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| US trial of 9/11 suspect to go on | ||
| 2004-04-23 | ||
A US appeals court has ruled that the government's case against a man charged in connection with the 11 September 2001 attacks can go ahead. The federal appeals court in Virginia also lifted a ban on prosecutors using evidence related to the attacks.
The panel ordered the district judge to work out whether Mr Moussaoui could have access to al-Qaeda witnesses. The 35-year-old French citizen of Moroccan origin was indicted more than two years ago on four counts of conspiracy to commit terrorism, which carry the death penalty. He had been under arrest on immigration charges when hijackers crashed civilian airliners into the World Trade Center and other targets, killing more than 2,800 people. In preparing his case, Mr Moussaoui was seeking to interview three major al-Qaeda suspects who are being held by the US at undisclosed locations but prosecutors had objected, citing security concerns. The government had argued that District Judge Leonie Brinkema in Virginia exceeded her authority by ruling that Mr Moussaoui could interview the men. But the panel backed Judge Brinkema's findings that "the enemy combatant witnesses could provide material, favourable testimony on Moussaoui's behalf". However, the appeals judges said that written statements from the prisoners could substitute for direct questioning of the witnesses - and rejected Judge Brinkema's argument that it was not possible to craft a compromise.
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| Posted by:Steve White |