The first trial of an alleged September 11 conspirator ends on Wednesday when a Moroccan man hears whether German judges acquit or jail him for up to 15 years, a ruling seen as a test for other al Qaeda prosecutions. Mounir El Motassadeq, a 28-year-old electrical engineering student, is charged with being an accessory to 3,045 murders in New York and Washington and with belonging to the Hamburg-based al Qaeda cell said to have led the assault.

His trial, lasting 29 days since October, has offered insights into the al Qaeda network blamed for the suicide hijackings and Germany's role in harboring key perpetrators.

It has also highlighted the difficulties in pressing terrorism charges and the potential for conflict between justice systems designed to deal openly in actual deeds and security services clouded in secrecy that stress preventative action.

Some lawyers see it as a test case for future al Qaeda prosecutions.

"There will be a lot of people looking at this trial believing it is swayed by politics, although I do believe the judges are trying to ensure impartiality," said a German lawyer who has followed the case closely.

However, lawyers say the alleged influence of politics means the accused already has a ready-made appeal if found guilty.

SECRECY VS OPENNESS

The accused's defense team has complained that governments blocked testimony from potentially key witnesses.

Motassadeq's lawyers wanted the court to hear the testimony of Ramzi bin al-Shaibah, a suspected plotter in U.S. custody, as well as Mohammed Haydar Zammar, an alleged al Qaeda recruiter who is believed to be in a Syrian jail.

However, neither country has been willing to allow the men to be heard, while the German government has said it cannot release reports compiled from their questioning of the two.

Germany's continued cooperation with foreign intelligence services could yet cost it a successful prosecution of a suspected attack conspirator, legal experts said.

"It would not be the first case concerning availability of information, but there's not been a case like it of this magnitude... It could be a matter that goes as far as the European Court of Justice in Strasbourg," said Bernd-Ruediger Sonnen, Hamburg-based professor of criminology.

BURDEN OF PROOF

The trial has exposed the difficulties of proving al Qaeda membership. What distinguishes a "terrorist organization" from a criminal group and what constitutes membership?

"The legal demands set are very high. You need to show there is a hierarchical structure, that it had a purpose and continued for some time," German federal prosecutors said.

Prosecutors have had to prove Motassadeq and his friends were bound together in an al Qaeda cell. Judges have suggested the more general "supporting" rather than "belonging to" a "terrorist organization." Lawyers speculate prosecutors will settle for the lesser charge in future.

Prosecutors elsewhere have found membership just as hard to prove after police sweeps across Europe for al Qaeda supporters.

In Britain, more than 300 people have been arrested under anti-terror laws, but only a small number have ended up in court and only three have been convicted on terror charges.

In the Philippines, two Indonesian militants with alleged links to Jemaah Islamiah are serving prison terms after being convicted last year of illegal possession of explosives.

"We could only charge them with common crimes because we have no anti-terrorism law or even a law banning membership with al Qaeda... Common crimes is far as we can go," prosecutor George Dee told Reuters, his comments typical of many.
In some countries, some people are held with little or no information about their custody.

"The balance has been skewed between security and justice. What's more, much of the tighter security and detentions are little more than placebos to reassure the public," said German lawyer and legal author Rolf Goessner.

On Wednesday, judges have three charges to consider: accessory to murder with a potential 15 year sentence, membership of a terrorist organization, with a sentence of up to 10 years or supporting such a group, up to five years.

Prosecutors say the accused was aware of the hijackers' plans and provided logistical back-up in Hamburg.

Their case hinges on Motassadeq's close friendship with six alleged plotters, his financial transfers on behalf of Marwan Al Shehi, the man said to have smashed the second plane into the World Trade Center, and his training at an al Qaeda camp.

Defense lawyers say the accused did little more than befriend fellow Muslims and insist that Motassadeq's Afghan training does not mean he is a violent extremist.

PHOTO CAPTION

Defendant Mounir el Motassadeq looks on at the beginning of his trial at the state court in Hamburg, northern Germany, Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2003. Motassadeq, a Moroccan ational is accused of aiding the Hamburg terrorist cell involved in the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States, which included lead suicide hijacker Mohamed Atta. (AP Photo/Christof Stache, Pool)