Germany Delays 9/11 Verdict, New Witness Found

Reuters ^ | January 21 2004 | Philip Blenkinsop

[knighthawk]

BERLIN (Reuters) - A German court postponed on Wednesday the verdict on a Moroccan accused of aiding the Sept. 11 attackers after prosecutors said they had found a new witness, casting doubt on his expected acquittal.

The Hamburg court where Abdelghani Mzoudi is on trial said that the verdict would not now be issued Thursday as expected after a request from prosecutors to hear evidence from two police officials about a new witness.

"Federal prosecutors sent to the court today a substantial transcript dated January 19 regarding the questioning of a witness whose reliability is guaranteed and who would incriminate the accused Mzoudi," the court said in a statement.

Mzoudi, 31, had been expected to be cleared of the charge of several thousand counts of aiding and abetting murder and membership of a terrorist organization after he was released from custody in a surprise move last month.

His release came after German investigators informed the court of secret testimony which the trial judge presumed to have come from key al Qaeda figure Ramzi bin al-Shaibah who is now in U.S. custody.

That testimony suggested the Moroccan did not belong to the core group of plotters based in Hamburg -- an al Qaeda cell said to have been instrumental in the 2001 attacks on America.

The United States has shared details of bin al-Shaibah's testimony with Germany, but has been unwilling to allow it be released to a court.

Independent lawyers had said it appeared very likely that Mzoudi, whose trial has continued, would be acquitted.

However, prosecutors are now seeking a 30-day break for judges to assess the credibility of the new witness. The court will hear new information from two police officers and a federal prosecutor Thursday. Neither the court nor defense lawyers gave any details about the new witness.

Mzoudi's trial is only the second of a suspected Sept. 11 plotter. Last year the same court sentenced another Moroccan, Mounir El Motassadeq, to 15 years in jail on similar charges.

His lawyers were expecting to hear the results of an appeal, which could lead to a retrial, next week. They say that the new evidence that led to Mzoudi's release should lead to a review of Motassadeq's conviction.

U.S. Attorney-General John Ashcroft and lawyers representing the relatives of September 11 victims have described the freeing of Mzoudi as disappointing.

[Angelus Errare]

These groups may not all be al-Qaeda, though I would argue that the difference between them is at best a matter of semantics due to their shared membership in bin Laden's International Islamic Front. The Chechens who took over that Moscow theater were in contact with their controllers in Pankisi and the Gulf, the Algerian nuts openly proclaim their allegiance to bin Laden, and for the Pakistani jihadis the issue has gone beyond Kashmir to more or less conquering India. You yourself have spent ample time chronicling the links between the Balkans jihadis and bin Laden's storm troopers.

We can't afford to ignore this (or where all the money for all of these operations is ultimately coming from) anymore than we can afford to ignore those segments of the Iranian government that are more or less complicit in an unprovoked attack on the US.

[Destro]

Not ignoring just saying to say Iran is not accurate. Iranian elements. Those elements may be the Iranian Mullahs themselves. This alliance with al-Qaeda worked in Bosnia....

[Angelus Errare]

I should probably ask this, since you know better than I, what division of the Iranian government was it that provided assistance to the Balkans jihadis - Qods Force, VEVAK, IRGC, ect.

The reason I ask is because I recalled this particular passage in an FAS description of the functions of the IRGC with regard to foreign operations:

"The largest branch of Pasdaran foreign operations consists of approximately 12,000 Arabic speaking Iranians, Afghans, Iraqis, Lebanese shi’ites and North Africans who trained in Iran or received training in Afghanistan during the Afghan war years. Presently these foreign operatives receive training in Iran, Sudan and Lebanon, and include the Hizballah ["Party of Allah"] intelligence, logistics and operational units in Lebanon [Hizballah is primarily a social and political rather than military organization]. The second largest Pasdaran foreign operations relates to the Kurds (particularly Iraqi Kurds), while the third largest relates to the Kashmiri’s, the Balouchi’s and the Afghans. The Pasdaran has also supported the establishment of Hizballah branches in Lebanon, Iraqi Kurdistan, Jordan and Palestine, and the Islamic Jihad in many other Moslem countries including Egypt, Turkey, Chechnya and in Caucasia."

That I don't know about you, but I found that extremely interesting, especially given that most of the Afghan jihadis were Sunnis, not Shi'ites.

[Destro]

many jihadis were shi'ites in Afghanistan during the Soviet era. Somthing not much talked about.

[F14 Pilot]

It is obvious that those regimes which support terrorism around the world were behind 9/11 disaster like Saudia Arabia and former Iraqi regime.

[Cindy]

Thank you F14 Pilot.

[Prince Charles]

Defector Alleges Iranian Involvement in Sept. 11 Attacks

[Cindy]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1062738/posts

"Surprise witness in German court may link Iran to Sept. 11"
Chicago Tribune/Seattle Times ^ | By John Crewdson and Cam Simpson


Posted on 01/22/2004 1:07:55 AM PST by witnesstothefall
Edited on 01/22/2004 1:12:51 AM PST by Admin Moderator. [history]



ARTICLE SNIPPET: "WASHINGTON — On what had been the eve of his widely expected acquittal, the trial of the second person charged by German authorities as an accomplice of the Sept. 11 hijackers was thrown into turmoil yesterday after prosecutors disclosed the existence of a surprise witness purporting to link Iran to the hijackings. The mysterious witness, who goes by the name Hamid Reza Zakeri and claims to have been a longtime member of the Iranian intelligence service, is said to have told German investigators that the Sept. 11 plot represented what one termed a "joint venture" between the terrorist group al-Qaida and the Iranian government."

[Prince Charles]

Al-Qaida tied to Iran intelligence, military: Defector- Models of WTC, Pentagon at Tehran spy base

[aristeides]

Prince Charles's link is what you were asking about. Note that the source of the story is apparently this same surprise witness.

[nuconvert]

thnx

[rrrod]

oh come on now folks!!! we all know that dubya was behind the 9-11 attack...remember the german itel officer that said bush did it with remote control?....seriously my insticts tell me the germans are trying to find a way of letting this guy go! hope im wrong on this tho

[nuconvert]

Hamid Reza Zakiri (Zakeri)!

This isn't his real name. (supposedly)

[nuconvert]

If they decide Zakeri isn't credible, then they'll let Mzoudi off.

I can't decide if he's credible or not.

[swarthyguy]

The forces of darkness and depravity herald a totalitarian future of no joy.

Let's see how the Hajj transpires this year.

Jihadis have to make a play for either Pakistan, the House of Saud, or both.

[txhurl]

Wall Street's spreading the rumor we got OBL. I'm helping spread it: ernest_at_the_beach infected me with it via CNBC.

[Dog]

Thanks for the translation.

[Prince Charles]

I just found the freep version here: Al-Qaida tied to Iran intelligence, military: Models of WTC, Pentagon at Tehran spy base

[longjack]

Thanks for the translation. You're welcome. Anytime.

I wished I had seen the ping earlier.

longjack

[aristeides]

New article from today in Der Spiegel: Der merkwürdige Zeuge "N-941-H" [The Remarkable Witness "N-941-H]. Clearly some people doubt the witness's credibility. But it's also becoming clear to people how important a matter it would be if he's telling the truth.