Judge postpones US trial for Libyan man charged in 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103

New evidence prompts trial delay for Libyan man charged in 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 1 of 2 | This image provided by the Alexandria, Va., Sheriff’s Office shows Abu Agila Mohammad Mas’ud Kheir Al-Marimi, who is in custody at the Alexandria Adult Detention Center, Dec. 12, 2022, in Alexandria, Va. (Alexandria Sheriff’s Office via AP) 2 of 2 | The artist sketch depicts Assistant U.S. Attorney Erik Kenerson, front left, watching as Whitney Minter, a public defender from the eastern division of Virginia, stands to represent Abu Agila Mohammad Mas’ud Kheir Al-Marimi, accused of making the bomb that brought down Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, in 1988, in federal court in Washington, Dec. 12, 2022, as Magistrate Judge Robin Meriweather listens. (Dana Verkouteren via AP) By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN Updated 1:48 AM MESZ, August 25, 2026 Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge on Monday postponed a trial in the U.S. for a former Libyan intelligence official charged in the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103, citing the discovery of new evidence that defense attorneys want to examine in the nearly 40-year-old case. Jury selection was scheduled to begin Wednesday for the federal trial of Abu Agila Mohammad Mas’ud Kheir Al-Marimi in Washington, D.C. His trial will be the first in the U.S. for the Dec. 21, 1988, bombing. U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich’s order didn’t specify the nature of the newly discovered evidence. Al-Marimi’s lawyers say prosecutors disclosed the new evidence to them on Saturday and added that their “constitutional and ethical obligations require the defense to investigate this development.” Defense attorney Laura Koenig, an assistant federal public defender, declined to elaborate in response to an Associated Press inquiry. The judge scheduled a Sept. 1 hearing in Washington to discuss the status of the case. Friedrich’s brief order cited the complex nature of the case, the newly discovered evidence and “the need for the defense to determine how best to defend this case” as reasons to postpone the trial. Al-Marimi is charged in the U.S. with making the bomb that downed the airplane, killing 270 people, most of them Americans. 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Kara Weipz, board president of the nonprofit Victims of Pan Am Flight 103, said her organization had received no details about the new evidence that prompted the trial delay. Weipz’s brother Richard Monetti was among the Syracuse students killed. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google and Terms of Service apply. She called the delay a shock and noted that some victims’ relatives were already packing to head to the trial. “At the same time, for almost 38 years we’ve been seeking the truth of what happened,” Weipz said. “If that’s what this is, then that’s a good thing, and this delay is worth it. ... It’s important to hear all the facts.” Prosecutors allege Al-Marimi and others carried out the bombing at the direction of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, who was ousted and killed during a 2011 civil war. Two other Libyan intelligence agents were tried by a panel of Scottish judges on a former U.S. military base in the Netherlands in 2000. The tribunal convicted one official and acquitted the other, but the bombmaker’s possible identity remained a mystery for years. Al-Marimi, 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. Al-Marimi worked for the Libyan intelligence service from approximately 1973 to 2011, rising to the rank of colonel, according to prosecutors. Prosecutors believe he brought a suitcase containing a bomb to an airport in Malta and gave it to co-conspirators for a flight to Frankfurt, Germany. The suitcase traveled from Frankfurt to London, where it was loaded onto Flight 103, according to investigators. Associated Press reporter Gene Johnson in Seattle contributed.