The trial of a man alleged to have helped make the bomb that destroyed Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie more than 30 years ago has been delayed, US court papers have confirmed.
Libyan national Abu Agila Mas’ud was scheduled to go on trial in Washington on 12 May, 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 is yet to be set.
Mas’ud denies three charges relating to the attack.
When the Boeing 747 exploded over the Dumfries and Galloway town of Lockerbie on 21 December 1988, it killed all 259 passengers and crew on board and 11 people on the ground.
The bombing – which took place as the plane made its way from London to New York – remains the UK’s worst terrorist attack.
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Following a trial at Camp Zeist in the Netherlands, Libyan intelligence officer Abdelbaset al Megrahi was found guilty of mass murder in 2001 and was jailed for life.
In 2008, he was diagnosed with terminal prostate cancer and was freed the following year on compassionate grounds by the Scottish government.
Megrahi returned to Tripoli to cheering crowds and continued to protest his innocence until his death in May 2012.
It has always been the Crown’s contention that Megrahi acted with others in the commission of his crime.
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A spokesperson for Scotland’s Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) 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 Mas’ud.”
