9/11 conspirator jailed
The week's news at a glance.
Hamburg, Germany
A German court sentenced a Moroccan man to 15 years in prison this week for abetting the 9/11 hijackers. Mounir el-Motassadeq had been found guilty in 2005 of belonging to a terrorist organization. But an appeals court overturned the conviction and sought stronger charges, saying he had a direct role in planning the attack. Motassadeq belonged to the Hamburg Islamist cell that included 9/11 ringleader Mohamed Atta. Only one other person has been convicted for complicity in the attacks: Zacarias Moussaoui, often erroneously called “the 20th hijacker.” He is serving a life sentence in the United States.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.