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| Europe |
| Zakiri testifies in Mzoudi trial |
| 2004-02-01 |
| A man claiming to be a former Iranian spy testified Friday that Abdelghani Mzoudi, the second man to be tried for an alleged role in the Sept. 11 attacks, was involved in the preparations to hit the World Trade Center. The witness, who goes by the alias Hamid Reza Zakeri, took the stand at the Hanseatic Higher Regional Court in Hamburg and claimed that Mzoudi, was "responsible for part of the organization" of the suicide attacks that destroyed the twin towers in New York and damaged the Pentagon. Zakeri testified Mzoudi acted as a liaison to the al Qaeda terror network and was responsible for receiving codes from operatives. Mzoudi, a 31-year-old Moroccan national who at one time lived in Sept. 11 ringleader Mohammed Atta’s apartment and signed his will, faces charges of more than three thousand counts of accessory to murder and of being a member of a terrorist organization. Only the second person to go on trial for the attacks, he is suspected of handling money for the Sept. 11 plotters and covering up for them. Defense attorneys argue that Mzoudi did nothing but help fellow Muslims who were living abroad. Zakeri, who claims he worked in Iranian intelligence and defected in 2001, told the court that he did not personally know Mzoudi nor had ever seen him. He said his information came from "reliable sources" in Iran, although he declined to name them. According to him, Mzoudi underwent a three-month training course in 1997 in an al Qaeda training camp in Iran where he learned encryption techniques. Perhaps even more dramatic was Zakeri’s testimony that top Iranian officials enjoyed close relationships with al Qaeda leaders and that Iran was aware of preparations for Sept. 11. In earlier statements to German police, Zakeri said Osama Bin Laden’s son met with high-ranking Iranian officials in May 2001 and informed them of the planned terrorist attacks. From the witness stand on Friday, Zakeri told the court that Iran and al Qaeda had discussed a plan to kill Mzoudi last month, so that he could not reveal the Iranians’ involvement in Sept. 11. "They came to the conclusion that Mzoudi would have to be killed by a letter bomb sent from DÃŒsseldorf or Vienna, or if he was deported, that he could then be seized," Zakeri said. Zakeri’s appearance on Friday did little to relieve the wide-spread doubts about his credibility help by Western intelligence sources. His answers to most questions were evasive and rambling, according to those in the court. During more than three hours of testimony, Judge RÃŒhle often had to ask Zakeri to repeat himself. At one point after several contradictions and incomprehensible answers, RÃŒhle said: "I don’t know if you are consciously being unclear." Earlier this week, Iran’s foreign minister, Kamal Kharazzi, described Zakeri as a "swindler" and said the claims of a connection between Iran and al Qaeda were without foundation. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |
| #2 Shame. I had hoped that this guy could shed some light on a dark secret. But lets wait till act is complete. |
| Posted by: Lucky 2004-2-1 2:13:45 AM |
| #1 This guy isn't credible. It's foolish for the German government to present him as a witness in this important trial. |
| Posted by: Mike Sylwester 2004-2-1 1:11:09 AM |