JURIST - Paper Chase: CIA admits error in withholding interrogation tapes during Moussaoui trial

[JURIST] The US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) [official website] has admitted that it has several recorded interrogations of suspected "enemy combatants," contrary to previous assertions. According to a letter [PDF text] released Tuesday, the agency mistakenly denied in court declarations that it possessed one audio and two video tapes during the trial of Sept. 11 conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui [JURIST news archive]. Moussaoui had sought the testimony of several al Qaeda witnesses as part of his defense. Prosecutors said that they learned of the tapes only recently, but insisted that their absence did not affect Moussaoui's trial, as they did not mention either him or the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks [JURIST news archive].

Moussaoui pleaded guilty [JURIST report] in April 2005 to conspiracy charges [indictment] in connection with the Sept. 11 attacks, including conspiracy to commit acts of terrorism transcending national boundaries, conspiracy to destroy aircraft and conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction. He received a life sentence [JURIST report] last year after one juror refused to agree to the death penalty [JURIST report]. Reuters has more.

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