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Germany charges Sept. 11 suspect
BERLIN, Germany (CNN) -- A 30-year-old Moroccan has been charged with suspected membership of a terrorist group and aiding and abetting the murder of more than 3,000 people in the September 11, 2001 terror attacks. Federal prosecutors believe Abdelghani Mzoudi was part of the "Hamburg cell," the part of Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda terrorist network that planned and carried out the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Mzoudi, who is also charged in connection with the hijacking of a plane that crashed in rural Pennsylvania, had been in German custody since he was arrested in October. Membership of a terrorist group is a crime in Germany. The Hamburg cell included lead hijacker Mohammed Atta, who piloted one of the two airliners that crashed into the World Trade Center. Mzoudi also worked with Mounir el Motassedeq, and Ramzi Binalshibh, one of the key organizers of the September 11 plot, according to prosecutors. Details of the September 11 attacks were coordinated between members of the Hamburg cell and the attackers in the United States. Prosecutors believe Mzoudi knew the purpose of the attacks and helped plan and prepare for them. German police arrested Mzoudi on October 10. He was detained on suspicion of having links to the al Qaeda network and of having spent time in training camps in Afghanistan in the summer of 2000 where the attacks were organized. Prosecutors also believe Mzoudi, along with Motassedeq, provided logistical support to at least one member of al Qaeda. A third suspect, Zakariya Essabar, was also a member of the Hamburg cell, but has not been apprehended. Mzoudi and Motassedeq were witnesses to Atta's will. Mzoudi trained at an al Qaeda camp in Afghanistan at the same time as Motassedeq and Essabar and is suspected of supporting the Hamburg terrorist cell. Motassedeq was arrested in Hamburg in November 2001. He was convicted in German federal court in February on a series of charges, including membership of a terrorist groups and helping in the murder of the 3,066 people killed in the attacks. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison. Motassedeq was the first trial of a suspected attack conspirator. -- CNN's Stephanie Halasz contributed to this report
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