German Court to Reexamine Sept. 11 Conviction

The German Federal Supreme Court says it will reexamine a ruling by Hamburg’s highest court, which sentenced Moroccan-born Mounir El Motassadeq to 15 years prison last February for aiding the Sept. 11 suicide hijackers. Motassadeq was the first person to be convicted for the attacks in New York and Washington, which killed over 3,000 people. Motassadeq’s lawyers now want a new trial to take into account information that emerged in the case against his friend and fellow Moroccan Abdelghani Mzoudi. They say their client was denied potentially exonerating evidence because of political pressure. "There are grave errors in the judgement," defense attorney Gerhard Strate said. The Supreme Court is expected to announce its decision on March 4.