US ‘confident’ postponed Lockerbie bombing trial will go ahead in new year

[This is the headline over a PA News Agency report as published tonight on the Enfield Independent website. It reads in part:]

US officials have expressed confidence that the trial of a Libyan man accused of making the bomb that blew up Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie in 1988 will “successfully” go ahead in the new year after a recent postponement caused concern among campaigners.

The federal prosecution of Abu Agila Masud over the deadliest terrorist attack in UK history is now due to get under way on January 11 in Washington DC after the judge ordered a delay last week, citing the disclosure of new evidence that defence lawyers wanted to examine.

The last-minute hold-up, just as jury selection was set to begin, sparked consternation within the Victims of Pan Am Flight 103 group, given the elderly age of many bereaved relatives.

A spokesman for the US Department of Justice said: “It is not unusual for trials to be continued, and the government is confident that this case will go forward at the new trial date successfully.”

However, a hearing due to be held into the status of the postponed case on Tuesday [1 September] was itself delayed until September 15.

Court documents said this was due to “the complex nature of the case, the amount of time required to adequately prepare for pretrial proceedings and for trial… the voluminous discovery, including newly discovered evidence, as well as evidence located in other countries… and the need for the defence to determine how best to defend this case”.

As such it was concluded the “ends of justice… outweigh the best interest of the public and the defendant in a speedy trial”.

The nature of the newly discovered evidence has not been revealed.

Masud’s legal team say the disclosure was made at short notice and that their “constitutional and ethical obligations require the defence to investigate this development”.

The defendant, now in his mid-70s, is charged with two counts of destruction of an aircraft resulting in death.

He faces a maximum penalty of life in prison if convicted. 

Prosecutors claim he once confessed to his role, although this has been challenged by his lawyers.

Masud, who was extradited from Libya to the US in 2022, has denied the charges. (...)

[RB: Masud was not extradited. He was abducted from his home by a LIbyan armed gang, handed over (probably sold) to US government agents and transferred by them without lawful Libyan authority to the United States.] 

US Lockerbie bombing trial postponed days before it was due to start

[What follows is excerpted from a report published today on the BBC News website:]

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 [Masud] 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 December 21, 1988, killing 270 people.

His lawyers told the court: "Constitutional and ethical obligations require the defence to investigate this development."

They said they met Al-Marimi on Sunday and he agreed that they should ask for the postponement.

The trial judge, Dabney Friedrich, has agreed that the start date should be set aside, underlining the potential importance of the new evidence.

She would have been extremely reluctant to allow an 11th hour postponement after months of preparation and marathon pre-trial legal battles.

For the relatives of those who died and Al-Marimi himself, this latest delay means a verdict might not come until next spring.

It is yet another stunning development in a saga that has witnessed countless twists and turns over nearly four decades. (...)

Al-Marimi has been in US custody since 2022 and was originally due to stand trial in May 2025.

That date was set aside following a joint request from the prosecution and defence, who cited the complexity of the case and Al-Marimi's ill health.

The trial was pencilled in for April this year but was called off again, after the defence asked for more time to prepare.

The Lockerbie bombing has been the subject of a joint Scottish-US investigation since December 1988.

Prosecutors from the Crown Office and detectives from Police Scotland were due to travel to Washington to attend the case, and Scottish witnesses were expected to be among the first to give evidence at the trial.

Laura Buchan, head of the Lockerbie investigation team at the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service said: "I recognise that this adjournment will be disappointing for the families and for those who have followed this case over many years.

"As the matter remains before the court, it would not be appropriate to comment on the reasons for the adjournment. 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." (...)

The US government says Al-Marimi admitted bombing the plane along with Megrahi and Fhimah when he was questioned in a Libyan detention facility in 2012.

The alleged confession was handed to Scottish investigators in 2017 and is now central to the prosecution case.

Al-Marimi has claimed the confession is false and was made under duress, but judge Friedrich ruled it can be admitted as evidence at the trial.

[RB: What follows is a reaction from the Rev'd John Mosey, as reported this afternoon on the ITV News website:]

John Mosey, whose 19-year-old daughter Helga died in the Lockerbie attack, told ITV News he had suspicions that it wouldn't go ahead.

Reacting to this morning's postponement, he said: "Not at all surprised, in fact I'd have been surprised if it hadn't been postponed.

"I think there is something going on. This has now been postponed for has it been two, three years? And one has to ask ones self, why? And in this case they say it's new evidence.

"I can't take it seriously, or we're finding it very difficult to take it seriously, but we are trying. Because of how much it's been postponed, and because of the dishonesty and jiggery pokery that's been going on since the first trial and right through."

Asked if he thinks the trial will ever go ahead, he added: "I think they are hoping that this gentleman will pass away and they won't have to produce any evidence. Close the book. Close the case, and that's it. That's my feeling, I may be wrong of course."

The origin of the Lockerbie bomb

[This is the headline over a letter from Dr Jim Swire published in today's edition of The Sunday Times of Malta, following an article in last Sunday's edition of the newspaper. The letter reads as follows:]

After all these years of attempting to discover the truth about the murder of my daughter, Flora and all those 269 others, our group UK Families-Flight 103 have researched the allegations in depth. That search has always and only been for truth.

If there is one aspect of the tragedy about which we are certain, it is that the Lockerbie bomb did not start its journey from Malta.

There seems no robust evidence to show that it did do so, other than the bought ‘evidence’ given by Tony Gauci concerning the buying of clothes from Mary’s House in Sliema and the discovery of a fragment of circuit board produced in the Zeist court from within a Scots police evidence bag.

It is clear that the fragment of circuit board, which was labelled PT35b in the Zeist court, was planted false evidence. It has been repeatedly carefully analysed in the UK by a series of responsible and academic authorities. These analyses showed that the copper tracks on PT35b had been plated with pure tin, not the alloy of tin and lead which was in universal professional use in 1988.

In addition, a series of trial explosions were conducted for the Zeist defence team by a UK based explosives expert of many years standing which found that the circuit board of the bomb would have been reduced to a brown powder by the blast and heat of the IED bomb. PT35b simply could not be genuine, yet, it was said in America to be the one thing that enabled the Zeist trial to be set up.

The court chose both to ignore these findings and failed to explore how a clearly false item could have entered an official Scots police evidence bag. 

If PT35b had been genuine, it would have proved that a digital electronic timer had been used. The flight time from Luqa to Frankfurt is around two hours and 45 minutes and digital timers like that from which PT35b was alleged to have come can be user settable and encompass delays of many hours. Our work shows that an analogue timing circuit with a maximum run time of around 45 minutes was what really triggered the bomb, so no one could have sent it on its way from Luqa without it exploding over the Mediterranean or continental Europe.

We hope that some aspect of truth may emerge from the upcoming trial of the Libyan Masud but there is no way that that trial can be made to bridge this two hours and 45 minutes between your lovely island and the now peaceful fields surrounding the little town of Lockerbie.

"You proceed at your own peril" judge tells "slippery" prosecutors

[What follows is excerpted from a report published today on the website of the United Arab Emirates newspaper The National:]

The long-awaited trial of alleged Pan Am Lockerbie bomb maker Abu Agila Mohammad Masud is weeks away, but the US judge in the case issued a warning to prosecutors on Wednesday over evidence concerns.

During the pre-trial hearing, Washington District Judge Dabney Friedrich told lawyers making the case against Mr Masud that she was concerned they didn't seem to be working hard to ensure that all evidence presented in the case is properly certified and notarised.

"You proceed at your own peril," she told prosecutor Erik Kenerson, who argued that the Pan Am bombing had taken place 38 years ago and evidence had come from several countries, complicating the process of authenticating documents.

[Judge] Friedrich told Mr Kenerson that she understood the complications, but added that she felt US prosecutors have had ample time to ensure evidence is certified. She also said that in the event that Mr Masud were to be found guilty, failure to properly authenticate evidence before the trial would open the case up to an appeal.

Mr Masud, who sat silently in court during the exchange, is accused of making the bomb that brought down Pan Am flight 103 over the Scottish town of Lockerbie in 1988. (...)

"It's like you're not telling me something," she told Mr Kenerson.

The prosecutor replied that "this is a unique case".

"All the more reason for you to dot your Is and cross your Ts," [Judge] Friedrich said.

Roughly 150 pieces of crash evidence will be presented, along with witness accounts from several countries. Evidence will also come in the form of documents such as passports, hotel records, receipts, telegrams, baggage tags and letters. Many of those documents, as US prosecutors also indicated in court, come from Libya, the UK, the US, Malta, and what was known at the time as Czechoslovakia.

Later, [Judge] Friedrich told Conor Mulroe, another prosecutor, that she felt his team was trying to be "slippery" with how they introduced evidence.

"Your honour, if you perceive the government as being slippery or sliding then I apologise for that because we strive every day to advance arguments in good faith that we believe are supported by the law, and we believe are consistent with each other,” Mr Mulroe replied. (...)

Jury selection for Mr Masud's trial is scheduled for August 25, though it could be pushed back in the event that pre-trial deliberations go longer than expected.

Judge allows Lockerbie suspect's alleged confession to be used at US trial

[This is the headline over a report published today on the BBC News website. It reads in part:]

An alleged confession by a suspect in the Lockerbie bombing will be allowed as evidence in a trial in the United States, a judge has ruled.

Lawyers for Abu Agila Mas'ud Kheir Al-Marimi had asked for the contested statement to be ruled inadmissible, claiming it was false and made under duress.

But the document will now form a central part of the prosecution case when the postponed trial begins at a federal court in Washington DC later this month.

Libyan Al-Marimi, also known as Masud, has denied making and priming the bomb that destroyed Pan Am Flight 103 over Dumfries and Galloway on 21 December 1988. (...)

A group representing relatives of American victims of the atrocity described judge's decision as outcome as "another step in our long fight for justice".

The existence of Al-Marimi's alleged confession was first revealed in 2020 when the US government announced it was charging him over the bombing.

An FBI criminal complaint said he had freely admitted his involvement when he was questioned by a police officer in a Libyan detention facility in 2012.

Al-Marimi is said to have told the officer he acted alongside fellow members of the Libyan intelligence service, under the orders of senior officials.

According to the officer's account, Al-Marimi said he transported the bomb hidden in a suitcase from Libya to Malta, where he met two accomplices.

One was Abdulbasset Al Megrahi, the Libyan agent convicted of playing a central role in the plot at the first Lockerbie trial 25 years ago.

The second was said to be Al Amin Khalifa Fhimah, a former Libyan Arab Airline official who was cleared by the same Scottish court.

The officer said Al-Marimi admitted setting the bomb timer so the explosion would occur 11 hours later, before handing the suitcase to Fhimah at Malta's Luqa airport.

Fhimah placed it onto a conveyor belt, introducing the unaccompanied bag into the international baggage system, tagged to be flown to the US.

Later that night, at 31,000 ft, it exploded in the forward hold of Pan Am 103.

Al-Marimi is alleged to have claimed he was later congratulated in person by the late Libyan dictator Colonel Gaddafi, for carrying out "a great national duty" against the Americans.

The Washington court has heard that the Libyan police officer - referred to as Jamal - kept a handwritten document containing the confession and a carbon copy of the statement in a safe in his home.

In 2015, he handed them over to the Libyan Attorney General's Office, who gave a copy of the confession to prosecutors from Scotland's Crown Office two years later. They shared it with the Americans.

The team of public defenders representing Al-Marimi at the District [Court] of the District of Columbia asked for the alleged confession to be excluded from his trial.

Jamal gave evidence in person at a hearing in the United States as judge Dabney Friedrich considered whether the statement should be allowed as evidence.

Prosecutors argued its highly-detailed contents could be corroborated to an extent unlikely with a fabricated confession.

At one point, Judge Friedrich instructed the US government to get hold of the original handwritten document and the carbon copy, only to be told the authorities in Tripoli couldn't find them.

Jamal now looks likely to be called as a witness at the trial, giving the jury the chance to hear his testimony for themselves, and the defence an opportunity to challenge his version of events.

A statement released by the Victims of Pan Am Flight 103 said: "We are pleased with today's ruling.

"While we have always trusted the [US] government had a strong case, this only reinforces it.

"We look forward to gaining more information about the truth of what happened... this is another step in our long fight for justice.

"Jamal's courage to come forward with this confession and his testimony during the motion to suppress hearing does not go unnoticed by family members."

[RB: Victims of Pan Am Flight 103 is a US organisation. The UK equivalent is UK Families Flight 103. I wonder if their reaction was sought by the BBC.]

Lockerbie trial brings fresh scrutiny of evidence against Libyan suspect

[This is the headline over an article published yesterday in Libya Review. It reads as follows:]

The upcoming US trial of Libyan national Abu Agila Masud al-Marimi is renewing debate over the evidence surrounding the 1988 Lockerbie bombing, including claims that Iran, rather than Libya, was responsible for the attack.

A BBC report reviewed competing accounts as proceedings against al-Marimi are expected to resume in Washington in August. Al-Marimi has denied involvement in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103, while questions over the original investigation have remained contentious in Libya and abroad.

One prominent alternative theory has been advanced by Jim Swire, whose daughter Flora was killed in the bombing. Swire has maintained that Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, the Libyan convicted in the case, was wrongly convicted and has argued that Iran was behind the attack.

The theory partly rests on the bombing of an Iranian passenger aircraft by a US warship five months earlier, which killed 290 people, followed by Iranian threats of retaliation.

Former CIA officer John Holt has also questioned the official account and previously argued that investigators should examine Iran and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command. Libya Review has reported Holt’s claims that intelligence material pointing towards Libyan involvement was unreliable.

The credibility of former Libyan intelligence officer Abdul-Majid Giaka has also come under scrutiny. Holt has alleged that Giaka provided fabricated information to the CIA, while parts of his testimony were previously challenged during the Lockerbie proceedings.

Leaked Libyan intelligence documents have added another layer to the debate. Investigative journalist Vincent Nouzille said some documents contain details concerning al-Megrahi and al-Marimi and appear to match information supplied by Giaka. However, the available documents are copies rather than originals, limiting their forensic value.

Al-Marimi was transferred to US custody in 2022 and has consistently denied the allegations. His defence has also raised concerns over missing evidence, including an interrogation recording allegedly linked to his purported confession.

The case could therefore place the original Lockerbie evidence under renewed scrutiny while reopening long-standing questions over Libya’s alleged role in the bombing.

BBC Scotland revisits Lockerbie bombing

[What follows is the text of an item published today on The Highland Times website:]

One of Scotland’s most enduring and controversial criminal investigations is returning to the spotlight in a new BBC Scotland podcast series examining fresh evidence surrounding the Lockerbie bombing.

The six part series, Lockerbie, follows journalist Myles Bonnar as he revisits the investigation into the destruction of Pan Am Flight 103, which claimed the lives of 270 people in December 1988.

The series launches at a significant moment, with alleged bomb maker Abu Agila Masud due to stand trial in Washington DC.

Masud denies the allegations against him, while American prosecutors believe the trial could reveal new details about how the bombing was planned and carried out.

Produced by BBC Scotland for Radio 4’s Intrigue strand and BBC Sounds, the series explores the evidence gathered over nearly four decades, while examining why questions and competing theories have continued long after the original conviction.

Abdelbaset al Megrahi remains the only person convicted of the bombing, although he maintained his innocence until his death in 2012 and doubts surrounding the investigation have persisted ever since.

Throughout the series, Bonnar speaks with Scottish investigators, intelligence officers, journalists, legal experts, campaigners and relatives of those who died in the disaster.

Among those interviewed is Dr Jim Swire, whose daughter Flora was killed in the bombing and who continues to argue that the original investigation reached the wrong conclusion.

The podcast also examines intelligence gathered from a Libyan double agent known as “Puzzle Piece” and explores the so called Senussi Files, documents recovered from the ruins of Libya’s intelligence headquarters following the 2011 uprising.

Those files are said to raise fresh questions about Megrahi and other alleged conspirators.

As the new trial begins in the United States, the series asks whether the latest evidence could finally answer some of the questions that have surrounded the Lockerbie bombing for almost forty years.

Myles Bonnar said: “Lockerbie remains a story filled with questions, extraordinary characters and profound human loss.

“As new developments bring renewed attention to the case, this series explores the evidence, the controversies, and the enduring search for answers.”

Lockerbie will be available on 22 July when all episodes will be made available on BBC Sounds.

[RB: The whole series can be listened to here. It is disappointing how little time is given to the very serious concerns about the Megrahi conviction raised by inter alios Paul Foot, Dr Morag Kerr and John Ashton.]

Lockerbie star witness accused of ‘yarns’

[This is the headline over a report published in today's edition of the Daily Mail. It reads in part:]

Lawyers for the Libyan accused of building the Lockerbie bomb have lodged papers claiming a ‘star witness’ for the prosecution is ‘not credible’.

The US government’s case against Abu Agila Mohammad Mas’ud Kheir Al-Marimi is largely based on his alleged confession to his involvement in the atrocity.

But his legal team want the case thrown out on the basis the ‘glacial pace’ of proceedings since he was extradited to the US in 2022 violates his rights.

They also say the ‘ongoing failure’ by his Libyan interrogator to provide original copies, allegedly written on carbon paper, support the call to ‘dismiss’ the charges.

Lawyers acting on behalf of Masud, as he is known, have now lodged papers with the court urging it to find the interrogator, known only as Jamal, ‘not credible’. Their claims centre around the alleged carbon copy provided by Jamal that the prosecution plans to use as evidence at his trial.

They also question why there are ‘underlines’ on the document that Jamal claims he did not make. Masud’s lawyers state that the American government ‘seems unwilling to recognise just how fatal these continued lies are for Jamal’s credibility’.

They add: ‘Perhaps it is because Mr Al-Marimi’s alleged confession was central to the government’s decision to charge Mr Al-Marimi and its prosecution of him that the government does not want to accept that its star witness is spinning yarns.’

Prosecutors say the defence ‘has offered no theory for why the officer would convey what he knew was a falsehood when he stood to gain nothing by doing so.’

But Masud’s legal team claim there are ‘possible reasons Jamal has lied’ including ‘acting at the behest of more powerful figures’, or he ‘thinks he can continue getting away with spinning tales in order to build rapport with a government that has worked to provide him personal benefits’.

Masud, an ex-Libyan intelligence officer, is due to stand trial in Washington DC.

He is alleged to have built the bomb that brought down Pan Am 103 over Lockerbie in 1988. (...)

Lockerbie, petition PE1370 and the continuing political debate

[At a meeting held on 11 March 2026 the Scottish Parliament’s Criminal Justice Committee kept open the Justice for Megrahi campaign’s petition PE1370. What follows is an account of the historical background:]

More than three decades after the destruction of Pan Am Flight 103 over the Scottish town of Lockerbie, the political and legal debate surrounding the conviction of Abdelbaset al‑Megrahi continues. One of the most persistent mechanisms keeping the issue alive in Scotland is Petition PE1370, lodged in the Scottish Parliament in 2010 and still technically open today.

The bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 on 21 December 1988 killed 270 people, including passengers, crew and residents of Lockerbie. It remains the deadliest terrorist attack ever to occur in the United Kingdom. The investigation that followed involved police forces and intelligence agencies across several countries and eventually led to charges against two Libyan intelligence officials.

Because of diplomatic complications, the suspects were tried under Scottish law at a special court sitting in the Netherlands at Camp Zeist. In 2001 the court convicted Abdelbaset al‑Megrahi and sentenced him to life imprisonment, while his co‑accused Lamin Fhimah was acquitted. The conviction was upheld in Megrahi’s first appeal in 2002.

However, the case soon became controversial. Critics argued that key elements of the prosecution case were uncertain. Central among these concerns was the testimony of Maltese shopkeeper Tony Gauci, who identified Megrahi as the man who bought clothing that surrounded the suitcase bomb. Gauci’s identification was criticised as inconsistent and influenced by media exposure. Questions were also raised about the forensic evidence linking a tiny fragment of circuit board to Libyan intelligence and about the broader theory that Libya alone was responsible for the attack.

The debate intensified in 2007 when the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission completed a four‑year investigation into the conviction. The Commission concluded that there were six grounds on which a miscarriage of justice might have occurred and referred the case back to the appeal court. That appeal never reached a conclusion because Megrahi abandoned it in 2009 shortly before he was released from prison by the Scottish Government on compassionate grounds after being diagnosed with terminal cancer. He returned to Libya and died in 2012.

Because the appeal was abandoned, many of the questions raised by the review were never fully tested in court. This gap in the legal process became the central argument for campaigners who believed the case should be re‑examined.

In 2010 campaigners led by Dr Jim Swire, whose daughter Flora died in the bombing, lodged Petition PE1370 in the Scottish Parliament. The petition called for the Scottish Government to establish an independent public inquiry into the conviction of Megrahi. Over the years the Public Petitions Committee repeatedly decided to keep the petition open while related investigations and appeals continued.

The legal debate resurfaced again in 2020 when the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission referred the case back to the High Court of Justiciary for a second time. Megrahi’s family pursued the appeal after his death, arguing that evidence had been withheld and that the identification evidence was unreliable. In January 2021 the appeal court rejected the challenge, ruling that although aspects of the evidence had been criticised, a reasonable court could still have convicted Megrahi. In 2022 the United Kingdom Supreme Court refused permission for a further appeal, effectively bringing the legal process in Scotland to an end.

Despite these decisions, the political debate has not disappeared. Some relatives of victims, lawyers and former investigators continue to argue that the conviction has never been adequately scrutinised in light of the concerns raised by the Criminal Cases Review Commission. Members of the Scottish Parliament from different political parties have periodically suggested that a public inquiry might still be necessary to resolve lingering doubts.

At the same time the international investigation has continued. In 2022 a Libyan suspect, Abu Agila Masud, was transferred to the United States to face charges related to the construction of the bomb used in the attack. His trial may produce new evidence about the operation that destroyed Pan Am Flight 103.

For this reason Petition PE1370 has remained open within the parliamentary system. By carrying the petition forward into new parliamentary sessions, committees have effectively preserved the option of revisiting the case if significant new information emerges. The petition has therefore become less a single political demand than a continuing parliamentary placeholder for one of the most controversial criminal cases in modern Scottish history.

Timeline of Key Events

1988 – Pan Am Flight 103 explodes over Lockerbie, killing 270 people.

1991 – Two Libyan suspects, Abdelbaset al‑Megrahi and Lamin Fhimah, are formally charged.

2000–2001 – Trial held under Scottish law at Camp Zeist in the Netherlands.

2001 – Megrahi convicted; Fhimah acquitted.

2002 – Megrahi’s first appeal is rejected.

2007 – Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission concludes a miscarriage of justice may have occurred and refers the case for appeal.

2009 – Megrahi abandons the appeal and is released from prison on compassionate grounds.

2010 – Petition PE1370 lodged in the Scottish Parliament calling for an independent inquiry.

2012 – Megrahi dies in Libya.

2018–2020 – Further review by the Criminal Cases Review Commission leads to another referral for appeal.

2021 – High Court of Justiciary rejects the posthumous appeal.

2022 – UK Supreme Court refuses permission for a further appeal.

2022–present – Libyan suspect Abu Agila Masud faces prosecution in the United States.

Key Figures Associated with Petition PE1370

Dr Jim Swire – British doctor and leading campaigner for a full inquiry; his daughter Flora died in the Lockerbie bombing.

Members of the Scottish Parliament Public Petitions Committee – the parliamentary body responsible for considering and keeping PE1370 open.

Abdelbaset al‑Megrahi – Libyan intelligence officer convicted of the bombing in 2001.

Lamin Fhimah – Co‑accused at the original trial who was acquitted.

Tony Gauci – Maltese shopkeeper whose identification evidence played a key role in the conviction.

Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission – the body that twice referred the conviction back to the appeal court citing possible miscarriage of justice.

Lockerbie bomb suspect appears in US court over confession claim

[This is the headline over a report published yesterday on the BBC News website. It reads in part:]

A Libyan man accused of building the device used in the Lockerbie bombing has appeared in a US court as his lawyers attempt to stop his alleged confession being used as evidence at his trial.

The US Department of Justice claims Abu Agila Mohammed Mas'ud Kheir Al-Marimi, referred to as Masud, admitted taking part in the attack on Pan Am Flight 103 when questioned at a Libyan detention facility in 2012.

However, Masud has claimed the confession is false, was made under duress and should be ruled inadmissible before his trial in Washington DC later this year. (...)

Wearing a washed-out prison uniform and sporting a short grey beard, Masud listened as the hearing before judge Dabney L Friedrich got under way at the District Court for the District of Columbia on Wednesday. (...)

Details of Masud's alleged confession were first made public when the FBI criminal complaint against him was published in 2020.

It is claimed Masud admitted bombing the LaBelle Discotheque in West Berlin in 1986, killing three people, including two American servicemen.

He is also said to have further confessed to taking a bomb hidden in a suitcase from Libya to Malta in December 1988, under the orders of senior officials from the Libyan intelligence service.

There, he is alleged to have met two accomplices - Abdulbasset Al Megrahi, the Libyan agent convicted of bombing the plane after standing trial 25 years ago, and Al Amin Khalifa Fhimah, a former Libyan Arab Airline official who was cleared by the same Scottish court.

According to the confession, Masud set the bomb timer so the explosion would occur exactly 11 hours later, bought clothes to pack into the brown Samsonsite suitcase that held the device, and then handed it to Fhimah at Luqa airport on Malta the next morning.

Fhimah was said to have placed it onto a conveyor belt, introducing the unaccompanied bag into the international baggage system, tagged to be flown to the US.

In court documents lodged before the hearing, Masud claimed he had been forced into making a false confession by three masked men who had threatened him and his family.

In response, the US government said Masud had freely provided a highly detailed insider account corroborated by other evidence from the case. (...)

In 2020, two FBI agents and two Police Scotland officers interviewed the Libyan official who questioned Masud in 2012, referred to in court as "Jamal".

Agent Tunstall said the contents of the confession were supported by evidence from the crime scene, forensics and immigration and flight records.

"Jamal" told the Scots and Americans he had tried to record what Masud was saying, using audio or video on a phone, but the recording was "lost". (...)

The hearing is scheduled to last two days, with the judge expected to issue her decision at a later date.

Lockerbie bomb suspect confession video 'lost or destroyed'

[This is the headline over a report published today on the BBC News website. It reads in part:]

A Lockerbie bombing suspect cannot get a fair trial because a video of his alleged confession has been "lost or destroyed", his defence lawyers have claimed.

Public defenders representing Abu Agila Mas'ud Kheir Al-Marimi in a United States court case said the disappearance of the video deprived him of evidence which could have cleared his name.

They are also arguing the case against the Libyan - also known as Masud - should be thrown out of court because it involves events which took place 37 years ago, outside US territorial jurisdiction. (...)

Masud was forcibly removed from Libya and taken into US custody in 2022, with his trial due to get under way in Washington DC this August after two postponements.

US prosecutors allege Masud admitted his role in bombing the airliner when he was interrogated in a Libyan detention facility in 2012.

According to an FBI summary of the case, he told a Libyan law enforcement officer that the bomb was hidden in an unaccompanied suitcase on a flight from Malta to Frankfurt.

The device was then transferred undetected onto a Pan Am feeder flight to Heathrow, where it was placed in the forward hold of Pan Am 103.

Masud has already claimed he was forced into making a false confession under duress and is arguing that it should be ruled inadmissible.

In a fresh line of attack, his lawyers have said his right to a fair trial has been violated because of the "bad-faith loss of material" during the long history of the case.

That material is said to include a video recording of Masud's alleged confession, made by the Libyan official who had questioned him.

According to the defence, the official claimed to have kept the video in a safe for three years before telling a colleague what had happened in 2015.

Scottish investigators heard about the alleged confession later that year and obtained copies of a written statement in 2017.

The documents were passed on to the Americans and were central to the charges against Masud, which were announced on the bombing of the anniversary in 2020.

The defence says that in 2024, the Libyan interrogator stated he had "located the recording device but could not locate the recording itself".

Federal public defender Geremy Kamens submitted that the loss of the video had deprived Masud of "potentially exculpatory evidence would could have attacked the centrepiece of the government's case against him".

"A picture is worth a thousand words, and a video comprises dozens of pictures every second," Kamens said.

"The interrogation video may have shown Mr Al-Marimi [Masud] appearing nervous, apprehensive, uncomfortable, tense, jumpy, subdued or any combination of these states at various times.

"He may have been sweating, his language may have been stilted, he may have avoided eye contact.

"Any discrepancy between the recording and the written statement or the interrogator's descriptions of the conversation would provide powerful fodder for cross-examination and impeachment.

"It was not until he [the Libyan official] was asked to provide a copy of the recording to US law enforcement in 2024 that the recording suddenly vanished."

Kamens also argued that delays in bringing Masud before a jury would deny him his right to a fair trial.

"It borders on the impossible for Mr Al-Marimi [Masud] to investigate his actions and whereabouts 30 years ago, let alone the government's allegations, whereas the government can rely on the fruits of a contemporaneous investigation and decades of preparation by an international cohort of prosecutors and police."

Kamens said Masud's defence would be hampered by his "mental and physical deterioration" and the deaths of crucial witnesses, including Al-Megrahi.

The US government is expected to respond to the defence arguments this week.

A hearing on the admissibility of the alleged confession is due to be held in Washington next month.

Father of US Lockerbie victim concerned about Masud trial delays

[What follows is excerpted from a report published yesterday on the Devon Live website:]

The dad of a Lockerbie victim has called for greater transparency on the health of the alleged bombmaker - after revealing further delays to his trial.

Libyan Abu Agila Masud, 74, has been accused of making the bomb which killed 270 victims over Lockerbie on 21 December 1988 and was originally due to go on trial in Washington in May this year.

But Paul Hudson, who lost his daughter Melina in the bombing as she flew home to New York after a semester at a school in Exeter, Devon, said it has now been delayed until May next year "at the earliest."

He has now raised concern about the health of the defendant, which he says is being held back from the public under 'privacy grounds'.

And he fears his health could be being manipulated - citing the example of Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, who was freed early in the UK under claims he had months to live - but survived for another three years.

Paul said he fears this could be being deployed as a delaying tactic for the trial, which has already been pushed back twice.

He said: "He seems to be stable as of now from what we know. But they are keeping secret his actual medical information. I find it a little strange as that is not something that is prejudicial. They are keeping it secret and the judge is saying it is based on medical privacy standards.

"It seems that should not really apply in cases like this.

"There was something similar in a different context with al-Megrahi. He was let out of prison in the UK prematurely based on claims he was going to pass away within six months. There was never any release of the medical information outside experts could evaluate. It turns out it was completely untrue and he went on to live a lot longer.

"I don't agree with that. There is not much I can do but there should be as much transparency as possible. If health of the defendant and medical issues is used to delay trial - or even accelerate it - it should not be kept secret to anyone.

"Even the judge doesn't have access to it I understand. There is only limited access to the prosecution but none at all for the public. (...)

Mr Hudson has since spent decades fighting for justice for the victims of Pan Am 103.

Masud was initially due to stand trial at a federal court in Washington in May this year accused of two counts of destruction of an aircraft resulting in death and destruction of a vehicle resulting in death.

He has denied all three charges and Paul was initially told of a delay due to his health.

After being told his health had improved and a target trial date was set for March next year, further delays have now been confirmed to the victim's families.

Paul added: "There have been more delays and I think we are probably looking at late spring or summer at the earliest for trial.

"I think it requires leadership at a higher level to make it all go forward in a good way.

"I don't trust the prosecutors, the police or judiciary, even if they wanted to.

"One of the things I am hoping for is a meeting with the US attorney general and with the chief prosecutor to make sure all the different parts are moving together to a proper conclusion and schedule.

"Reasons given for the latest delays include a change of personnel in prosecution and the defence law firms.

"They are also going through suppression hearings where the defence will try to exclude evidence the prosecution wants to present at trial.

"There is a confession the defence claims was improper and a bunch of other things they are going through.

"Motions are being filed back and forth. Hearings are mostly closed to the public and to the victims. It is really hard for any outsider to know the know to keep it from potential jurors what evidence is going to be excluded.

"I have read the paper motions but have not been able to go to the hearings before the judge to hear about the evidence in great detail.

"My feeling is I would like to see it happen sooner rather than later to never. However I would like to see it done correctly.

"So on the other hand a trial that begins prematurely could also be negative for prosecution and justice generally." (...)

Masud stands charged with two counts of destruction of an aircraft resulting in death and destruction of a vehicle resulting in death.

He has denied all three charges and claims his confession to building the bomb and taking it in a suitcase from Tripoli to Malta was made under duress.

Paul, who is now 79, said he would never stop fighting for justice. (...)

"I am hopeful, not only of a conviction here, but we may have a defendant who no doubt knows other people involved that could lead to further prosecutions."

Currently the only suspect convicted remains Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, who was jailed for life in 2001 but released by the Scottish government on compassionate grounds in 2009.

His co-defendant Lamin Khalifah Fhimah was acquitted but remains the subject of an active US arrest warrant.

Bombing accused Masud confessed in 'safest place' say US prosecutors

[What follows is excerpted from a report published yesterday on the Daily Mail website:]

A Libyan accused of building the bomb that blew up Pam Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie was in the ‘safest place’ when he ‘voluntarily’ admitted his involvement in the atrocity, prosecutors have said.

Abu Agila Masud Kheir Al-Marimi claims he was forced into making a false confession after he was held captive in Libya by men who threatened his family.

But U.S. prosecutors argue that there were no signs of coercion or torture and that the Libyan officer who interviewed him was ‘unarmed’.

In court papers, they state that the 74-year-old, known as Masud, was ‘housed in the same room’ as several other men and ‘appeared to the officer to be in good health, and to have access to necessities and to news about the outside world through a television’.

This is contrary to claims by Masud, who is due to stand trial in Washington DC in April over his role in the 1988 terror attack which killed 270 people, that he was kept in isolation.

He also claims that while in custody he witnessed others being beaten and abused.

Prosecutors, however, state: ‘Based on the officer’s observations, the facility that the defendant was held at was one of the best available during the chaos of the post-revolution period, and it was the safest place for the defendant… given the extent of street violence and anti-Gaddafi sentiment prevailing at the time.’

They add that the officer ‘observed no signs of torture or coercion’ and that Masud was interviewed in a ‘typical office-type room’ during which time he was ‘afforded a lunch break and…the proper facilities to pray’. (...)

The officer asked the defendant whether he consented to be interviewed, and he freely gave his consent.’ Masud’s defence team have filed a ‘motion to suppress statements’, saying the ‘circumstances’ of his arrest, ‘incommunicado detention’ and ‘captivity in a system well known for human rights abuses’ renders his confession ‘inadmissible’.

But prosecutors have urged the court not to accept this ‘fictitious account’.The bomb maker for the Libyan External Security Organisation was extradited to the US in 2022 after allegedly admitting to building the Lockerbie device.

Lockerbie bombing accused Masud says he was forced into false confession

 

[What follows is excerpted from a report published today on the BBC News website:]

The Libyan accused of building the bomb that brought down an American airliner over Lockerbie 36 years ago has claimed he was forced into making a false confession.

Abu Agila Mas'ud Kheir Al-Marimi, 74, has said he was in custody in Libya when three masked men ordered him to memorise information about the destruction of Pan Am 103 and another terror attack.

Referred to as Mas'ud by prosecutors, he said he repeated what he had learned to a Libyan official, under duress, after the men threatened his family.

Masud's lawyers have asked a federal court in Washington to rule the alleged confession inadmissible in advance of his trial in April next year.

Details of the alleged confession were first made public five years ago after the US department of justice announced it was charging Mas'ud over the atrocity which claimed the lives of 270 people on 21 December 1988. (...)

With just seven months to go until the scheduled start of Mas'ud's trial, public defenders acting on his behalf have lodged a motion with the district court asking a judge to rule that his confession should not be allowed as evidence.

The Libyan has pled not guilty to the charges against him. But the "motion to suppress" reveals for the first time his version of what led to the alleged jailhouse confession.

Setting the scene, the motion quotes a US Department of State report which said Gaddafi's regime had controlled Libya through extrajudicial killings and intimidation, torture, arbitrary arrest and detention.

The document says that after the revolution there was a climate of anger and retaliation against those associated or thought to be associated with Gaddafi.

Contemporary reports by US government officials recount more incidents of "arbitrary and unlawful killings, kidnappings, torture and other cruel and inhuman or degrading treatment."

The defence lawyers say: "Just as... a black man accused of killing a white man in Jim Crow-era Arkansas would fear mob violence... so would a Libyan who allegedly worked for Gaddafi have feared retaliation against himself and his family in post-revolution Libya."

It was against that background, according to Mas'ud, that he was abducted from his home by armed men, separated from his family and his medication, held incommunicado in an unofficial prison facility and denied procedural rights.

He says he saw bodies lying in the streets when he was being driven to the prison and while in custody, and encountered other inmates who had been beaten and abused.

Mas'ud has told his legal team that he was alone in a small room when three men in civilian clothes came in. They were unarmed but wearing face coverings and did not identify themselves.

He says he was certain the men, who handed him the piece of paper, were anti-Gadaffi revolutionaries.

"The single, handwritten sheet began with an order that Mr Al-Marimi confess to the Lockerbie incident, as well as another terrorist attack," his defence lawyers claim.

The men told him to read over the details and to repeat what it said when he was questioned by someone else the next day.

"They told him he had to answer the questions with what was on the paper, otherwise bad things would happen to him or his family.

"Mr Al-Marimi felt he had no choice but to comply. He had ample reason to fear for himself; before his seizure, he had personally witnessed beatings in other prisons.” (...)

The lawyers say a frightened Mas'ud did as he was told when he was questioned by another man the next evening.

They say that - when presented with similar evidence of coercion - American courts have found custodial statements involuntary and inadmissible under the fifth amendment of the US constitution, whether they were made in the United States or abroad.

The defence has asked the court to order the suppression of the alleged statements and has requested a hearing so the issue can be decided.

The FBI has said that the Libyan official who noted Mas'ud's confession in 2012 is prepared to give evidence at his trial.

Prosecutors from the US Department of Justice have not yet responded to the claims made on Mas'ud's behalf.

Father of US Lockerbie victim on DNA "breakthrough" and health of Masud

[What follows is excerpted from a report published today on the website of the Teignmouth Post and Gazette:]

The dad of a young Lockerbie victim has hailed a "significant" DNA breakthrough - and revealed the alleged bomb-maker was now 'healthy' to stand trial next year.

Paul Hudson, whose daughter Melina died aged 16 travelling home from a semester at a school in Exeter, Devon, said the link to DNA could be 'crucial' in next year's trial of the suspect.

He said he hopes proceedings are now 'on a good path' and the coming months could finally lead to some justice for the families of the tragedy.

Paul also revealed the health of Abu Agila Masud had significantly improved following a delay to proceedings - clearing the pathway for the much-anticipated trial to start in April next year.

He was speaking after forensic experts were reportedly able to extract DNA from the luggage lining that contained the bomb and an umbrella packed inside for the very first time.

Steps are now being taken to see if it is a match for the alleged bombmaker Masud, 74.

Paul, who now lives in Florida and has been campaigning for justice for the families for decades, said: "The DNA testing could be a real breakthrough if it pans out.

"Details are pretty much all kept secret but the judge will rule if it can be presented at trial.

"All I can say is DNA technology has advanced greatly in the last 30 years and they are able to get DNA residue off many things with much more sophisticated testing.

"Assuming they have DNA from the suspect and assuming they have DNA from something that was close to the bomb - that would tend to be good substantial evidence that could be used at a trial.

"Unless the confession is going to be accepted you are going to need circumstantial evidence to prove a case - and scientific findings would be a huge benefit." (...)

Mr Hudson has since spent decades fighting for justice for the victims of Pan Am 103 that claimed the life of 270 people when it exploded in mid-air in December 1988.

Masud stands charged with two counts of destruction of an aircraft resulting in death and destruction of a vehicle resulting in death.

He was previously a bomb-maker for the Libyan External Security Organisation and was extradited to the US in 2022. [RB: Masud was not extradited. He was abducted from his home by a local militia, was sold on to US authorities and then became the victim of extraordinary rendition to the United States.] He has denied all three charges and claims his confession to building the bomb and taking it in a suitcase from Tripoli to Malta was made under duress.

Paul added: "Everyone on our side would like to see the trial happen as soon as possible and - assuming he is guilty - with a conviction. But it is more important to get it right than to get it done quickly.

"I don't see the delay as being excessive in the circumstances. The defendant had some medical issues and the impression we've now been given is they've got better. His health has improved so we seem to be on a good path now."

Paul has also been campaigning for the victim's families to be allowed to access the trial remotely - and was part of an audio trial for a previous hearing.

He said: "They are not going to allow access except at certain locations in the US and the UK where people have to physically go to watch a video of the trial.

"I was part of testing for an audio only feed where victim's family members can listen in to parts that are not considered confidential.

"It seemed to work and hopefully going forward when we get to the trial and more hearings, if people can not come to one of the locations at least they can hear the audio.

"I would prefer a zoom type video but it is certainly better than not allowing any remote access other than from a government controlled location."

Paul revealed another recent revelation coming out of Libya from the abandoned archives of the Gaddafi government surrounded the testing of the bomb with this defendant being part of it.

The information was published in a book in France and used during a corruption trial.

Paul, who is now 78, said he would never stop fighting for justice.

DNA extracted from Lockerbie bomb suitcase, 37 years after atrocity

[This is the headline over a report published in today's edition of The Sunday Times. It reads in part:]

Forensic experts have extracted DNA from the suitcase containing the Lockerbie bomb for the first time and will seek to match it against swabs taken from the Libyan explosives chief accused of Britain’s worst terrorist atrocity.

Advances in technology have allowed Scottish scientists to gather DNA from the suitcase lining and an umbrella packed into the luggage before Pam Am Flight 103 exploded in mid-air in December 1988, killing 270 people.

Prosecutors hope the new evidence could match samples from Abu Agila Masud, 74, the alleged bomb-maker, who is waiting to go on trial in America.

The potential breakthrough is outlined in US court papers obtained by The Sunday Times. The documents identify a list of expert witnesses for the prosecution, including Dr Nighean Stevenson, a leading authority in DNA analysis at the Scottish Police Authority (SPA). She has re-examined exhibits retrieved from the crash site more than three decades ago. (...)

The only suspect convicted to date is Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, a former Libyan intelligence officer who was jailed for life in 2001 following a trial in the Netherlands presided over by Scottish judges.

Megrahi was released by the Scottish government on compassionate grounds in 2009 after being diagnosed with terminal cancer. He lived for another 33 months, dying at his home in Tripoli, aged 60.

A co-defendant in Megrahi’s trial, Lamin Khalifah Fhimah, another Libyan intelligence officer, 69, was acquitted. However, he remains the subject of an active US arrest warrant.

Masud’s name came up in the original investigation into the atrocity after Scottish police, aided by the FBI, established that the bomb had travelled in an unaccompanied suitcase from Malta to Heathrow, via Frankfurt, before being loaded on to Flight 103. However, investigators were unable to trace him. [RB: The theory that the bomb on Pan Am 103 was in a suitcase offloaded from the feeder flight from Frankfurt to Heathrow has been convincingly demolished by Dr Morag Kerr in her book Adequately Explained by Stupidity? Lockerbie, Luggage and Lies.]

It was only after the fall of Colonel Gadaffi, the Libyan leader, in 2011 that Masud, a bomb-maker for the Libyan External Security Organisation, the intelligence service, was detained by opposition forces.

He was extradited to the US at the end of 2022 after allegedly confessing to building the Lockerbie bomb and taking it in a suitcase from Tripoli to Malta. [RB: Masud was not extradited. He was abducted from his home by a local warlord, sold on to US authorities and then the victim of extraordinary rendition to the United States.] His defence team are set to argue that the confession was extracted in Libya under duress, and is therefore inadmissible. He has entered a not guilty plea.

That means a DNA match between items from the bomb suitcase and Masud could be highly significant.

“If you’ve got his DNA [in the suitcase] … it would knock down the building blocks of his potential defence,” said Dick Marquise, the FBI special agent who led the US end of the original investigation.

Marquise said he was not aware of any DNA evidence collected in the immediate aftermath of the bombing in 1988. “It was much too new a science,” he added. (...)

Outlining her expertise as a potential prosecution witness, US court papers state: “Dr Stevenson examined items relating to an umbrella and an item relating to the lining of a suitcase.

“These items were examined using specialised lighting, and DNA samples were taken from each. The DNA profiles obtained from these items were of varying quality and were generally commensurate with the expectations of these items.”

The document continues: “Analysis of a DNA reference sample relating to the accused nominal [Masud] has yet to be carried out. When a DNA profile relating to this individual has been generated, it will thereafter be compared to any suitable DNA profiles which have already been obtained.”

This weekend it remained unclear whether a DNA match had been found. However, software used by Stevenson’s team is able to generate a “likelihood ratio” of a “person of interest” contributing to a specific DNA profile rather than other individuals.

In theory, the tests could also prove whether Megrahi had handled items packed into the bomb suitcase.

Part of the evidence against him in 2001 revolved around the testimony of a Maltese shop owner, who claimed Megrahi had bought various items of clothing and an umbrella from his business days before the Lockerbie attack.

Masud’s trial in Washington was due to start last month. However, the complexity of the case and the defendant’s poor health have led to it being pushed back until spring.

In his alleged confession, made in a Libyan jail in 2012, Masud named both Megrahi and Fhimah as co-conspirators.

A criminal complaint filed by the FBI states: “Approximately three months after [the bombing], Masud and Fhimah met with the then Libyan leader, Muammar Gadaffi, and others, who thanked them for carrying out a great national duty against the Americans, and Gadaffi added that the operation was a total success.”

[RB: The following comment is from an article published today on Dr Ludwig de Braeckeleer's Intel Today website:]

The Old “Look at the Door” Trick

Henri Landru was a French serial killer tried in 1921. During World War I, he posed as a lonely widower seeking companionship through classified ads. In reality, he lured wealthy widows to his villa in Gambais, murdered them, and allegedly disposed of their bodies in his oven.

Ten women—and the teenage son of one of them—disappeared after visiting Landru. There were no bodies, no direct eyewitnesses, and no confession. The entire case was built on circumstantial evidence, which left—just barely—room for reasonable doubt.

Landru’s defense lawyer, Vincent de Moro Giafferri, was a master of courtroom theatrics. During his closing argument, he focused on the absence of physical proof. He knew that if he could shake the jury’s certainty, he might save his client from the guillotine.

At a dramatic moment, Moro Giafferri played a psychological card. As he neared the end of his plea, he said something like:

“One of the women Landru is accused of killing—what if she is still alive? What if she walked through that door right now?”

He gestured toward the courtroom entrance. And naturally, every juror turned to look. Then came the punchline:

“Ladies and gentlemen, you all looked. That means you’re not sure. And in our justice system, if there is doubt, it must benefit the accused.”

Back to Lockerbie

It was a brilliant moment—simple, theatrical, unforgettable. A masterclass in planting uncertainty.Now, 37 years after the downing of Pan Am Flight 103, US authorities claim they have extracted DNA from the suitcase believed to have held the bomb.

The sample is being tested to determine whether it matches that of Abu Agila Mohammad Masud, the Libyan man accused of constructing the device.

Let’s be clear: the FBI and the US DoJ know the DNA won’t match. The purpose of this operation isn’t to prove Masud’s guilt — it’s to perform certainty. It’s the modern version of the “look at the door” trick.

Only this time, it’s not the defense gesturing at the door. It’s the prosecution — and they already know no one’s coming through. Because this trial isn’t for a jury. It’s for public consumption.

By conducting a highly publicized DNA analysis — decades after the fact, with compromised evidence — they aren’t seeking truth.

They’re selling belief. They’re telling the world: “We’re still working the case. We believe in the evidence. We believe in the guilt.”

But they don’t. And we know it.

ADDENDUM

RB: I am grateful to John Ashton for the following comment on the above article:

A couple of points re the DNA story in The Sunday Times. The SCCRC, in its original review, considered a DNA trace on one of the umbrella fragments – see paras 4.50 to 4.56 of the Statement of Reasons). The results, while inconclusive, pointed to the Crown forensic experts. Also attached is a photo of the circuit board fragment from the crown forensic report (see below). All the photos in the report were taken at RARDE. The fact that the fragment was resting on a bare fingertip suggests a lack of regard for DNA evidence (and, for that matter, fingerprint evidence).