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Motassadeq’s
lawyers Jacobi (L) and Leistritz say the prosecution case is based
on guilt by association with the later hijackers and on his
religious beliefs
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HAMBURG,
Germany, October 23 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - A Moroccan
suspect, accused of aiding in the September 11 attacks in the United
States, told a German court Wednesday October 23, how he unwittingly
transferred money to an alleged hijacker the year before the attacks,
and denied charges of membership of a terrorist organization and
complicity in the attacks, insisting his friendship with the hijackers
was nothing but a coincidence.
On
the second day of his trial in the northern port city of Hamburg, Mounir
El-Motassadeq said he sent 5,000 German marks, about 2,500 euros
(dollars) in today's money, to Marwan al-Shehhi, reported Agence
France-Presse (AFP).
Al-Shehhi
is believed to have died piloting one of the jets that flew into New
York's World Trade Center.
Prosecutors
claim Motassadeq and his "friends" were in fact members of the
so-called Hamburg cell at the core of the September 11 attacks.
They
claim that he was a "substantial cog" in preparations for the
attacks, taking care of administrative chores and covering the others'
tracks.
They
also allege that he operated a bank account in Al-Shehhi's name which
was used to fund the cell's activities, including flying lessons in the
United States.
Motassadeq,
a 28-year-old Moroccan, was arrested here late last November in the
crackdown that followed revelations that the attacks in the United
States were partially plotted in Hamburg.
He
denies charges of membership of a terrorist organization and complicity
in the 9/11 attakcs, insisting his friendship with the hijackers was
nothing but a coincidence.
The
trial opened Tuesday October 22, under tight security and is due to last
into next year.
If
convicted, Motassadeq faces a life sentence.
Motassadeq
said he was given power of attorney over Al-Shehhi's account in late
1998 when the latter wanted to return to the United Arab Emirates.
It
continued after Al-Shehhi later returned to Germany, from where he
allegedly flew in late 1999 to a training camp in Afghanistan.
Motassadeq
explained it was only to pay his running costs in Germany while
Al-Shehhi was away, such as rent and heating.
Sometime
between the middle of 2000 and early 2001, another alleged plotter,
Ramzi Binalshibh, sent him a fax from Yemen saying Al-Shehhi "needs
money," but did not say what it was meant for.
Motassadeq
said he sent the requested 5,000 marks, without knowing what it was
needed for.
Al-Shehhi
took flying lessons in Florida in late 2000, along with Mohammed Atta,
the alleged ringleader of the hijackers.
The
prosecutors allege that Motassadeq had transferred more money to fund
the flying lessons of Binalshibhh and Zakariya Essabar, another
Hamburg-based suspect.
But
he denied making any more money transfers or using Al-Shehhi's credit
card.
He
also said he had never heard of any plans by Essabar or Binalshibh to
take flying lessons.
"They
never spoke of it," he said.
The
two never had the lessons as they were refused entry visas to the United
States.
Binalshibh,
also known as Bin al-Shaiba, is currently in U.S. hands after his arrest
in Pakistan last month.
Said
Bahaji, another suspect to whom Motassadeq earlier lent 1,000 marks, and
Essabar are on the run.
Motassadeq
said he last saw Bahaji in August 2001, weeks before the attacks in New
York and Washington, when Bahaji reportedly told him he wanted to go to
Afghanistan.
Bahaji
telephoned from Karachi September 4 to say he had arrived.
Since
then he had heard nothing from him, Motassadeq added.
The
Moroccan, speaking in German, admitted Tuesday – the first day of the
trial – that he and the others in Hamburg had visited Al-Qaeda
training camps in Afghanistan between late 1999 and the first half of
2000, but explained it was for religious reasons.
The
prosecution claims it was for military training in preparation for the
September 11 attacks.
Motassadeq
insists he had no advance knowledge of any terrorist plot, saying there
was never any talk of using violence.
His
lawyers Hartmut Jacobi and Hans Leistritz say the prosecution case is
based on guilt by association with the later hijackers and on his
religious beliefs.
