Release of 9/11 Convict Opposed

HAMBURG, Germany — German prosecutors argued Friday that the only man in the world convicted in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks should stay in prison, despite new evidence that led a court to free another man facing the same charges.

With their motion in a Hamburg court, prosecutors sought to block an appeal by Mounir Motassadeq’s lawyers for his release. The move came a day after defendant Abdelghani Mzoudi was freed after German investigators provided a witness’ testimony stating that only the three Hamburg-based suicide hijackers and their presumed Al Qaeda contact knew about the plot.

Although a judge ruled that the testimony cleared Mzoudi of charges that he belonged to the Hamburg cell, he still faces more than 3,000 counts of accessory to murder and membership in a terrorist organization.

Motassadeq was convicted of those same accessory charges in February and sentenced to 15 years in prison. A decision on the prosecutors’ motion is expected next week.