Lockerbie bombing suspect's trial expected to begin in 2026

Transcripts indicate medical issues affecting suspect Abu Agila Mohammad Masud

Abu Agila Mohammad Masud is accused of making the bomb that exploded on board a US-bound Pam Am flight over Lockerbie, Scotland, killing 270 people. AFP

US prosecutors are expected to request a federal court to set an April 2026 trial date for Abu Agila Mohammad Masud, the Libyan man accused of making the bomb that brought down Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland in 1988.

According to a joint status report seen by The National, federal prosecutors and court-appointed lawyers for Mr Masud, 73, plan to prepare and submit a pretrial schedule after a June 5 hearing.

“Given the complex, international nature of the evidence in this case, that pretrial schedule will have several atypical features,” the report reads.

Lockerbie suspect Abu Agila Mohammad Masud's trial will probably begin in April 2026, according to a status conference report.

At least three depositions of foreign nationals will have to take place outside the US before the trial begins, the report notes.

A court transcript shows that continuing health problems affecting the suspect have been a consistent obstacle in bringing his case to trial.

“I'm sorry to hear about your medical issues,” Judge Dabney Friedrich said to Mr Masud, who was observing the hearing by video conference with the assistance of a translator.

She asked for Mr Masud's lawyers to provide updates about his health condition in the weeks ahead.

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  The remnants of a Pan Am commercial aircraft lie in a field in Lockerbie, Scotland, in December 1988. AFP

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  Local residents look at one of the four engines of the Pan Am jet on a street in Lockerbie. AFP

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  The Boeing 747 'Clipper Maid of the Seas, which was flying from London to New York, was destroyed when a bomb was detonated in its forward cargo hold. AFP

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  The bombing of the jumbo jet killed all 259 people on board and another 11 people on the ground. AFP

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  Police and investigators look at what remains of the nose of Pan Am Flight 103 in a field in Lockerbie in December 1988. AP

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  The nose section of the crashed Boeing 747. AP

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  Houses destroyed by the downed jet. Getty

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  The bombing remains the deadliest terrorist attack to have taken place in the UK. Getty

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  A memorial to those killed in the 1988 bombing in Lockerbie. Reuters

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  Abu Agila Mohammad Masud, second from left, a Libyan man accused of making the bomb that destroyed Pan Am Flight 103, has been taken into US custody. He was charged by the US two years ago in connection with the Lockerbie bombing. Reuters

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  Some of the destruction caused by Pan Am Flight 103 after it crashed. Getty

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  Investigators reconstructed parts of the jet and proved a bomb caused the crash. Getty

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  Abdelbaset Al Megrahi, the only person convicted of the Lockerbie bombing, was released early from prison after being diagnosed with terminal cancer. He died in May 2012. Many have maintained that Al Megrahi was innocent.

“We will certainly endeavour to provide the court whatever updates we can regarding the medical appointments, but it may be helpful to have an update from the marshals as well since they are the direct communicators with the medical providers,” said Whitney Minter, one of the Lockerbie suspect's court-appointed lawyers.

Parts of the transcript are redacted, obscuring possible details about Mr Masud's health, along with other trial planning discussions and concerns.

The unredacted sections show an effort by prosecutors and the federal court to allow victims to listen to the June 5 hearing, along with other court dates in what has become a complex investigation.

“We have the information for the victim group,” said one of the prosecutors, telling the judge that as many of those affected by the tragedy as possible had been notified around the world of the proceedings.

The defendant said little at the recent pretrial conference. “If my lawyers need me, I am available,” he said.

In 2023, Mr Masud pleaded not guilty in connection to the 1988 attack, one of the deadliest terrorist attacks in UK and US history.

Only one other person, former Libyan intelligence officer Abdelbaset Al Megrahi, has been convicted for the bombing.

After his conviction in 2001, Mr Megrahi spent seven years in a Scottish prison, but he was eventually released on compassionate grounds and died in Libya in 2012.

In 2003, Libya claimed responsibility for the attack that took down the plane.

The US government filed charges against Mr Masud in 2020, but it took more than two years to extradite him from Libya.

All 259 people on board perished in the attack and 11 people were killed by falling debris on December 21, 1988, shortly after the Pan Am flight took off from London bound for New York.

Of the victims, 190 were American citizens, along with others from the UK, Argentina, Belgium, Bolivia, Canada, France, Germany, Hungary, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, the Philippines, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and Trinidad and Tobago.