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January 10, 2007

Germany: Islamist Appeals Against 9/11 Conviction

Mounir al-Motassadeq is one of only two people to have been convicted for playing a role in the 9/11 terror attacks. The other was Zacarias Moussaoui. 32-year old Motassadeq is a Moroccan student, a friend of Mohammed Atta who signed the hijacker's will. Motassadeq also had power of attorney over Marwan al Shehhi's bank account.

Convicted in February 2003 by Hamburg Higher Regional Court, after facing 3,066 counts of being an accessory to murder, Motassadeq (pictured) was originally sentenced to 15 years' jail. He had this conviction overturned in March, 2004 at an appeals court held in the Federal Court of Justice. This appeals procedure had argued that evidence from the US from Ramzi Binalsibh may have exonerated him of the charges of assisting in the murder of 3,000 individuals.

He had a second trial in Hamburg and in 2005 was convicted for belonging to the terrorist organization which had caused the 9/11 attacks.

He was ordered to be freed on February 7, 2006, pending the results of his appeal. The conviction for belonging to a terrorist cell still stands. The day after he was released on bond, Hamburg's interior minister, Udo Nagel, said that Mosattadeq would be expelled from Germany if he is acquitted or deported after the completion of any prison sentence which may be handed to him.

Motassadeq was free on bond, but a hearing started on October 12, 2006, at the Federal Court of Justice in Karlsruhe, western Germany. Here presiding judge Klaus Tolksdorf said that if the judge at Motassedeq's trial was satisfied that he had known in advance of the 9/11 attacks, he should have been convicted both for belonging to the terror cell and for assisting murder.

Tolksdorf said: "Our preliminary estimate is that everything suggests the federal prosecutor's appeal will be successful....It was clear that Motassadeq knew his acquaintances from Hamburg were planning attacks with planes."

Gerhard Altvater, a federal prosecutor, said to the press: "Our opinion is that the defendant should have also been convicted of accessory to murder."

Motassadeq has maintained that he was friends with three of the 9/11 hijackers, but was unaware of their intentions to carry out attacks. As well as signing Mohammed Atta's will, and being power of attorney for Marwan al Shahhi, Motassadeq was a friend of Ziad Samir Jarrah.

He also transferred $2,500 to Yemini plotter Ramzi Binalshibh, who has been in US custody since 2002. Motassadeq also sent money to the United States which became used for the hijackers' training.

The hearing was interrupted by various defense challenges, and after re-convening on Friday, it reached its conclusion on Monday.

Motassadeq had his original sentence doubled to 15 years. This is the same sentence as was originally passed in February 2003. Another individual who had earlier stood trial on the same charges, Abdel-Ghani Mzoudi, was acquitted in 2004, and returned to his native Morocco.

Judge Carsten Beckmann said that though Motassadeq took no active role in the attacks, the enormity of the murders necessitated increasing his sentence. 15 years' is the maximum penalty for the offense.

On Monday (January 8), Motassadeq had told the court that he was innocent and claimed: "There never was a terrorist organisation in Hamburg".

There have been strained relationships between the US and Germany as a result of this case, primarily because the US refused access to other individuals involved in the 9/11 conspiracy. Without access to these individuals as witnesses, the defense maintained that Motassadeq's case was not balanced and fair.

Now, according to Jurists' Paper Chase and DPA, Motassadeq's lawyers have announced that, once again, the carousel of appeals will be repeated.

Walter Hemberger, state attorney, told DPA: "Appeals against sentence are generally unsuccessful. There has to be a serious flaw in the ruling."

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Apologies for a break in publishing. My internet connection (and phone) have been out of action since Tuesday 5 am GMT, and the ADSL connection has only returned within the last four hours.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at January 10, 2007 10:47 PM

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