Lockerbie bombing trial postponed days before it was due to start
The trial of Abu Agila Mohammad Kheir Al-Marimi for the 1988 Lockerbie bombing has been postponed until January 2026 due to the discovery of new evidence. The judge granted the delay to allow the defense team time to investigate the materials provided by the US government.
Why it matters
This delay extends a decades-long legal saga for the families of the 270 victims of the Pan Am Flight 103 bombing.
Image source, Reuters Image caption, Pan Am Flight 103 was brought down on 21 December 1988
Scotland home affairs correspondent Published 24 August 2026 Updated 1 hour ago The trial of a Libyan man over the Lockerbie bombing has been postponed for a third time, after new evidence on the 37-year-old case came to light three days ago.
Jury selection was due to get under way in Washington DC on Wednesday but the BBC understands a new start date has been set for January next year.
Lawyers acting for Abu Agila Mohammad Kheir Al-Marimi said "newly discovered evidence" previously unknown to the defence and prosecutors from the US government emerged on Friday 21 August.
Al-Marimi has denied building the bomb that destroyed Pan Am Flight 103 on 21 December 1988, killing 270 people.
His lawyers told the court: "Constitutional and ethical obligations require the defence to investigate this development."
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