A lawyer for three suspected members of al-Qaeda charged with trying to blow up US and British warships said today Moroccan authorities had failed to produce any real evidence against his clients.
The three Saudi nationals and seven alleged Moroccan accomplices returned to a Casablanca court today after their trial was postponed last month to allow more time to contact witnesses.
But a lawyer for the Saudi suspects said that the prosecution had still not produced the home-made bombs and other material which police reported seizing in June.
"The prosecution claims the defendants have confessed to their involvement in the alleged plot and that it holds material evidence against them. We say there is no material evidence in this trial," lawyer Mr Khalil Idrissi said.
Moroccan authorities arrested the 10 suspects in May and June, accusing them of planning "terrorist attacks" in Morocco and on warships in the Gibraltar Strait separating Africa from Europe, and of belonging to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network.
Mr Idrissi said the court had also refused to hear any defence witnesses but had given no reasons for this decision. "Today, we'll ask again for our witnesses to be summoned," he said.
Under Moroccan law, some members of the group could face the death penalty if convicted. The charges against them include criminal conspiracy, willful homicide and attempted sabotage of buildings with explosives.