El Motassadeq Will Not Be Freed, Court Says

Mounir el Motassadeq, the only Sept. 11 suspect so far convicted, will remain in prison despite new evidence that freed a fellow Moroccan being tried on the same charges, a Hamburg court official said Monday. The recent release of Abdelghani Mzoudi would not influence the court, the official said. He added that el Motassadeq would continue to serve the maximum 15 year sentence handed down by the court for his role in the 3,066 deaths and for being a member of a terrorist organization. The court did not immediately explain its decision not to release el Motassadeq, according to attorney Andreas Schulz, who represents American relatives of September 11 victims in the case.