US trial of alleged Lockerbie bomb-maker may begin in January

• The US trial of Abu Agila Mohammad Masud, accused of building the Lockerbie bomb that killed 270 people, may start in January and last about two months.
• Masud, in US custody since 2022, denies charges of aircraft destruction causing death and faces life imprisonment if convicted.
• The 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 is Britain's deadliest terror attack; Libya admitted responsibility in 2003 and paid $2.7 billion compensation.

WASHINGTON – The US trial of an alleged Libyan collaborator in the 1988 downing of a Pan Am flight over Lockerbie, Scotland, may begin in January, a judge said on Sept 15.

Prosecutors accuse Abu Agila Mohammad Masud of building the bomb that brought down the Pan Am flight, killing 270 people.

His trial had been due to begin in late August, but federal judge Dabney Friedrich issued a delay at the last minute citing unspecified “newly discovered evidence”.

During an administrative hearing on Sept 15, she said the trial may now begin on Jan 11 or Jan 19 and last approximately two months.

She said she would finalise the decision by Sept 18, and wanted to make sure there was sufficient time to resolve procedural issues before jury selection begins.

Masud, who has been in US custody since 2022, has pleaded not guilty to charges related to the “destruction of an aircraft resulting in death”. If convicted, he could face life in prison.

Pan Am Flight 103, bound for New York, was blown up 38 minutes after it took off from London, sending the main fuselage plunging to the ground in the Scottish town of Lockerbie and spreading debris over a vast area.

The bombing – which is Britain’s deadliest terror attack – killed all 259 people on board, including 190 Americans, and 11 people on the ground.

Masud, who is in his mid-70s, allegedly worked as an intelligence operative for the government of former Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi between 1973 and 2011.

Gaddafi’s government officially acknowledged responsibility for the attack in 2003 and paid US$2.7 billion in compensation to the victims’ families.

Masud was arrested after Gaddafi’s fall in 2011 and, according to the Libya’s UN-recognised government, confessed to his involvement in the Lockerbie bombing. AFP