A key al-Qaeda captive in US custody told interrogators that a Moroccan on trial for helping the Hamburg-based suicide pilots had no knowledge of the plot, according to a summary of the questioning of two key terror suspects presented today for the first time in court.
In a note of caution, however, the US Justice Department cited "inconsistencies by at least one of the individuals" and said that "there may be reason to question the assertions regarding Mounir el Motassadeq." It said it was considering whether further information could be provided.
Mounir el Motassadeq, accused of giving logistical aid to the Hamburg al-Qaida cell that included hijackers Mohamed Atta, Marwan al-Shehhi and Ziad Jarrah, is being retried after his conviction was thrown out in March.
The appeals court ruled he was unfairly denied testimony from US-held suspects including Ramzi Binalshibh, believed to be the Hamburg cell's contact with al-Qaida. The new trial opened yesterday with a US pledge to provide evidence, but no direct testimony.
Presiding Judge Ernst-Rainer Schudt said the Hamburg state court had received a fax from the Justice Department dated August 9th, containing summaries of the interrogations of Binalshibh and Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, believed to have masterminded the September 11th plot.
The Justice Department's summary of interrogations presented in the Hamburg state court said Binalshibh maintained that el Motassadeq was not part of the plot.
It was the first time that statements by al-Qaeda captives in US custody were presented in a German court and they would suggest that the Hamburg cell was smaller than investigators have believed.
The judge said afterward that "we must consider what this means for the trial, and what it means for the volume of evidence we will listen to."