Friday, June 18, 2004
Associated Press June 15, 2004:The German prosecutor who headed the investigation into the al-Qaida cell in Hamburg, Germany, has canceled his appearance before the commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks, the panel said Tuesday.
Matthias Krauss was scheduled to testify Wednesday before the 10-member panel as part of a public hearing on the 9/11 plot.
[...]
Krauss prosecuted the case of Abdelghani Mzoudi, a longtime acquaintance of lead hijacker Mohamed Atta, but lost after a German court cited lack of evidence. The U.S. Justice Department had barred sworn testimony from Ramzi Binalshibh, who allegedly provided money to the hijackers, and other al-Qaida prisoners in American custody on national security grounds.
[...]
In March, a German court also ordered a retrial for Mounir el Motassadeq, the only person convicted as part of the 9/11 plot. The judges said evidence that he aided three Hamburg-based hijackers was too weak, and specifically cited the lack of testimony from Binalshibh, who is in U.S. custody.
Relatives of Sept. 11 victims this week called on the commission to press Krauss on whether U.S. officials were justified in denying access to witnesses... .....---
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