Hamburg Moves to Deport Terror Suspects

Authorities in Hamburg have served two suspects in the Sept.11 terrorist attacks with notices that they intend to deport them back to their native country, Morocco. A spokesman for the Interior Ministry said both Abdelghani Mzoudi and Mounir el Motassadeq were served with the notice on Monday. The men are considered "particularly dangerous to the laws and security of the Federal Republic of Germany," the ministry said in a statement. "In addition, it is the view of the Interior Ministry that evidence shows that (they) support international terrorism." The deportation order can only go through after all appeals in both men's court cases are exhausted. Mzoudi was acquitted in February on more than 3,000 counts of accessory to murder and membership in a terrorist organization. Motassadeq was convicted in February 2003 of providing logistical help to the Hamburg al Qaeda cell that planned the Sept. 11 attacks. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison on the same charges as Mzoudi, but has since been granted a retrial after judges ruled he was unfairly denied testimony from Ramzi Binalshibh, a Yemeni in US custody believed to have been the Hamburg cell's key link with al Qaeda.