Verdict in German 9-11 Trial: Guilty - 15 years for first 9/11 accused

Wednesday, February 19, 2003

[JohnHuang2]

HAMBURG, Germany --A Moroccan man accused of aiding the September 11 suicide hijackers has been jailed for 15 years in the first trial of a suspect in the plot to attack the United States.

Mounir el Motassadeq, a 28-year-old electrical engineering student, was found guilty of being an accessory to 3,045 murders in New York and Washington and being member of a terrorist organisation.

CNN's Matthew Chance said the 15-year sentence was the maximum the court could impose under German law.

Prosecutors alleged he provided logistical support for the Hamburg al Qaeda cell that included lead hijacker Mohamed Atta, who piloted one of the two airliners that crashed into the World Trade Center.

Police blocked off the street in front of the Hamburg courthouse on Wednesday morning as dozens of journalists queued for tight security screening to enter the building.

El Motassadeq consistently denied the charges during his three-and-a-half-month trial and his lawyers were seeking an acquittal from the five-judge panel.

During the trial the defendant acknowledged he knew the six other alleged members of the Hamburg cell -- Atta plus two other pilots of the airliners, Ziad Jarrah and Marwan al-Shehhi; and logisticians Ramzi Binalshibh, Said Bahaji and Zakariya Essabar. But he said he knew nothing of their plans.

"I couldn't believe that people I knew could do something like that," el Motassadeq said in his closing statement last week. "I watched it on television and I was shocked... I can only hope that something like September 11 never happens again."

But witnesses testified that el Motassadeq, a slight, bearded man, was as radical as the rest of the group, talking of jihad -- holy war -- and his hatred of Israel and the United States.

The defendant himself admitted training in a camp run by Osama bin Laden -- the al Qaeda chief alleged by the U.S. to be the mastermind of the September 11 attacks -- in Afghanistan in 2000.

Prosecutors alleged el Motassadeq used his power of attorney over al-Shehhi's bank account to pay rent, tuition and utility bills, allowing the plotters to keep up the appearance of being normal students in Germany.

El Motassadeq argued he was simply providing an innocent service to friends and that he took weapons training in Afghanistan because he believed all Muslims should learn to shoot.

The defence tried several times unsuccessfully to obtain testimony by two of el Motassadeq's friends, Ramzi Binalshibh and Mohammed Haydar Zammar -- a lack of evidence that the lawyers say could be grounds for an appeal in case of a guilty verdict.

Binalshibh, a Yemeni suspect in U.S. custody, is believed to have been the Hamburg cell's key contact with al Qaeda. Zammar, an alleged al Qaeda recruiter in Hamburg, is in prison in Syria.

The court failed to get the men released to testify and German authorities refused to turn over their files on the two, saying transcripts of their interrogations were provided to them on condition they only be used for intelligence purposes.

Motassadeq, a member of a middle-class family, came to Germany in 1993 to study. By 1995, he was studying electrical engineering in Hamburg, where he is believed to have first met Atta no later than the following year.

Lawyers representing Americans who lost family members on September 11 had said they would appeal if el Motassadeq did not receive close to the maximum sentence. Family members are allowed to be co-plaintiffs under German law.

A journalist who observed the trial for CNN said the prosecution's job had made more difficult because of the circumstantial nature of the evidence. But there were some dramatic moments.

"Especially telling was the testimony of a witness who accused him of having said all Jews should burn and we will dance on their grave," said Sebastian Fastenau.

Family members of American victims became co-plaintiffs and testified in court, including Stephen Push, who lost his his wife in the September 11 attack on New York.

"One of the most disturbing things about the case was the discovery that the German authorities knew much about this al Qaeda cell years prior to the September 11 attack," he told CNN. "Just like the authorities in the United States -- the FBI and CIA -- they were aware of some of these individuals, have been tracking them and yet were not able to connect the dots, were not able to use that information to prevent the attacks."

Some lawyers had seen the trial as a test case for future al Qaeda prosecutions.

The trial did expose the difficulties of proving al Qaeda membership. What distinguishes a "terrorist organisation" from a criminal group and what constitutes membership?

"The legal demands set are very high. You need to show there is a hierarchical structure, that it had a purpose and continued for some time," German federal prosecutors told Reuters.

-- CNN Berlin Bureau Chief Stephanie Halasz contributed to this report

[americanbychoice]

I agree. Even though Michael and I have many disagreements on thory, he is warranted to have his own views and defend them. Stop beating up on him. Engage in civil conversation.

[No.6]

If memory serves, we asked for the evidence, but Germany refused. Not much point in having a prisoner extradicted without the evidence to convict him.

Secondly, this 'human dignity' statement, while admirable on paper, only serves the dignity of the offender, not the victim.

I can only hope that Germany happily ships both prisoner and evidence to the U.S. after the 15 years. In the meantime, at a particularly bad time, Germany has earned another black mark in America's eyes.

[HadEnough]

This camel humper is NOT a US citizen therefore he has NO civil rights.

The slow impaling is a nice idea. I prefer to put him in a pit, and give small Molotov cocktails to the surviving family members. Keep a fire extinguisher nearby to draw out this defining moment.

[An.American.Expatriate]

The following shows some detail on this case. Please note the final sentences reagarding extradition.

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The Masterminds Behind The Attack On America
Newscourt.com
09.07.02

Al Qaida tried to ensure that nobody would be left to implicate the movement in the Sept. 11 attacks on New York and Washington. Mounir El Motassadeq, arrested by German authorities in Hamburg, appears to have been the exception. El Motassadeq is believed to be the only person arrested in Germany who was part of a plot that had targeted the World Trade Center as early as April 2000. The rest of the gang was either killed on Sept. 11, 2001 or escaped. When other members of his cell traveled to America, Motassadeq was ordered to return to Hamburg and assimilate into non-Muslim society.

Mounir El Motassadeq Age: 28 Organization: Al Qaida Where recruited: Technical Univ. in Hamburg Born: Morocco. Whereabouts: Hamburg, Germany

The story of El Motassadeq is not about a youngster mired in poverty. Instead, El Motassadeq was blessed with opportunity and decided to throw it all away in exchange for the power that comes with deciding who will live and who will die.

El Motassadeq was born in Morocco in 1974 to a family with means. He studied in local schools and in 1993 made his way to Germany and joined thousands of North African immigrants who sought education and jobs. El Motassadeq quickly found a job in a restaurant, but did not feel comfortable in Germany. His command of the language was poor; he felt awkward in German society. Instead, he sought the company of his North African compatriots.

He found this companionship when he enrolled in the Technical University in Hamburg in 1995 and studied electrical engineering. It was at the university that El Motassadeq learned that his life would not follow convention.

El Motassadeq met Islamic fundamentalists at the university, many of them from Egypt and Tunisia who had fled their homeland amid a crackdown by their regimes against the opposition. Germany was willing, even eager, to provide these young men with asylum and opportunity.

At the university, the slightly-built El Motassadeq met Mohammed Atta. Atta was five years older than El Motassadeq and already an articulate spokesman of jihad, or Islamic holy war against the West and its values.

But there were others at Hamburg that turned El Motassadeq's head around. One was Marwan Al Shehhi. Another was Ziad Jarrah. They shared an apartment and discussed the tenets of jihad, their hatred of Jews and the United States, their support for Nazis and the need for Muslims to fight the infidels. At a certain point, El Motassadeq was convinced. Along with his fellow Muslim students, he flew to Afghanistan for terrorist training in Al Qaida camps. They met with Osama Bin Laden and Ayman Zawahiri. When they returned they became Al Qaida's cell in Hamburg.

German authorities said the newly-formed seven-member cell traveled around Europe and to the United States, often returning back to Hamburg to take tests, complete university courses and even take a class trip to a local nuclear plant. Cell members attended flight schools for pilot training, shared intelligence and logistics with Al Qaida cells in London, Rome and other locations and prepared for a major Al Qaida attack against the West.

El Motassadeq was regarded as the logistics expert. His job was to find a target and determine its feasibility. One potential site for an Al Qaida attack was the Hamburg airport. El Motassadeq worked as a cleaner at the busy airport and had access to both aircraft and secure areas.

From 1996 to 1998, El Motassadeq, who easily obtained security clearance, studied the Hamburg airport. But Atta, who appeared to be the leader of the Al Qaida cell, vetoed Hamburg as a target. By 1999, his orders were to target the United States.

As a result, El Motassadeq invested his efforts for a suicide air attack that involved the hijacking of airliners. El Motassadeq was the financial expert. He paid salaries to the suicide pilots from Al Qaida bank transfers, sent the agents to flight schools in Florida and prepared the logistics for the eventual attack.

But the cell could not decide where in the United States Al Qaida would attack. Several targets were discussed but in the end Al Qaida terrorist leaders in Afghanistan decided they wanted another crack at the World Trade Center. Islamic fundamentalists had tried to destroy the Twin Towers in 1993, but were unsuccessful.

By early 2000, the Hamburg-based cell decided it would attack the World Trade Center and the U.S. Defense Department. El Motassadeq, who was said to have the discipline and mind of an engineer, worked methodically. He moved finances throughout Europe and the United States and arranged for the movement of assets of the other suicide attackers. Several of the Al Qaida agents designated El Motassadeq as power of attorney.

Still, at one point, the plot was almost foiled. In May 2000, Al Shehi, the youngest of the attackers, blabbed to a German librarian that he and his pals were planning attack on the World Trade Center.

"There will be thousands of dead," Al-Shehhi was quoted as having told the unnamed librarian. "You will all think of me."

But German authorities did not respond and the plot thickened. Most of the cell moved to the United States. El Motassadeq flew to Pakistan to receive last-minute instructions from Al Qaida, but was ordered to return to Hamburg for Sept. 11, 2001 and continue university. Indeed, Al Qaida agents in Europe were ordered to assimilate within non-Muslim society. El Motassadeq married a Russian national wife, Maria. She gave birth to a child in 2001.

In wake of the attacks, German authorities began to act on the scores of tips that they had received on terrorist cells. By this time, there precious few suspects. Atta was dead; Al Shehi was dead. Jarrah, believed to have piloted the plane that crashed in Pennsylvania, was dead.

The other members of the Al Qaida cell, Ramsi Binalshibh, Said Bahaji, and Zakariya Essabar had escaped. German authorities have issued international warrants for their arrests. Bahaji is believed to be in or near Pakistan.

El Motassadeq was caught and has been charged with more than 3,000 counts of accessory to murder and membership in a terrorist organization. The United States has already listed him as an agent of Al Qaida.

It is doubtful whether the United States will formally request the extradition of El Motassadeq. Washington does not want to pressure Germany too much and wants to reserve Berlin's goodwill for any U.S. war against Iraq.

For El Motassadeq, the location of his trial will determine his fate. In the United States, El Motassadeq faces the death sentence. In Germany, this is far from certain.

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[Michael81Dus]

I´m surprised that he had faced the death penalty for aiding and abetting.

[An.American.Expatriate]

Thats my entire point Michael, he did not aid and abet, according to the article below (and several German articles I have read), he was very deeply involved in the entire conspiracy. Please admit that it takes a special breed of person to knowingly plan the deaths of 3000+ people (actually he could have also been tried on the attempted murder of up to 50,000 - the number of vistors / employees of the WTC, not to mention the Pentagon and the target of the 4th Airplane).

FYI: I'm glad that the German courts saw fit to give him the maximum they could, I just wish that the maximum stood in some relation to the heinous nature of his crimes. He will be released when he is 43 and can return to Morroco (or anywhere else in the Muslim world) and be celebrated as a hero. This is disgusting and definately does nothing to protect the dignity of his 3000 victims and thier families.

[SpinyNorman]

Hi!

You should not forget, that it was the US that installed the German Court System after the brutal Nazidecade. I agree, 15 Years is not enough, but it is like it is.

But i am sure some of you would like to see him hang on a rope, right?

Best regards

Michael from Cologne, Germany

I would hang him personally, and sleep the sleep of the just. Of course, if I had my druthers, I would hang him by his testicles over a vat of pig fat, but I digress..........

Have a nice day, Michael, and get to work on that court system. Germany is an independent country now.

[tictoc]

The law is weird sometimes.

In news today, we learn that a law student in my home town of Frankfurt, who has confessed to abducting and murdering an 11-year-old boy, passed his oral exam ("Erstes Staatsexamen") behind bars yesterday.

According to BILD Zeitung, as a murderer he cannot become a judge, a prosecutor or a civil servant, but he can practice law as an attorney when he gets out.

It was also reported that the Deputy Police Commissioner of Frankfurt, Wolfgang Daschner, faces prosecution for his role in the interrogation of the suspect. At a time when there was still hope to find the boy alive, and the suspect refused to talk, Mr. Daschner ordered his police detectives to threaten him with "pain, such as you've never experienced, pain that will you never forget as long as you live." The suspect then relented and led police to the hiding place, where they found the dead body of the kid.

Mr. Daschner wrote a file memorandum in which he described the torture threat. Now he faces prosecution for violating the suspect's human rights.

[Michael81Dus]

He is found guilty of aid and abet, not as an accomplice.
As an accomplice, he could have get life-long.
Then this article may be wrong, personally (because German law is my job!) I trust my law book more and my brain more than any journalist.

We don´t have to forget that you need to proof all charges, even aid and abet to attempted murder of 50.000+.
The attorneys did what they could do and it´s ok, we can´t want more.

We give this man the 2nd chance to become a honest man. That´s what we´re doing with nearly everybody.

[Michael81Dus]

Even that murderer has a right to change his mind. He gets a 2nd chance, although I´d like to see him dying after 20 years in prison, too. But our low-moral wish for revenge must not become law, the state is morally superior to all.
It not only protects the victims of murderers, but also the murderer against the society.

[An.American.Expatriate]

I don't want to be argumentative, but exactly how does allowing this guy a second chance mesh with the dignity rights of the 3000+ victims and thier families?

I realize that he was tried for aiding and abetting and that this sentence was the highest possible under your law. I also know that the evidence presented definately showed a very deep involvement. Since we both don't know all of the circumstances, I will agree that the prosecutor most likely did the best he could. Maybe he didn't beleive he had enough evidence to convincingly prove a higher charge?

In any event, the fact that this guy will be released at the age of 43 and be celebrated as a hero when he returns to his homeland is enough to make most americans puke.

BTW: How did the exams go??

[An.American.Expatriate]

the state is morally superior to all. Michael, with this one sentence you have shown where Europe and American will always disagree. Americans believe that the state is inferior to the people! Our entire system of government is based on this simple fact.

[quack]

O'Reilly did a piece on this last night.The maximum sentance is 25 years,BUT,they DIDN't EVEN SEEK THE MAXIMUM PENALTY!
The ,prosecution I suppose,only sought 15 years maximum for him,so the panel of judges could only sentance him to that.

[Michael81Dus]

Pal, I´m studying law in Germany, so I think I know what´s going on here, won´t you agree?

Shall I quote the §§ 211, 212, 27, 49 I Penalty law?
The maximum penalty is life-long, one step lower is 15. (Your 25 years is absolutely nonsense!) BUT, he´s found guilty of aiding and abetting - that means that his penalty must be mitigated BY LAW. So, a murderer gets life-long, and the accomplices too. But those who aided and abetted, get max. 15 years.

How often do I have to repeat that??

[quack]

I should have said,according to O'Reilly and thought I did.
My mistake.No need to be an asshole about it.

[Michael81Dus]

"how does allowing this guy a second chance mesh with the dignity rights of the 3000+ victims and thier families?"

1. This IS argumentative.
2. It´s the discretionary powers of our Constitutional Court having ruled that dignity of every human (even the offender) is above all punishment. This Court is the only Court in Germany whose sentences become the character of a law (and must be recognized by the jurisdinction).

Since El Motassadeqs lawyers claimed acquittal, I´m sure that there was not enough evidence to trial him because of accomplice to murder.

My exams went fine, I´m hoping that all are good enough so that I may finish the next term earlier. :-) Thanks for caring about!

[Michael81Dus]

No offense taken!

[Michael81Dus]

"the state is morally superior to all."

The state protects us against ourselves. We live on such a small size, the neighbours argue wether a lamp at the frontdoor should be switched off or on over night (the plaintiff says he couldn´t sleep with that light)!!

We need these rules for all and everything, it´s the best guarantee for equality before the court. I´m glad that we don´t have the common law, but codified law.

We´re living pretty well with it.

[An.American.Expatriate]

Im simply trying to determine the mindset of the german people in this issue. You state that the dignity of the offender must be protected and I agree (the US constitution has similar protections and indeed the offender is often better off than his victims after his sentenced is served!). Still, I do not see how the German Court can rationalize this one person's dignity against the dignity of each and every one of his victims. These people also have a right to know that they can live in peace and not be mocked be this terrorist and all of his cronies.

I am glad to hear though that an accomplice gets the same treatment as the perptrator. I too would tend to agree that the prosecutor had an uphill battle, especially in Hamburg ;-)

[An.American.Expatriate]

"The state protects us against ourselves."

And who protects us from the State?