With the support of Scotland’s prosecution service, the Crown Office, American justice officials proposed that they could watch the trial on a secure version of the Zoom platform, with the threat of contempt of court for anyone misusing the footage.
They argued that making people go to courthouses or embassies to follow the case would be “logistically unreasonable, unfeasible, impractical and unworkable.”
But Masud’s lawyers argued this was the only way to guarantee footage would not be accessed by unauthorised third parties.
Judge Freidrich said: “Such violations could impair the proceedings and jeopardize the defendant’s right to a fair trial.
“Livestreaming such proceedings to individuals’ personal devices is fraught with risks of a constitutional dimension. In today’s internet age, a rebroadcasted court proceeding could travel around the world and remain electronically preserved forever.”
Kara Weipz, president of the American group Victims of Pan Am Flight 103, said: “It’s extremely disappointing in that we were hoping everyone would have access to the trial and this is obviously going to eliminate people who can’t get to remote sites.
“At the same time, I can’t say that I don’t understand the ruling. No judge wants to have a trial overturned or questioned on appeal.”
Masud is currently undergoing medical treatment for an undisclosed health condition but the trial is still scheduled to get under way on 12 May.
