Terror suspect in release bid

A SEPTEMBER 11 suspect whose conviction for helping the Hamburg-based suicide hijackers was overturned has asked to be released from prison pending a retrial.

A lawyer for Mounir el Motassadeq, 29, submitted the formal request to the Hamburg state court.

A federal court last week threw out the Moroccan's conviction on more than 3,000 counts of accessory to murder and membership in a terrorist organisation the world's only conviction for the 2001 attacks on the United States. El Motassadeq is serving a maximum 15-year prison sentence.