Moroccan in September 11 plot from start, say prosecutors

A MOROCCAN accused of aiding the German al-Qaida cell in planning the September 11 attacks was involved in the plot from the start, prosecutors alleged at the opening of his trial yesterday.

Abdelghani Mzoudi appeared in the same Hamburg courtroom where the first September 11 terrorist to stand trial anywhere was convicted six months ago.

He faces 3,066 charges of accessory to murder and membership of a terrorist organisation for allegedly providing logistical support for lead hijacker Mohamed Atta and other members of the Hamburg cell. “His actions were designed to support the terror attacks,” federal prosecutor Matthias Krauss said.

“He was integrated into the plans from the beginning. He showed an aggressive Islamist stance,” Krauss added.

Mzoudi, 30, listened quietly to the charges, occasionally bowing his head or talking with his lawyers. He faces a possible 15 years in prison - the same sentence given to fellow Moroccan Mounir el Motassadeq, convicted in February of the same charges.

Mzoudi’s lawyers have said he will not testify in his own defence. However, in response to a judge’s questions, he briefly described growing up in a Shi’ite family in his native Marrakesh.

“My mother taught me the good values of Islam: honesty, not to steal and not to kill,” said Mzoudi, wearing a dark blue sweater and a full beard.

Mzoudi is accused of taking care of financial matters for alleged cell member Zakariya Essabar while he was training at one of Osama bin Laden’s camps in Afghanistan in 2000.

The 61-page indictment also alleges Mzoudi helped conceal the whereabouts of Atta, suicide hijacker Marwan al-Shehhi and Ramzi Binalshibh, a Yemeni in US custody who is believed to have been the Hamburg cell’s key contact with al-Qaida.

Defence lawyer Michael Rosenthal told the court the charges “contain many unproven assumptions” and were based on “a lack of understanding for other cultures” an apparent reference to the ties among Arabs in a foreign country.

He said he may call into all question all evidence about the attacks, claiming the investigation was tainted by the US, which he said used September 11 like a new Pearl Harbour to pursue an aggressive foreign policy.