A US judge has ruled that an alleged confession by Abu Agila Mas'ud Kheir Al-Marimi, who is accused of building the bomb that brought down an American airliner over Lockerbie, can be used at his trial. Mr Al-Marimi, 74, has claimed he was forced to make a false confession by three masked men while in custody in Libya.
Defence lawyers for Mr Al-Marimi had asked a federal court in Washington to rule the alleged confession inadmissible, arguing it was not the original document. However, Judge Dabney Friedrich denied this motion, meaning the document can be used as evidence.
Mr Al-Marimi has denied building and priming the bomb that caused Pan Am Flight 103 to crash over Lockerbie on 21 December 1988, resulting in 270 deaths. He has stated that the masked men ordered him to memorise information about the destruction of Pan Am 103 and another terror attack, and that he repeated this information to a Libyan official under duress after threats were made against his family.
The FBI has stated that the Libyan official who recorded Mr Al-Marimi's confession in 2012 is prepared to give evidence at the trial. Mr Al-Marimi's trial is scheduled for April next year in the United States.