| ||
| ||
| ||
 |
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Moussaoui barred from appeal hearing9/11 defendant is representing himself at trial
From Phil Hirschkorn
RICHMOND, Virginia (CNN) -- Even Zacarias Moussaoui can't attend a closed court hearing next month about his own case. The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has denied a motion by Moussaoui to make an oral argument at next month's hearing on whether he may have access to al Qaeda captives he believes could offer exculpatory evidence. The government is appealing a ruling by U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema granting Moussaoui access to Ramzi Binalshibh, a key member of the September 11 hijackers' Hamburg cell who allegedly wired $14,000 to Moussaoui in August 2001 to help him pay for flight school. Moussaoui, 34, a French-Moroccan and self-described "mujahedeen," or Muslim holy warrior, is charged with conspiring with al Qaeda and the 19 hijackers who killed more than 3,000 people when they crashed three airliners into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, and targeted Washington, D.C. with a fourth plane that crashed in Pennsylvania on September 11, 2001. Moussaoui admits belonging to al Qaeda and swearing allegiance to its leader, Saudi exile Osama bin Laden, but denies a role in the September 11 plot. ," Moussaoui said in his handwritten motion, unsealed Wednesday along with the court order. "By refusing to hear me, the court is denying the most basic right to be heard." The May 6 hearing is already closed to the public and media, and the motions to be argued are sealed. Several news organizations, including CNN, are seeking access to the proceeding. Moussaoui also wants access to other key al Qaeda captives -- Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the main planner of September 11; Mohamed al-Hawsawi, an alleged paymaster of the hijackers; and Abu Zubaydah, a recruiter who oversaw the training camps. Mohammed has told interrogators that Moussaoui was not tapped for September 11, but was to conduct a separate attack, sources have told CNN. Moussaoui blames Attorney General John Ashcroft for the notion that he was supposed to be a 20th hijacker, which he calls "a lie." "Mohamed alibi destroy (sic) the credibility (if any) of Ashcroft theory of 20th hijacker," Moussaoui wrote. Despite his indignation, Moussaoui, who is representing himself at trial, does not have the same rights in an appeals setting. No right to present argument"No defendant has a right to present argument," said Edward MacMahon, one of the court-appointed attorneys assisting Moussaoui. "Self-representation rights only apply in the district court," MacMahon said. Nor does Moussaoui have an automatic right to appear. "In most appellate cases, the guy is locked up and they don't bring him to the hearing," said Frank Dunham, another one of Moussaoui's standby counsel. The attorneys will make arguments on his behalf. The government opposes Moussaoui's applications for access to the al Qaeda captives, who are being detained at undisclosed locations. Citing national security, the government has denied any terrorism suspects or their attorneys access to them; nor does the government want the captives to testify in open court. Brinkema last week lamented the government-imposed "shroud of secrecy" in the Moussaoui case and "the extent to which the United States' intelligence officials have classified the pleadings, orders, and memorandum opinions." Many trial motions, orders and transcripts remain sealed.
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
