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Hamburg Sept. 11 Suspect Ordered Freed

German court on Thursday ordered a Moroccan accused of
supporting the Sept. 11 al-Qaida cell in Hamburg freed from custody
based on new evidence that only the three Hamburg-based suicide
hijackers and their purported al-Qaida liaison were involved in the
plot.
Abdelghani Abelghani Mzoudi's four-month-old trial on charges of 3,066
counts of accessory to murder and membership in a terrorist
organization continued despite the decision. Prosecutors allege he
helped the suicide hijackers with logistics, and he faces a possible 15
years in prison if convicted.
The order to free Mzoudi was effective immediately, but prosecutors
said they would appeal and he remained in custody. The trial was
resuming Thursday afternoon. Mzoudi did not react when the order to
release him after 14 months in custody was announced.

The Bush administration's first major post-Sept. 11
prosecution, which broke up an al-Qaida cell in Detroit, is in danger
of unraveling after the Justice Department divulged it had failed to
turn over evidence that might have helped the defense. The evidence
includes a letter from an imprisoned drug gang leader who alleges the
government's key witness confided he made up some of his story.
The December 2001 letter, which could have been used by defense lawyers
to challenge the prosecution witness during the trial this spring,
wasn't turned over until a couple of weeks ago.
The defendants are now asking that their convictions be overturned, and
the judge has scheduled an emergency hearing Friday to demand an
explanation from the government.
"It has come to the attention of the court that the government has
recently provided defendants with certain material that was not
provided to defendants either prior to or during trial of this matter,"
U.S. District Judge Gerald Rosen said in ordering the hearing.
Senior law enforcement officials told The Associated Press on Wednesday
the Justice Department is concerned how the judge will rule and will
acknowledge that its prosecutors erred.
Under the Supreme Court's Brady v. Maryland ruling, prosecutors are
obligated to turn over all evidence that can be used to impeach the
testimony of prosecution witnesses or to prove innocence.
...
The dramatic turnabout in a case that was one of the administration's
early successes in the war on terror is further complicated by
discussions between Congress and the Justice Department over whether
the lead trial prosecutor is entitled to whistleblower protection.
Officials said Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Convertino has raised
concerns the Justice Department was retaliating against him
for complying with a subpoena and providing testimony to Congress from
himself and Hmimssa on how easy it is for terrorists to obtain false
identification.

Posted by flow Frazao on December 11, 2003 at 08:13 AM | Permalink