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| Moussaoui may get some inmate access |
| By Los Angeles Times |
| Published: 09/20/2004 |
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The government's death-penalty prosecution of Zacarias Moussaoui remains on track, although prosecutors may have to give the French national the opportunity to submit written questions to three prisoners alleged to be members of Al Qaeda to ensure a fair trial, a federal appellate court ruled last Monday. Moussaoui, the only person charged in connection with the Sept. 11 attacks, has denied being part of the terrorist plot, and his lawyers have argued that access to the prisoners is essential to proving his innocence. But U.S. officials have refused to make the prisoners available, saying that they continue to be intelligence assets and that any questioning would compromise national security. While none of the prisoners has been identified in court documents, they are believed to include Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and Ramzi Binalshibh, who are suspected of planning the Sept. 11 attacks. Amending an April ruling that overturned a lower court decision last year blocking consideration of the death penalty, a split three-judge panel of the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va., held that Moussaoui must be given access to Al Qaeda witness statements that might support his defense, and indicated that the prisoners might possess exculpatory evidence. The panel also indicated that Moussaoui might have a right to submit written questions to the prisoners, although the terms of the order were obscured by heavy censorship because of national security concerns. Moussaoui was charged with conspiracy after the 2001 attacks, although what his precise role might have been remains unclear. |
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