December 12, 2003	Friday	Shawwal 17, 1424

HAMBURG, Dec 11: In a dramatic legal twist, a German court on Thursday dealt a blow to prosecutors by ordering the immediate release from custody of a Moroccan facing trial over the Sept 11, 2001, attacks and saying he was no longer a key suspect.

Presiding judge Klaus Ruehle said there seemed a “strong possibility” that the accused, Abdelghani Mzoudi, was unaware of plotting for the attacks.

Ruehle said Mzoudi, a 31-year-old Moroccan, was “no longer a prime suspect” after hearing of fresh evidence that could exonerate him.

The charges against Mzoudi were not lifted, meaning the trial goes on, but for the first time he was able to walk out of the top-security court in Hamburg, northern Germany, after the case was adjourned till Dec 18.

He is only the second suspect anywhere in the world to stand trial over the 2001 suicide hijackings.

Agreeing to a defence request for Mr Mzoudi’s release from custody, the judge stated: “There is the serious possibility that Mzoudi, despite his involvement and his visit to Afghanistan, was deliberately excluded from planning for the attacks and did not consciously provide a supportive role.”—AFP