Lockerbie bombing trial postponed days before it was due to start
The trial of a Libyan man accused of building the bomb that destroyed Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie in 1988 has been postponed for a third time, days before it was due to begin in Washington DC. Defence lawyers for Abu Agila Mohammad Kheir Al-Marimi said newly discovered evidence, previously unknown to both the defence and US prosecutors, emerged on 21 August, prompting the delay to allow further investigation. The postponement is a significant setback for victims' relatives who have waited nearly four decades for answers, with a verdict now unlikely before next spring.
Jury selection had been due to start in Washington DC this week, but the BBC understands a new trial date has been set for January 2027. The 1988 bombing killed all 259 people aboard the flight, plus 11 on the ground in Lockerbie, with 190 Americans and 43 Britons among the 270 victims. Al-Marimi, in his 70s and in US custody since 2022, denies the charges; his trial had already been delayed from May 2025 and April 2026 due to his ill health and defence preparation issues. Kara Weipz, president of the Victims of Pan Am Flight 103 group, said she was "floored" by the news but hoped the evidence would ultimately help reveal the truth.
- Lockerbie bombing trial delayed a third time over new evidence
- New Washington DC trial date set for January 2027
- Victims' relatives face further wait for verdict, nearly 38 years on
New here? Start with this
Al-Marimi's case sits within the wider Lockerbie investigation, one of the largest in aviation history, which has run for nearly four decades since Pan Am Flight 103 was blown up over Scotland in December 1988. A Libyan man, Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, was convicted in 2001 for the bombing and later released on compassionate grounds before his death; Al-Marimi is accused of building the bomb device itself and was handed to US custody in 2022 to face separate charges.
Relatives of the 270 people killed, most of them American and British, have pursued the case for decades as successive legal proceedings have unfolded slowly, with earlier delays already pushing the trial back from its original 2025 date. The case matters because it is expected to be one of the last chances for a court to establish accountability for the bombing, and any resolution carries weight for the families still seeking answers.