I don't know. Sounds to me like the U.S. Government is all about fighting terrorism if it involves sending troops and dropping bombs, but if they expect us to let our P.O.W.s testify in order to fight terrorism in a court room, they are sadly mistaken. I really don't understand. The war on terror has been our #1 priority since 9/11 and now when someone has the opportunity to actually convict someone that was involved we do little more than lift a finger to help. The conviction was over-turned once because of inadequate access to evidence, what makes us think they won't do it again?HAMBURG, Germany -- The United States has said it will not let key al Qaeda suspects in its custody testify at the retrial of the only September 11 suspect ever to be convicted.
The announcement came as the retrial of Mounir el Motassadeq opened in a Hamburg courtroom on Tuesday.
In a letter to the German Embassy in Washington, U.S. officials said "interactive access" to such prisoners could hamper their interrogation and lead to critical secret information being divulged, The Associated Press reported.
However, the U.S. State Department letter, which was read out in court, said the United States would provide unclassified summaries, apparently of interrogations, according to AP.
Trial Judge Ernst-Rainer Schudt described the offer of summaries as "a bit of progress."
In el Motassadeq's first trial, U.S. authorities refused to allow even transcripts of two key suspects' interrogations to be admitted as evidence.
In February 2003, el Motassadeq became the first person anywhere to be convicted in connection with the 2001 attacks. He was sentenced to 15 years in jail.
But earlier this year, an appeals court ruled the verdict was unfair because the U.S.-held witnesses did not testify, and it ordered a new trial.
El Motassadeq, who denies the charges, was released from prison in April.
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