~TERROISM : GERMANY EXPELS ACQUITTED 9/11 MOROCCAN SUSPECT ~

[HOUDA-K]

12/06/05

A German federal court on Thursday confirmed a 'not guilty' verdict on a Moroccan man accused of complicity in the 9/11 attacks, but authorities said they would expel him anyway, reported Reuters[/i]



Abdelghani Mzoudi, was acquitted in Feb. 2004 by a court in Hamburg citing a lack of evidence that Mzoudi knew beforehand about the attacks or assisted their planning.

Testimony at Mzoudi's trial showed that he was a friend of lead hijacker Mohamed Atta and other members of the Hamburg cell that led the 9/11 attacks. Mzoudi has always denied any knowledge of the plot.

Following Thursday's ruling, the Interior Ministry in Hamburg reiterated earlier plans to have Mzoudi deported from Germany despite the not guilty ruling. But according to his lawyer, the ministry will not have the legal burden of deporting him, because he planned on returning to Morocco voluntarily.

After his acquittal in 2004, Mzoudi had said he wanted to finish his degrees in electrical engineering and computer science at the University of Hamburg.

Mzoudi's release set off a debate about whether the decision would influence the public prosecution's case against a fellow terror suspect and friend of his, Mounir El Motassadeq, who was the first person ever convicted in the 9/11 attacks.

The guilty verdict, however, was overturned in March 2004, because judges concluded that Motassadeq was also denied a fair trial because a key witness in U.S. jurisdiction was not allowed to testify.

Hamburg officials say that even without a conviction for plotting the attacks on New York and Washington, there are ample grounds to deport both Moroccans. Evidence showed both attended Al Qaeda training camps in Afghanistan.