findings. Victims' families, represented by Kara Weipz, expressed that while the delay is disappointing, the pursuit of truth remains the priority.

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