Court overturns Sep 11 verdict

The Australian ^ | March 04, 2004

[Piefloater]

GERMANY'S federal appeals court has overturned the conviction of Mounir El Motassadeq, the only man found guilty anywhere in the world over the September 11 attacks, and ordered a new trial.

The Moroccan student had been jailed for the maximum 15 years by a court in Hamburg, northern Germany, last year for accessory to the murder of more than 3000 people and membership in a terrorist organisation.

It means Motassadeq will now have to undergo a new trial, also in Hamburg, the city that served as a base for three of the suicide hijackers involved in the deadly 2001 suicide plane attacks in New York and Washington.

In giving its ruling, the appeals court effectively accepted the complaint by lawyers for the 29-year-old that his defence had been unfairly hindered by the refusal of US authorities to allow testimony from a key witness.

The witness, suspected senior al-Qaeda operative Ramzi Binalshibh, is in US custody, but US justice officials refused to allow any of his testimony to be used on the grounds of national security.

Motassadeq, who was not in court to hear Thursday's ruling, is expected to remain in custody pending the new trial.

[Arpege92]

I don't understand why this trial was even held in Hamburg Germany. 9/11 occured here in the U.S. and because the crime was comitted here, so should the trial.