Cable News Network
Aug. 10, 2004
HAMBURG, Germany -- The United States has said it will not let key al Qaeda suspects in its custody testify at the retrial of the only September 11 suspect ever to be convicted.
The announcement came as the retrial of Mounir el Motassadeq opened in a Hamburg courtroom on Tuesday.
In a letter to the German Embassy in Washington, U.S. officials said "interactive access" to such prisoners could hamper their interrogation and lead to critical secret information being divulged, The Associated Press reported.
However, the U.S. State Department letter, which was read out in court, said the United States would provide unclassified summaries, apparently of interrogations, according to AP.
Trial Judge Ernst-Rainer Schudt described the offer of summaries as "a bit of progress."
In el Motassadeq's first trial, U.S. authorities refused to allow even transcripts of two key suspects' interrogations to be admitted as evidence.
In February 2003, el Motassadeq became the first person anywhere to be convicted in connection with the 2001 attacks. He was sentenced to 15 years in jail.
But earlier this year, an appeals court ruled the verdict was unfair because the U.S.-held witnesses did not testify, and it ordered a new trial.
El Motassadeq, who denies the charges, was released from prison in April.
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Commentary:
He's gonna go free...
=John C.= |
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Commentary:
We've been following this incredible story for months, and we remain amazed that almost nobody seems to give a damn.
To re re-iterate: America's policy seems to say, bluntly, that U.S. claims of secrecy are more important than prosecuting and punishing the culprits behind 9/11.
Do "we the people" agree? Are these the priorities we approve of?
=H&HH= |
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In May, German authorities asked the United States to provide access to six key witnesses, including Ramzi Binalshibh, a Yemeni who is believed to have been the Hamburg al Qaeda cell's key contact with Osama bin Laden's organization.
However, in its letter, the United States said that even information on whether a given individual was in custody was classified as secret.
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In May, German authorities asked the United States to provide access to six key witnesses, including Ramzi Binalshibh, a Yemeni who is believed to have been the Hamburg al Qaeda cell's key contact with Osama bin Laden's organization.
However, in its letter, the United States said that even information on whether a given individual was in custody was classified as secret.
Other key witnesses sought by German authorities include suspected September 11 plotter Zacarias Moussaoui and Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, who is thought to be the mastermind of the attacks.
Opening the retrial Tuesday, Judge Schudt said the Hamburg state court wouldn't be swayed by political pressure.
"For me, this is not about fulfilling the expectations of governments or the public," he said. "The black hole in the chain of evidence will close. We will certainly not sink into it."
El Motassadeq smiled but said nothing as he entered the court. He briefly answered questions about his identity but turned down the judge's offer to respond to the indictment, AP reported.
El Motassadeq's lawyer said he would maintain his client's innocence, then ask the court to drop the proceedings because past experience showed el Motassadeq would not get a fair trial.
Lawyer Josef Graessle-Muenscher told AP he would argue that torture "underlies the interrogation system of the United States," making any evidence from Binalshibh or Mohammed inadmissible even if it is provided.
He cited reports from prisoners released from U.S. military detention at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and the policy of holding Taliban and al Qaeda suspects without giving them the usual rights of prisoners of war set out in the Geneva Conventions, AP said.
El Motassadeq is accused of helping pay tuition and other bills for members of the Hamburg al Qaeda cell, which included suicide hijackers Mohamed Atta, Marwan al-Shehhi and Ziad Jarrah, to allow them to live as students as they plotted the attacks.
He admitted training in bin Laden's camps in Afghanistan, and witnesses at his trial testified that he was as radical as the rest of the group, often talking of jihad -- holy war -- and his hatred of Israel and the United States.
He signed Atta's will and had power of attorney over al-Shehhi's bank account.
El Motassadeq has said he was nothing more than close friends with the others and did only things that a good Muslim would do for any "brother."
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