Germany vows to withhold Moussaoui death penalty evidence from the US

GERMANY has told US officials it will withhold evidence against Zacarias Moussaoui unless it is assured it will not be used to secure a death penalty against him.

US investigators believe Moussaoui, who was arrested on immigration charges before September 11, was meant to be the 20th hijacker in the attacks in New York and Washington.

However, Germany has insisted it cannot bend its laws forbidding supplying evidence that could incriminate someone facing execution. Justice Minister Herta Daeubler-Gmelin told the Der Spiegel magazine that Germany would provide documents on Moussaoui to the US only on condition that they “may not be used for a death sentence or an execution”: “At the moment, the United States are examining our answer and will then get back to us.”