Germany: 9/11 Suspect Seeks Recall of Witnesses

German Times ^ | January 07 2003 | AP

[knighthawk]

HAMBURG, Germany (AP) — An attorney for the first Sept. 11 suspect to face trial asked Tuesday for several witnesses to be recalled, saying he wants to press them on apparent inconsistencies in their testimony.

The request came as the Hamburg state court tried to move toward wrapping up testimony in the trial of Mounir el Motassadeq, accused of providing logistical support to the Hamburg-based al-Qaida cell that included Sept. 11 suicide pilots Mohamed Atta, Marwan al-Shehhi and Ziad Jarrah.

The 28-year-old Moroccan faces a possible life sentence if convicted on charges of membership in a terrorist organization and more than 3,000 counts of accessory to murder. His trial began Oct. 22.

Asked by Judge Albrecht Mentz whether any more witnesses were needed, defense attorney Hans Leistritz said several of the two dozen who testified should be recalled.

They include librarian Angela Duile, who testified that al-Shehhi told her more than a year before the Sept. 11 attacks that ``something will happen and there will be thousands dead, and mentioned the World Trade Center.''

Leistritz suggested Duile had misidentified al-Shehhi, saying he was living in Bonn as a student at the time Duile said he made daily visits to the Hamburg library.

The defense also requested the recall of Joerg Klose, a German federal police officer who testified that authorities had traced a number dialed by el Motassadeq to a radical group in Saudi Arabia. Leistritz maintained the number was a bookstore.

The judge took his request under consideration and said the matter would be further discussed when the trial resumes Wednesday.

Defense and prosecutors submitted a list of some 160 witnesses when the trial began, but only a fraction were called. In the German legal system, judges decide who testifies.

Leistritz also asked the court to have German federal anti-crime authorities release files on their surveillance of the Hamburg circle around Atta before the Sept. 11 attacks.

``When you're trying to explain what happened Sept. 11 you have to put everything on the table,'' Leistritz told reporters outside the court.

Chief prosecutor Walter Hemberger said he had no need for further witnesses, but was waiting for files from German federal police or an explanation for why they could not be turned over. He did not elaborate on the content or significance of the files.

[knighthawk]

Europe-list

If people want on or off this list, please let me know.

[knighthawk]

Ping

[knighthawk]

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20030107/ts_nm/germany_trial_dc_1

FBI Head Won't Testify in German Sept. 11 Trial

By Adam Tanner

HAMBURG, Germany (Reuters) - The United States has again refused to allow the FBI director to testify in the first trial of a suspected Sept. 11 plotter, a German court said Tuesday.

A judge told the Hamburg court the U.S. Justice Department ad rejected a second request for FBI Director Robert Muller to testify against Moroccan student Mounir El Motassadeq.

Motassadeq is charged with serving as the paymaster of the al Qaeda cell in Hamburg accused of masterminding the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon.

The judge also said the United States had rejected requests for Sept. 11 co-plotter Ramzi bin al-Shaibah, now in U.S. custody at a secret location and considered a main witness, to testify.

"It will now be impossible to learn the truth," defense lawyer Hans Leistritz said afterwards. "The Americans should put all they have on the table."

Washington had once before rejected a request for Bin al-Shaibah, a former Hamburg resident accused of playing a major role in the attack, to testify.

Hamburg was a staging ground for the September 11 attacks. Ringleader Mohamed Atta and two other hijackers lived in the northern German port city in the 1990s.

ADDRESSING THE ACCUSED

Judge Albrecht Mentz said he was about to "hold a conversation" with Motassadeq Tuesday in a potentially dramatic twist to the case when Leistritz introduced motions to bring many witnesses who had already testified back to the stand.

"We are coming to the end of the evidence," Mentz said. "I would like to have a conversation with you Mr. Motassadeq."

Mentz's public "conversation" with Motassadeq is now expected to take place Wednesday.

Attorneys for the co-plaintiffs said it could indicate the panel of five judges are leading toward a guilty verdict and want to offer him another chance to plead guilty.

"It will be significant," lawyer Ulrich von Jeinsen said.

Motassadeq is charged with more than 3,000 counts of aiding and abetting murder and accused of belonging to the Islamist cell in Hamburg that led the attacks.

By changing his plea Motassadeq could shave several years of a possible sentence of up to 15 years.

Leistritz told Reuters there was no basis for a guilty verdict.

"There has been not witness testimony or evidence that shows he was involved with the September 11 attacks," he said.

Prosecution lawyers say an array of circumstantial evidence links Motassadeq with the plotters. He signed Atta's will, handled money for one of the hijackers, and has admitted he received paramilitary training in Afghanistan.

The trial continues Wednesday.