GERMANY: Hamburg was on high alert yesterday as the first alleged accomplice in the September 11th terrorist attacks went on trial.
Mr Mounir El Motassadeq (28), a Moroccan student, stands accused of being a member of the Hamburg terrorist cell behind last year's attacks on New York and Washington, and of acting as "an accessory to murder" of the 3,045 people who died in the attacks.
Mr Motassadeq admits he was a close friend of the pilots who crashed the planes into the World Trade Centre but said he knew nothing of their plans.
"Suicide attacks were never discussed," said Mr Motassadeq in the packed Hamburg courtroom yesterday. When pressed, he answered repeatedly: "Suicide bombers are no martyrs. Even in war there are rules."
There was a significant breakthrough early in the day when Mr Motassadeq admitted attending a training camp in Afghanistan two years ago, despite earlier denials. The admission is a cornerstone of the case presented by German prosecutors in a 100-page indictment.
They say that the camp Mr Motassadeq attended near Kandahar two years ago was run by al-Qaeda. Prosecutors also believe that, after he returned to Germany, he sent money to Marwan al-Shehhi, who piloted the second plane into the World Trade Centre, to finance their flight training courses in Florida. Mr Motassadeq denies sending money to the US.
German prosecutors are hoping that the trial, scheduled to last at least four months and hear evidence from 160 witnesses, will give an insight into the workings of the al-Qaeda terrorist network.
The trial began shortly after 9.30 a.m. yesterday when Mr Motassadeq, bearded and dressed in a grey shirt and trousers, arrived in court 237. The courtroom has been rebuilt for the trial, putting the five presiding judges as well as the journalists and members of the public in the gallery behind bullet-proof glass.
In fluent German Mr Motassadeq told the court he came to Germany in 1993 to study electronic engineering.
He said he met Egyptian-born Mohammed Atta, the first pilot to crash into the World Trade Centre, at a mosque in Hamburg in 1996. The two quickly became friends but he said he was not aware that Mr Atta was planning terrorist attacks.
"It was never like that, the conversation never went like that," said Mr Motassadeq.
"In my opinion, violence is no solution. Perhaps Atta was of a different opinion but \ never spoke about any attacks," he said.
Mr Motassadeq's lawyer criticised coverage of the accused in the media in the lead-up to the trial and called for an acquittal.
One tabloid newspaper said that after he moved to Germany aged 19, Mr Motassadeq worked in a guest house owned by the family of a man killed in the World Trade Centre attacks. The newspaper said the two men met on many occasions.
The trial in Hamburg has been of huge interest to Germans, who were shocked to learn in the days after the September 11th attacks that the ringleaders lived and studied for years in Hamburg, undetected by police.
