Lockerbie bombing trial delayed after new evidence emerges in US case
The US trial of Libyan suspect Abu Agila Al-Marimi over the 1988 Pan Am Flight 103 bombing has been postponed after prosecutors disclosed fresh evidence. A status hearing is scheduled for 1 September.
Lockerbie trial postponed as fresh evidence disclosed days before jury selection
The US federal trial of a former Libyan intelligence operative accused of building the bomb that destroyed Pan Am Flight 103 in 1988 has been postponed after prosecutors disclosed new evidence days before jury selection was due to begin, The Independent reports.
US District Judge Dabney Friedrich issued an order on Monday confirming the delay. The court order did not specify the nature of the newly revealed material. Defence attorneys for Abu Agila Mohammad Mas'ud Kheir Al-Marimi said prosecutors had disclosed the evidence on Saturday, stating that their "constitutional and ethical obligations require the defense to investigate this development."
Jury selection had been scheduled to begin on Wednesday in Washington, D.C. A status hearing has now been set for 1 September to discuss the way forward.
The attack and the charges
Al-Marimi is charged with constructing the device that brought down Flight 103 on 21 December 1988, killing all 259 passengers and crew members on board and 11 people on the ground in Lockerbie, Scotland, where falling wreckage destroyed an entire city block. In total, 270 people died — among them 190 Americans, 43 British nationals, and 35 Syracuse University students returning home from a semester abroad. Citizens of 21 countries perished in the attack.
The aircraft was travelling from London Heathrow Airport to John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York when the bomb detonated in the forward cargo area, 38 minutes after takeoff and 31,000 feet above Lockerbie.
Prosecutors allege that Al-Marimi and others carried out the bombing on the orders of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, who was ousted and killed during a 2011 civil war. The forthcoming proceedings would be the first trial held in the United States in connection with the attack.
Two other Libyan intelligence officers were tried before a panel of Scottish judges at a former US military base in the Netherlands in 2000. The tribunal convicted one and acquitted the other, but the identity of the bombmaker remained unresolved for years.
Victims' families react
Kara Weipz, president of Victims of Pan Am Flight 103, lost her brother Rick Monetti in the bombing. She told BBC Radio Scotland's Breakfast programme she was "floored" by news of the postponement.
"As we're processing the shock, there's a lot of, 'I can't believe this is happening'," Weipz said. "There's so much anxiety leading into this week and obviously with jury selection this week, and with the anticipation of opening statements next week, people were getting ready to travel at the end of the week — and then knowing that all of a sudden it's not happening right now, it's just we have to live in this anxiety for however long until we actually get to trial."
She added that the delay could nonetheless prove worthwhile if the new material helps establish the full truth of what happened. "That's always been my goal… for as many family members to be able to witness this trial as possible, and to gain more of the truth," she said. "And listen, if that's what this evidence brings, that's what the families have been fighting for for almost four decades. We want the truth. We want to know what happened. And if that's what this brings, then this time will be worth it."
Scottish prosecutors commit to supporting US proceedings
Laura Buchan, head of the Lockerbie investigation team at the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, acknowledged the impact of the adjournment on those who have followed the case for decades.
"I recognise that this adjournment will be disappointing for the families and for those who have followed this case over many years," Buchan said. "As the matter remains before the court, it would not be appropriate to comment on the reasons for the adjournment."
Buchan confirmed that Scottish authorities would continue to play a supporting role. "Although these proceedings are being led by the United States authorities, Scottish prosecutors and police officers remain fully committed to supporting the pursuit of justice."
Scottish prosecutors have consistently maintained that Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, the man convicted in 2001, did not act alone in carrying out the attack. The case spanning nearly four decades is now set to continue with the September hearing determining a new trial date.
Source: The Independent