Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Germany returns 9/11 aide to Morocco
BERLIN — A Moroccan man convicted of helping Mohamed Atta and the other Hamburg-based Sept. 11, 2001, suicide pilots as they plotted attacks on New York and Washington was deported Monday from Germany to his homeland.
German authorities confirmed that Mounir el Motassadeq was aboard a plane that had taken off from Frankfurt airport in the evening.
El Motassadeq was convicted of membership in a terrorist organization and accessory to the murder of the 246 passengers and crew on the four jetliners used in the 9/11 attacks.
“It’s a good feeling to know that Mr. Motassadeq is out of the country,” said Hamburg’s Interior Minister Andy Grote.
El Motassadeq was released from a Hamburg prison shortly before completing his 15-year-sentence on the condition that he agreed to be deported to Morocco. That would allow Germany to re-arrest him if he ever returned.
It wasn’t immediately clear what awaited him in Morocco.
El Motassadeq was convicted of being part of the socalled Hamburg cell, including Atta and fellow Sept. 11 pilots Marwan al-Shehhi and Ziad Jarrah.
German courts ruled that el Motassadeq was aware the three planned to hijack and crash planes, even though he might not have known specifics of the plot. They said el Motassadeq helped “watch the attackers’ backs and conceal them” by helping them keep up the appearance of being university students paying tuition and rent and transferring money.