April 10, 2004: A Hamburg district court ordered the release three days ago of the only September 11 suspect ever convicted anywhere in the world, prompting different reactions in Germany and in the United States. Mounir el Motassadeq's release from a 15-year sentence for being an accessory to murder on more than 3000 counts was widely expected after the German supreme court in Karlsruhe had ordered a retrial based on a lack of first-hand evidence. Motassedeq's new trial will begin in June. Under German law, without first-hand testimony to corroborate circumstantial evidence, Motassedeq is not considered an "urgent" suspect. As a result, he will not be held in custody during the pretrial period.

In Washington, the U.S. State Department voiced disappointment over Motassadeq's release. "We believe the evidence against him is strong," deputy spokesman Adam Ereli said. The Hamburg court decision also upset Americans whose relatives died in the September 11 attacks.

During questioning by the Hamburg prosecutor, Motassadeq admitted that he spent three weeks in an Al Qaeda military training camp in Afghanistan during the summer of 2000. According to Motassadeq, part of his training included military exercises.

Motassadeq's acquaintance with suicide pilot Mohammed Atta was never in doubt during the trial. Motassadeq went to Pakistan on the advice of Atta to make contact with the Taliban and gain access to the terrorist training camp. Motassadeq also admitted paying bills for the Hamburg suicide hijackers during their lengthy absence from Hamburg, but denied any previous knowledge of the attack. Without testimony from Ramzi Binalshibh, a Yemeni Al Qaeda member captured in Pakistan and being held in the U.S., the Hamburg prosecutors were unable to present first-hand evidence to bolster their claim that Motassadeq was a conspirator in the suicide mission.

German press comments highlighted the perceived lack of cooperation from U.S. judicial authorities in failing to provide critical evidence and access to the key witness to obtain testimony for the Hamburg proceedings. "The Americans must learn that this [Hamburg court] isn't Guantanamo," Motassedeq's lawyer said. "A courtroom is not a battlefield and judges are not soldiers. They may only sentence someone when they are convinced that he is guilty," according to an editorial in the "Berliner Zeitung" the day after Motassedeq was released from jail. "For the U.S. administration law is just another hurdle that has to be overcome. George W. Bush operates according to his own laws in his campaign. We better to stick to ours" (ibid., April 8, 2004).