Mounir El Motassadeq

Mounir el Motassadeq (Arabic: منير المتصدق, (b. April 3, 1974) was accused of being a member of al-Qaeda and of assisting some of the organizers of the September 11, 2001 attacks. He was initially convicted of involvement in the attack, but his sentence was set aside on appeal, then reinstated on further appeal. On January 8, 2007 he was sentenced to serve 15 years by the German court.

Motassadeq first came to Germany in 1993 and moved to Hamburg in 1995, where he studied electrical engineering in college. Little is known of his activities at this time, but he did move into the Hamburg cell apartment owned by Mohammed Atta and lived in by many other people who would later go on to lead the September 11, 2001 attacks.

On May 22, 2000, Motassadeq flew to Istanbul, and from there to Afghanistan. He soon returned. When the four 9/11 leaders went from Germany to Afghanistan to train, Motassadeq remained in Germany. German police were able to wiretap Motassadeq, but apparently did not discover any incriminating information. He maintains his innocence. "There never was a terrorist organization in Hamburg," he said. [http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/911_plotter_Motassadeq_jailed_for_15_yrs/articleshow/1103516.cms 9/11 plotter Motassadeq jailed for 15 yrs] , TimeOfIndia, 9th Jan 2006 ]

At Motassadeq's trial, Aysel Sengün, the girlfriend of one of the alleged hijackers, Ziad Jarrah, was called to testify her relationship with Jarrah and his role in the plot. He is said to be friend of three of the hijacker pilots and "a member of their "prayer group". Though he continuously denies any advance knowledge of the attacks on New York and Washington.

In February 2003, he was convicted in Germany of over 3,000 counts of accessory to murder. He was convicted in direct relation to the September 11 attacks, but the conviction was rejected on appeal. Though the German Justice Ministry pressed the United States to allow Ramzi Binalshibh to testify, the U.S. refused, and the verdict and sentence were set aside.

Motassadeq was re-tried and convicted on August 19, 2005 of "membership in a "terrorist organization". That conviction was also rejected in appeal. [http://today.reuters.com/business/newsarticle.aspx?type=tnBusinessNews&storyID=nL19618150] , [http://www.cbc.ca/storyview/MSN/world/national/2005/08/19/Moroccan_convicted050819.html] , [http://www.suntimes.com/output/terror/cst-nws-cell20.html] , [http://www.guardian.co.uk/september11/story/0,11209,1552975,00.html]

On February 7, 2006, Germany's Federal Constitutional Court ordered an early release of Motassadeq. The highest court of Germany ruled there was an absence of proof that Motassadeq was informed about the September 11 terrorist plot. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4690712.stm]

On November 15, 2006, the German Federal Supreme Court ruled on the appeals: They considered the evidence as sufficient to prove that Motassadeq knew about and was involved in the preparation of the plan to hijack the planes and is hence guilty of accessory in 246 counts of murder. This is the number of victims that died in the planes but does not include the victims on ground. The "Oberlandesgericht" (state supreme court) in Hamburg then took up the trial again in order to decide on the sentencing. [http://www.sueddeutsche.de/,tt2m3/deutschland/artikel/765/91674/] Two days later, the Federal Supreme Court also revoked the release order and Motassadeq was arrested again. On January 8, 2007, he was sentenced by the "Oberlandesgericht" Hamburg to 15 years in prison, the maximum sentence possible under German law. The Federal Constitutional Court of Germany did not accept to revise his case. On May 2 the Federal Court of Justice of Germany rejected a plea for revision. His lawyers are currently thinking about both calling upon the European Court of Human Rights and trying to get the case reopened - his two ultimate legal choices left. [http://de.wikinews.org/wiki/Revision_im_El-Motassadeq-Prozess_abgewiesen]

ee also

*Planning and execution of the September 11, 2001 attacks

References

External links

* [http://www.gpoaccess.gov/911/index.html The Final 9/11 Commission Report]
*http://www.unknownnews.net/040305stonewalling.html
*http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/world/8383056.htm
*http://www.unknownnews.net/040206secretjustice.html -- on the acquittal of Abdelghani Mzoudi, which boosted Motassadeq's appeal
* [http://today.reuters.com/tv/videoStory.aspx?storyId=737253aa3a0fbdcef9d4d0a6d429a966555900ec&isSummitStory=False Motassadeq back in court] Reuters video

Persondata
NAME=Motassadeq, Mounir El
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=منير المتصدق (Arabic)
SHORT DESCRIPTION=terrorist suspect
DATE OF BIRTH=April 3, 1974
PLACE OF BIRTH=
DATE OF DEATH=living
PLACE OF DEATH=