9/11 Suspect's Acquittal Stands

Moroccan Suspect To Be Expelled From Germany

(AP) 
Testimony heard during his trial showed that Mzoudi trained at the same al Qaeda camps as the hijackers and was close friends with them in Hamburg. But Hamburg judges ruled that the prosecution failed to prove he knew anything about their plot.

In their appeal, prosecutors argued that the Hamburg judges failed to rule on whether Atta's group constituted a terrorist organization, making it impossible to determine whether Mzoudi was a member.

Attorney Sven Leistikow, who represented American relatives of Sept. 11 victims as a co-prosecutor, said the ruling was a "disappointment" for his clients.

Mzoudi's return to Morocco could, however, leave him open to "rendition" — a U.S. practice of having foreign suspects apprehended and transferred to another country for prosecution and detention, Leistikow said.

"For the Americans, for the security agencies, it is certainly convenient, but for us here in Germany it is unfortunate this has happened," he said.

Moroccan authorities have said they have no warrants for Mzoudi, and U.S. officials have refused comment on whether they are interested in him.

Rosenthal said his client was concerned that he might be apprehended and turned over to the U.S., but that signs pointed to Washington being uninterested in him.

Mzoudi's friend, Mounir el Motassadeq, was convicted in 2003 of identical charges and sentenced to the maximum 15 years in prison.

The same panel that heard Mzoudi's case at the Federal Court of Justice overturned el Motassadeq's conviction last year and ordered a retrial, ruling that he had been unfairly denied testimony from al Qaeda captives in U.S. custody — an issue that also contributed to Mzoudi's acquittal.

A verdict in the el Motassadeq case is expected in August. If he is also acquitted, Hamburg authorities have said they will move to expel him back to Morocco as well.