Where is Binalshibh? U.S. ignored 2nd time German Request

What does the U.S. have to hide? They denied for the Second Time a Request by German Lawyers for the German 9/11 Terror Trials

U.S, won't let terror suspect testify

Man with many faces: Ramzi Binalshibh (FBI Photo, "Al Quaeda"-Video, Arrestment 2002)

HAMBURG, Germany - U.S. officials have rejected a German court's request to let alleged Sept. 11 plotter Ramzi Binalshibh testify at the trial of a suspected member of the Hamburg al-Qaida cell charged in the 2001 attacks, a judge said Thursday.

Judge Klaus Ruehle said American authorities did not give a reason for the rejection. "They wrote 'unfortunately Binalshibh is not available,' whatever that means," Ruehle said.

Binalshibh, believed by German prosecutors to be the key liaison between the Hamburg cell and Osama bin Laden's terror network, has been in U.S. custody since his arrest a year ago in Pakistan.

Washington also refused to allow him to testify in the Hamburg trial of Mounir el Motassadeq, a Moroccan convicted in February of terror charges and sentenced to 15 years in prison, or at the Virginia trial of Zacarias Moussaoui.

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The latest request was from lawyers for Abdelghani Mzoudi, a Moroccan charged with 3,066 counts of accessory to murder and membership in a terrorist organization for allegedly providing logistical support to the Hamburg al-Qaida cell, which included suicide hijackers Mohamed Atta, Marwan al-Shehhi and Ziad Jarrah. He faces a possible 15 years in prison if convicted.

Defense lawyer Michael Rosenthal said Binalshibh could testify that his client had no knowledge of the plot, adding that the U.S. refusal would give him grounds for appeal.

Despite the Justice Department's repeated refusal to allow Binalshibh to testify, Rosenthal said he would appeal the decision.

Mzoudi's defense team has also asked U.S. authorities to let them question Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the suspected mastermind of the Sept. 11 plot. No response has been given to that request.