Refusal to exclude a disputed statement
LIBYA – A report by the British newspaper The London Standard said a US judge has refused a request by lawyers for Abu Agila Masud Al-Marimi to exclude a copy of a statement he gave to police in Libya, allowing prosecutors to submit it as evidence in the Lockerbie bombing case, despite the defence’s challenge to the statement’s authenticity and the completeness of its documentation.
Refusal to exclude a copy of a statement recorded by Libyan police
The report — followed and summarised by Al-Marsad — said Judge Dabney Friedrich on 15 October refused a request to exclude a copy of a statement recorded by a police officer in Libya named Jamal, after the defence argued that the copy submitted did not represent the original document.
Original beyond judicial reach
It added that prosecutors in Washington had tried to obtain the original statement but had been unable to do so because it lies beyond judicial reach, noting that refusing the exclusion request allows the copy to be submitted among the case evidence and does not by itself settle the truth of its contents.
Al-Marimi says the confession was coerced
It noted that Al-Marimi maintains he was forced during his detention in Libya in 2012 to make a false confession — an account his lawyers rely on to challenge the statement.
Attendance at the 15 October hearing
It said Al-Marimi attended the 15 October hearing in prison clothes and followed the proceedings with the help of an interpreter.
Trial postponed after new evidence emerged
The report said the trial had been due to begin last August but was postponed days before the scheduled start of jury selection after new evidence emerged that the defence asked to examine.
19 January set as new trial date
It added that 19 January has been set as the new trial date, without disclosing the nature of the new evidence, while noting that it includes a new witness.
