9/11 Prisoner Wins German Retrial

The BBC ^ | March 4, 2004

[RWR8189]

The fight against terrorism cannot be a wild, unjust war Presiding Judge Klaus Tolksdorf Profile: Mounir al-Motassadek Q&A: Motassadek retrial

Mr Motassadek, 29, had been serving a 15-year sentence.

But the presiding judge said the evidence against him had not been sufficient for a conviction.

"The fight against terrorism cannot be a wild, unjust war," Klaus Tolksdorf said.

"A conflict between the security interests of the executive and the rights to defence of the accused cannot be resolved to the disadvantage of the accused."

Abdelghani Mzoudi was released from custody in December

He added that although Mr Motassadek was "far from being beyond suspicion", but had a right to a new trial if legal standards were below those he expected.

"We are announcing a verdict here that we do not expect will be greeted with complete agreement," the judge said.

German Interior Minister Otto Schily said the decision was "regrettable" but noted that Mr Motassadek had not been acquitted and would be prosecuted again.

A lawyer representing American relatives of victims, Andreas Schulz, said the verdict "will surely meet with incomprehension on the part of the families".

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

The BBC's Ray Furlong in Germany says the latest acquittal will come as a blow to prosecutors, and could jeopardise other cases involving alleged al-Qaeda members.

Pressure on US

A Hamburg court found him guilty last year of being a member of the cell which supplied three of the suicide hijackers who carried out the 11 September attacks.

The evidence Mr Motassadek's lawyers used to win him a retrial was supplied by German investigators in the case of Abdelghani Mzoudi last month.

The source was acknowledged in court to be Ramzi Binalshibh, a senior al-Qaeda suspect now in US custody, but this has not been made official.

Our correspondent says there will now be increased pressure on the United States to reverse a decision to withhold full transcripts of Mr Binalshibh's interrogation.

Is the world doing enough to cooperate in combating terrorism? Send us your comments.

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[yooper]

"The fight against terrorism cannot be a wild, unjust war," Klaus Tolksdorf said.

Well, I guess he ought to know. His ancestors made wild, unjust war an art form.

[Pan_Yans Wife]

ping

[nuconvert]

Heard about this. At least they're keeping him locked up until the trial.

Here's the BIG problem:

"could jeopardise other cases involving alleged al-Qaeda members."

[dagnabbit]

Another mile marker on the West's Islamic-immigration road to suicide.

[Tailgunner Joe]