The father of a Lockerbie victim has expressed fears the alleged bombmaker may never be put on trial after it was delayed for up to four months – due to ‘medical issues.’
Libyan Abu Agila Masud, 71, has been accused of making the bomb which killed 270 victims over Lockerbie, in south-western Scotland, on 21 December 1988 and was due to go on trial in Washington in May next year.
But Paul Hudson, who lost his daughter Melina in the bombing as she flew home to New York after a semester at a school in Exeter, Devon, said he has been informed this week of a delay ‘between 90-120 days.’
Mr Hudson, who now lives in Florida, was delivered the news as he prepared to mark the 36th anniversary of the crash, that took the lives of 190 American citizens – making it the worst terror attack against the US until 9/11.
Melina was returning home for the holidays after an exchange agreement with her high school back home, the Albany Academy for Girls. She was the first American girl to attend the Exeter School.
The 16-year-old had originally been scheduled to fly home on December 22, but travel plans were changed at the last minute.
Mr Hudson has since spent decades fighting for justice for the victims of Pan Am 103.
Masud was due to stand trial at a federal court in Washington next May accused of two counts of destruction of an aircraft resulting in death and destruction of a vehicle resulting in death. He has denied all three charges.
Paul Hudson, who lost his daughter Melina (pictured) in the bombing as she flew home to New York after a semester at a school in Exeter, Devon, said he has been informed this week of a delay ‘between 90-120 days.’
But the notification of the delay was sent by the US Department of Justice on Thursday last week – leaving relatives concerned whether it will ever go ahead.
Mr Hudson said: ‘I only just found out he had an unspecified medical condition that requires treatment. The message from the prosecution was that it will delay everything by between 90-120 days that will push the trial back.
‘It is odd. There was a secret hearing earlier this month and it was not disclosed to the public. I’ve only now had official notice it could be three to four months delayed as a result.
‘The longer times goes by the more difficult it becomes to get justice. We will just have to see what happens now. I believe he is in his early to mid 70s so it could be for a number of things.
‘I guess we will know more in the next month as these things have a way of coming out. But that’s all we’ve been told for now and it is obviously very disappointing. The longer the delay there is less chance we will see any form of justice.’
Libyan intelligence agent Abdelbasset Al-Megrahi was found in 2001 to have played a key role in the bombing and convicted of the murder of 270 people.
He was jailed for life but had terminal cancer and was freed on compassionate grounds by the Scottish government in 2009. He died in Libya three years later while still protesting his innocence.
Mr Hudson has been an active campaigner for justice since December 1988 and travelled to Lockerbie in the aftermath to see the devastation and speak to other relatives.
Melina Hudson (pictured) had originally been scheduled to fly home on December 22, but travel plans were changed at the last minute
Mr Hudson (pictured) has since spent decades fighting for justice for the victims of Pan Am 103
The Hudson family. Pictured L-R: David, Eleanor, Paul, Paul Joseph, Melina, and Stephen
The following year he co-founded and became the initial leader of two victim family relative organizations, the Victims of Pan Am Flight 103 and then the Families of the Pan Am 103/Lockerbie.
He is presently a board member of the Pan Am 103/Lockerbie Legacy Foundation.
Mr Hudson said he had spent the anniversary marking it with his close family.
He added: ‘Of course we always remember and do something every year. This year the family are scattered but we gathered together remotely tomorrow to commemorate it.
‘I am in Utah with my wife’s family and my sons are spread around the US but with the wonder of modern electronics it is all possible.
‘It changes in the sense that time goes by but the memories are always there. I would say it has become a tradition and one that we are now letting our grandchildren join.
Mr Hudson said they were also facing an ongoing battle to provide remote access to the court case.
He added: ‘We are still looking for a final decision from the judge. The defence is against it and the judge is not in favour but there was a law passed by congress.’
Melina (pictured) was one of the 270 victims and she died aged 16 years old
Melina Hudson poses for a photograph with brother Stephen and Paul Joseph
Paul Hudson said the longer times goes by, the ‘more difficult it becomes to get justice’. Pictured: The Hudson family
Residents look at the scene of devastation in Lockerbie on December 21, 1988
Abu Agila Masud (pictured in 2022) has been accused of making the bomb which killed 270 victims over Lockerbie
All 259 passengers and crew aboard the London to New York flight were killed when the device detonated. A further 11 Lockerbie residents died as wreckage fell on their homes.
The US announced charges against Libyan Masud in 2020 on the 32nd anniversary of the bombing, with the then Attorney General William P. Barr saying the operation was ordered by the leadership of Libyan intelligence.
He also claimed Muammar Gaddafi, Libya’s leader from 1969 to 2011, had personally thanked Masud for his work.
At the time the charges were revealed, Masud was in Libyan custody in an unrelated case. He was taken into US custody in December 2022.
He will be the first person accused of playing a part in the bombing to be tried in a US court.
Abdelbaset Al Megrahi and co-accused Al Amin Khalifa Fahima stood trial in a Scottish court sitting in the Netherlands during 2000 and 2001. Megrahi was found guilty of mass murder and sent to Scotland to serve his life. Fahima was acquitted and returned to Libya.
The Scottish Government released terminally ill Megrahi on compassionate grounds in 2009, three years before he died of cancer.