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| Europe |
| Witness Retracts Bomb Threat Testimony |
| 2003-04-30 |
| EFL A witness Tuesday in the trial of a Turkish man and his American girlfriend charged with planning to bomb a U.S. military base in Germany around last year's Sept. 11 anniversary retracted statements that the woman had mentioned specific targets. Ooops! The testimony prompted defense accusations that the witness had invented her story, and the court later freed defendant Astrid Eyzaguirre, 23, from custody, saying she was not a flight risk. Her friend Osman Petmezci, 25, remained jailed, charged with planning to attack the U.S. Army's Criminal Investigation Department or a store on the base in this southwestern city, home to 16,000 U.S. troops and dependents stationed mainly with the Army's European headquarters and the V Corps' headquarters. Witness Christi Allen, 21, a U.S. national who used to work with Eyzaguirre at the base store, testified that she alerted the FBI in an e-mail after Eyzaguirre told her Petmezci "wanted to build a bomb" and she saw chemicals in their apartment. But under questioning by Judge Edgar Gramlich, she revised her earlier account to police that Eyzaguirre mentioned the two targets at the base. "She never said Osman was building a bomb for a particular purpose," Allen told the Heidelberg state court. "I never knew, I could only assume." There goes your case. Petmezci has denied charges that he planned an explosion around the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, saying he abhorred the suicide hijackings and was not anti-American. His attorney, Andrea Combe, questioned Allen's credibility after Tuesday's testimony, claiming she had "spun together" a story in her mind. Allen, a student, was questioned by German and U.S. investigators after sending her allegation to the FBI. She has since returned to the United States. After the couple's Sept. 5 arrest on an FBI tip, investigators found gunpowder and six pipes they believe were intended for making a bomb, as well as other chemicals that could be used for homemade explosives, at their apartment in Walldorf, south of Heidelberg. Petmezci said he stole some of the chemicals from the suburban Heidelberg factory where he worked. Prosecutors have ruled out any link with the al-Qaida cell based in Hamburg that included three of the Sept. 11 hijackers. Eyzaguirre, who holds both U.S. and German citizenship, initially was charged with plotting an explosion along with Petmezci. The court later reduced the charges to being an accessory. She has declined to testify during the trial. If convicted, Petmezci faces up to three years in prison and Eyzaguirre, a maximum of two years, three months. A verdict is expected May 6. Sounds to me like the most that he could be convicted of is possession of an explosive device. |
| Posted by:Steve |