Lockerbie bombing trial postponed days before it was due to start
The trial judge, Dabney Friedrich, has agreed that the start date should be set aside, underlining the potential importance of the new evidence.
She would have been extremely reluctant to allow an 11th hour postponement after months of preparation and marathon pre-trial legal battles.
For the relatives of those who died and Al-Marimi himself, this latest delay means a verdict might not come until next spring.
It is yet another stunning development in a saga that has witnessed countless twists and turns over nearly four decades.
Pan Am 103 was flying from Heathrow to New York when the bomb exploded in its forward hold, breaking the plane apart at 31,000 feet.
All 259 passengers and crew on board were killed. Another 11 people died in Lockerbie when the wreckage fell on their homes.
Of the victims, 190 were American and 43 from the UK.
Nearly four decades later, the bombing remains the worst terror attack and mass murder in British history.