Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Live Today
German Court Sentences 9/11 Suspect
Aired February 19, 2003 - 11:16 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Now to the war on terror, and now the verdict is in for the first September 11 suspect to stand trial. A German court today convicted a Moroccan student who is accused of supporting some of the hijackers who carried out those terrorist attacks.
CNN's Matthew Chance joins us now live from Hamburg, Germany, with details -- hello, Matthew.
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thank you, Leon, and hello to you too. German courts handing down a maximum sentence of 15 years to Mounir el Motassadeq for the role he played in the 9/11 attacks against New York and Washington, as well as being found guilty of membership of a terrorist group. Motassadeq, a 28-year-old Moroccan student also found to be an accessory in the murders of more than 3,000 people on United States soil.
He has always admitted, for his part, having a close friendship with at least six of the hijackers while as a university student here in Hamburg, including Mohammed Atta and Marwan Al-Shehhi, who are believed to have piloted the two planes into the World Trade Center on September the 11th, but Motassadeq denies prior knowledge of the September 11 attacks.
Prosecutors, though, successfully arguing that he did play a key supporting role in allowing that group to organize themselves here in Hamburg, playing something of a role as a fixer, paying their rents and accommodation, organizing the payment of tuition fees. Motassadeq argues that that was just an act of friendship on his part.
The judge, though, ruling that out, saying that he was clearly a member of this group which regarded the United States as enemy -- a member from the outset, and also basically aware of a plot to strike at America's political and economic core. That's why the judge said he's being made to pay some responsibility for these deaths -- Leon.
HARRIS: All right, thank you very much. Matthew Chance reporting live from Hamburg, Germany, where that verdict was handed in.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired February 19, 2003 - 11:16 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Now to the war on terror, and now the verdict is in for the first September 11 suspect to stand trial. A German court today convicted a Moroccan student who is accused of supporting some of the hijackers who carried out those terrorist attacks.
CNN's Matthew Chance joins us now live from Hamburg, Germany, with details -- hello, Matthew.
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thank you, Leon, and hello to you too. German courts handing down a maximum sentence of 15 years to Mounir el Motassadeq for the role he played in the 9/11 attacks against New York and Washington, as well as being found guilty of membership of a terrorist group. Motassadeq, a 28-year-old Moroccan student also found to be an accessory in the murders of more than 3,000 people on United States soil.
He has always admitted, for his part, having a close friendship with at least six of the hijackers while as a university student here in Hamburg, including Mohammed Atta and Marwan Al-Shehhi, who are believed to have piloted the two planes into the World Trade Center on September the 11th, but Motassadeq denies prior knowledge of the September 11 attacks.
Prosecutors, though, successfully arguing that he did play a key supporting role in allowing that group to organize themselves here in Hamburg, playing something of a role as a fixer, paying their rents and accommodation, organizing the payment of tuition fees. Motassadeq argues that that was just an act of friendship on his part.
The judge, though, ruling that out, saying that he was clearly a member of this group which regarded the United States as enemy -- a member from the outset, and also basically aware of a plot to strike at America's political and economic core. That's why the judge said he's being made to pay some responsibility for these deaths -- Leon.
HARRIS: All right, thank you very much. Matthew Chance reporting live from Hamburg, Germany, where that verdict was handed in.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
