Lockerbie bombing suspect pleads not guilty to charges connected to 1988 terrorist attack

By Holmes Lybrand, CNN

A Libyan man accused of being involved in making the bomb that destroyed Pan Am Flight 103 over the town of Lockerbie, Scotland, in December 1988 pleaded not guilty on Wednesday to three federal charges brought against him in Washington, DC.

Abu Agila Mohammad Mas’ud Kheir Al-Marimi faces two charges of destruction of an aircraft resulting in death and one charge of destruction of a vehicle used in foreign commerce by an explosive, resulting in death. If convicted, he faces life in prison.

A detention hearing for Mas’ud is scheduled for February 23.

The attack killed 270 people — 259 aboard the Boeing 747 and 11 on the ground — when a bomb detonated on the flight over Scotland.

Authorities in the US and Scotland announced last month that Mas’ud was in US custody. The US charged Mas’ud for his alleged involvement in the bombing two years ago, a spokesman for the UK Crown Office and Prosecutor Fiscal Service previously told CNN. Mas’ud had been in custody in Libya for unrelated crimes when he was charged by the Justice Department two years ago.

During his initial court appearance in December, Mas’ud did not enter a plea, citing the need to retain counsel before proceeding in the case.

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CNN’s Devan Cole contributed to this report.