Moroccan in court again on 9/11 charges

[Dover]

Moroccan in court again on 9/11 charges


Tuesday 10 August 2004, 13:33 Makka Time, 10:33 GMT
A Moroccan man has gone on trial in Germany for the second time in connection with the 11 September attacks in the US.

Mounir El Motassadeq, 30, is accused of conspiring with an al- Qaida cell in Hamburg to stage the aircraft hijackings in which nearly 3,000 people died.

He was charged on Tuesday with plotting the 2001 attacks alongside Mohamed Atta and others, and with membership of a terrorist organisation.

Presiding judge Ernst-Rainer Schudt promised the accused a fair trial independent of the wishes of government and of public expectations and one that would provide a definitive answer as to his involvement.

"The black hole in the chain of evidence will close. We will certainly not sink into it," he said as the bearded Motassadeq listened intently....cont'd

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/628E6978-E19C-41D6-9DC8-FB5CC1B1F27F.htm

[seemslikeadream]

1. Retrial of Convicted Terror Suspect Opens in Hamburg

VOA News
10 Aug 2004, 11:38 UTC


The retrial of the only terror suspect convicted on charges related to the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States opened Tuesday in Hamburg, Germany.
Moroccan Mounir el Motassadeq was convicted last year of assisting a Hamburg-based al-Qaida cell involved in the attacks. But his conviction was overturned in March by a German appeals court, which ruled the trial was unfair because the defendant was denied testimony from two accused terrorists in U. S. custody.

After the proceedings got under way today, the presiding judge, Ernst-Rainer Shudt, read a letter from U.S. officials that said the United States would not agree to a request by the court to question the two men.
more
http://www.voanews.com/article.cfm?objectID=0E031A6C-32C6-46BC-8785AE099F9F5E20

Mounir El Motassadeq, close friend of Sept 11 hijackers


Moroccan Mounir El Motassadeq arrives at the Higher Regional Court of Hamburg
Posted: 10 August 2004 2000 hrs

HAMBURG, Germany : Moroccan student Mounir El Motassadeq, whose new trial over the September 11, 2001 attacks began in Germany, was a close friend of the three suicide hijackers at the heart of the plot.

Motassadeq, now 30, has described himself in testimony as a devout Muslim who was unaware that his cohorts were planning to attack US cities with passenger jets.

But during the trial that led to his conviction in February 2003, prosecutors painted him as a fanatical accomplice able and willing to provide logistical help to assure the conspiracy's success.

The son of a well-to-do medical assistant in Marrakesh, Motassadeq came to Germany in 1993 to pursue studies in electrical engineering.

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_world/view/100091/1/.html

[Jack Rabbit]

2. BBC (Tuesday): US denies key witness to 9/11 trial

From the BBC Online
Dated Tuesday August 10 11:04 GMT (4:04 am PDT)

9/11 retrial denied key witness

The US says it will not allow its al-Qaeda suspects to testify at the retrial of a man charged with helping to plot the 11 September 2001 attacks.
The decision was announced as Moroccan Mounir al-Motassadek appeared in court in Hamburg, Germany, on Tuesday.
The stance is seen as a major blow for the prosecutors.
They had hoped to use testimony from Ramzi Binalshibh, an al-Qaeda suspect in US custody, to reverse the quashing of Mr Motassadek's earlier conviction.
A letter from the US Justice Department read in court said terror suspects in American custody would not be allowed to testify.

Read more.

[Minstrel Boy]

3. This consistent refusal to allow testimony that could presumably convict

9/11 plotters should be a huge story. But it isn't even a story.

The DOJ deems it more important that al Qaeda leadership in custody remain gagged and out of sight, than that they should appear in court and provide testimony that could take alledged terrorists - even those purported to have planned 9/11 - off the streets.

The whole damn world ought to be scratching its collective head and muttering "WTF...?" over this.

Americans ought to be screaming, "What's the problem, Johnny? Why are you so scared of what Ramzi Binalshibh, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and the rest might say?"

But nothing.

[Jack Rabbit]

4. I agree, this should be news

Not everybody is as willing as the Bushies to eliminate due process in the cause of abating terrorism. Assuming, for the sake of argument, that Motassadek belongs behind bars, then how can the Bushies honestly say they are doing all they can to combat terrorism when they fail to assist the German government in prosecuting him?

What the Bushies are combating is not terrorism but human rights. Terrorists, who are also enemies of human rights, benefit as a result.