German authorities have charged a Moroccan man they suspect of being linked to the September 11th attacks on the US.
Mr Mounir El Motassadek (28) was arrested in November in the northern city of Hamburg, where some members of the group of men who hijacked four airliners and crashed them into targets in the US had lived.
According to the Hamburg prosecutor's office, Mr El Motassadek is suspected of using an account opened at a local bank by Mr Marwan Al-Shehhi, from the United Arab Emirates, who drew money to pay for trips to the US and pilot lessons there.
A suspected member of the al-Qaeda network, Mr El Motassadek shared an apartment in Hamburg with Mr Al-Shehhi and the Egyptian Mr Mohammad Atta, who is believed to have been the mastermind behind them.
The federal prosecutor's office in Karslruhe had previously said that Mr El Motassadek was in "close relations" with Mr Atta's al-Qaeda cell.
The three lived and studied in Hamburg for years without coming to the attention of authorities.
AFP