The retrial of the only person convicted of direct involvement in the September 11 terrorist attacks was thrown into doubt on Tuesday after Washington refused to give German judges access to key al-Qaeda captives in US custody.
The re-trial of Mounir al-Motassadeq opened on Tuesday in the same courtroom where he was sentenced in February 2003 to 15 years in prison for being an accessory to murder in more than 3,000 cases. That verdict was overturned by a higher court in April because the judges in the original case had not been given access to the captives. Washington’s stance has increased the likelihood that Mr Motassadeq, a 30 year-old Moroccan former student, is acquitted or found guilty only on the lesser charge of membership of a terrorist organisation. Full Story