Lockerbie suspect US trial date is set

Town falls silent to mark the 35th anniversary of atrocity

- ALAN MCEWEN

FAMILIES of the Lockerbie bomb victims yesterday welcomed trial dates set for a terror suspect as the town fell silent for the 35th anniversary of the tragedy.

Prosecutors allege Abu Agila Masud, 72, made the bomb which destroyed Pan Am Flight 103 on December 21, 1988.

The district court in Washington DC has set a starting date for Masud's trial in May 2025.

Kara Weipz, who leads an organisation representing 400 relatives and friends of the Americans killed, said: "It's finally justice in this country and it's something that members of the group have waited a very long time to see.

"It's what we've wanted. We've wanted justice, and it's coming. Hopefully.

US prosecutors allege Masud was an accomplice of fellow Libyan Abdulbaset AI Megrahi, who was convicted at the first Lockerbie trial 22 years ago.

Masud has entered a not guilty plea to charges of destroying an aircraft and killing 270 people.