Associate of September 11 hijackers to be deported from Germany after jail term

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Associate of September 11 hijackers to be deported from Germany after jail term

 

Moroccan Mounir El Motassadeq is escorted at Hamburg airport as he is released from prison in Hamburg, Germany, October 15, 2018, after serving a 15-year jail sentence for helping hijackers to organise the September 11, 2001 attacks on U.S. targets. REUTERS/Fabian Bimmer

 

BERLIN (Reuters) - A Moroccan associate of the Sept. 11 hijackers is being moved from a German prison in preparation for deportation after serving most of a 15-year jail term for helping organise the 2011 attacks on U.S. targets, authorities said on Monday.

 

Mounir El Motassadeq was a member of a group of radical Islamists based in the northern German port city of Hamburg who helped bring about the suicide attacks with hijacked airliners that killed nearly 3,000 people.

 

Handed the maximum sentence of 15 years in 2007 for being an accessory to mass murder, Motassadeq is one of only two men convicted to date of involvement in the plot.

 

"Everything is going according to plan," said a spokesman for the state of Hamburg's interior ministry, declining to give details, other than to say that Motassadeq's release was permissible from Oct. 15 if he was deported immediately.

 

Photographs showed a man with covered eyes being led by two armed policemen to a helicopter. German media reported that he would be taken to Frankfurt to be deported to Morocco, where his family lives.

 

The spokesman in Hamburg could not say exactly when his sentence was due to end. German media have reported he was due to stay behind bars until November or early next year.

 

At his 2007 trial, his lawyers argued that Motassadeq knew nothing about the Sept. 11 plot. But prosecutors said he played a central role in suicide hijacker Mohammed Atta's group by running the financial affairs of some cell members.

 

Authorities in Hamburg said they would confirm the deportation once it has taken place.

 

(Reporting by Madeline Chambers; Editing by Mark Heinrich)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2018-10-16

[MrJerome]

pfff sad world we live in where this is justice.

[Chomper Higgot]

1 hour ago, MrJerome said:

pfff sad world we live in where this is justice.

He’s served 15 years in the slammer and he’s being deported.

 

That’s justice.

 

Perhaps you had vengeance in mind.

[Morch]

1 minute ago, Chomper Higgot said:

He’s served 15 years in the slammer and he’s being deported.

 

That’s justice.

 

Perhaps you had vengeance in mind.

 

I think it is not unreasonable for some to feel that in light of the attack in question, the punishment was relatively light. 

[Chomper Higgot]

6 minutes ago, Morch said:

 

I think it is not unreasonable for some to feel that in light of the attack in question, the punishment was relatively light. 

It’s not unreasonable to challenge their point of view.

[Morch]

42 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

It’s not unreasonable to challenge their point of view.

 

It is one thing to "challenge" a point of view (and, of course, there was no contrary assertion made). To try and frame things as imply that "that's justice" vs. "vengeance", though is somewhat misleading. I think people often get incarcerated for longer terms - so considering the magnitude of the attack, the optics (nevermind decreeing "justice") may be off, for some. I do wonder what sort of a homecoming he'll receive back home. 

[welovesundaysatspace]

38 minutes ago, Morch said:

I think people often get incarcerated for longer terms

Nope, 15 years is the maximum. He got the maximum penalty already. 

[chrisinth]

4 hours ago, MrJerome said:

pfff sad world we live in where this is justice.

There is no true justice anymore. This is prevented by laws that our societies demand.

[Morch]

1 hour ago, welovesundaysatspace said:

Nope, 15 years is the maximum. He got the maximum penalty already. 

 

Maybe I should have phrased it better. Point wasn't with reference to the exact legalities of maximum penalty prescribed for the offense. If anything, that highlights the issue of optics or perceived justice.

[observer90210]

And once back in Morocco, he will be a free man, free to start some new horrific tricks ? Obviously the germans did not want to have this cumbersome individual in their country and saved face with a mere 15 years and ciao, back home.

 

The americans must be mad about this and one could understand them.

 

But this is called "democracy" ladies and gentlemen..so we must just live with it.

[Ulic]

I am surprised the US didn't request his presence in the US. I sure there the punishment would have fit the crime. 

[Tug]

Naaaaa we don’t want him might cause problems with the Saudis Donald can’t have that lol that dumb ass thinks the Saudis will compleatly change their weapons systems and squander billions if we hurt their feelings lol (the master negotiator)ha ha !