Victims' families urge stiff penalty for alleged co-plotter

HAMBURG, Germany -- Their voices quavering as they told how their loved ones died on Sept. 11, five Americans on Thursday confronted the first suspect to stand trial for the attacks and demanded harsh punishment for "the puppets of Osama bin Laden."

Mounir el Motassadeq, an alleged member of the al-Qaida cell that included lead hijacker Mohamed Atta, listened intently but showed no emotion as the men and women painfully relived their experiences in Hamburg state court.

Led by Stephen Push, whose wife was killed in the plane that crashed into the Pentagon, more than 20 relatives have joined the proceedings, which began in October and are expected to end next month, under German laws allowing relatives of crime victims to review evidence, file motions and question witnesses.

Observers cried softly in the courtroom gallery as Maureen Fanning, whose New York City firefighter husband Jack, 54, was killed in the collapse of the second tower of the World Trade Center, told the court what the loss had meant to their two severely autistic sons.

"The boys have very little in their lives -- they can't read, they can't write," said Fanning, her voice choked with emotion.

"But they had Jack to walk in the door and smile at them -- something special -- that was stolen from them on Sept. 11."

Faces 3,000 counts

El Motassadeq, a 28-year-old Moroccan, is accused of providing logistical support to the Hamburg cell.

He faces a possible life sentence if convicted of membership in a terrorist organization and more than 3,000 counts of accessory to murder, though his actual time in prison would likely translate to a maximum of about 15 years under German law.

Fanning pleaded for him to be kept behind bars for life, saying "the world has to be protected from the suicidal murderous inclinations of the defendant and his friends."

After the statement, Presiding Judge Albrecht Mentz said it would have been inappropriate to interrupt her, but asked those who were to follow to avoid making pronouncements of el Motassadeq's guilt or innocence.

That did not stop Deena Burnett, who moved with her three young daughters back near her family in Little Rock, Ark., after her husband, Thomas Burnett, was killed when United Airlines Flight 93 crashed in Pennsylvania. Burnett is believed to have joined other passengers who broke into the cockpit and prevented the hijackers from carrying out an attack on the capital.

"My request is for you to demonstrate the same courage as the passengers on Flight 93 in holding the defendant responsible for his acts of terrorism and murder," she told the five judges hearing the case.

Joan Molinaro said her 32-year-old New York City firefighter son, Carl Molinaro, left behind his wife and then 2-year-old daughter and 3-week-old son when he was killed helping people escape the World Trade Center.

"Rather than fight our military as true soldiers would have done, these cowards chose to kill innocents, including women and children," she said. "The puppets of Osama bin Laden are not men, they are cowards."

Michael Low of Batesville, Ark., told the court he has been tortured by images of American Airlines Flight 11, on which his 28-year-old daughter Sara Low was a flight attendant, slamming into the World Trade Center.

"I ask this court to honor my daughter's memory and that of 3,000 others by prosecuting those who assisted in Sara's murder to the full extent of the law," he said.

Push, of Great Falls, Va., told the court what his 42-year-old wife, Lisa Raines, might have gone through during the last three-quarters of an hour of her life. Unlike some other family members, he never received a final phone call.

"I often lie awake at night wondering if she was injured or in pain," Push said.

After the statements, the Americans said they were struck by the fact that el Motassadeq sat 15 feet away and looked at them the whole time -- sometimes directly in the eyes -- but never flinched.

"I noticed that he was staring very intently, he was obviously paying very close attention to the proceedings," Push said. "But I didn't see a hint of emotion."

It was the first time the Americans had seen el Motassadeq in person, though German attorneys have been monitoring the trial for them daily.

"I had no problem with looking into his face," Fanning said afterward. "I'm not afraid of him, I wasn't afraid to come here. I was afraid not to come here -- today I really felt like I was doing something constructive."