RICHMOND, Va., Sept. 13 (UPI) -- A federal appeals court in Richmond, Va., Monday ruled terror suspect Zacharias Moussaoui could not have direct access to suspects held overseas.
The ruling is a partial victory for the Justice Department. The appeals court upheld a federal judge's ruling the overseas suspects could be helpful to Moussaoui's case, and said the judge could access "enemy combatants" overseas if they are in U.S. custody.
But the appeals court also said "appropriate substitutions" are available in place of the "enemy combatant" testimony at trial, such as a government proposal to summarize the relevant parts of terror suspect debriefings.
The appeals court ordered the judge and the government to follow that path.
Moussaoui is charged with conspiracy in the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, the only living suspect implicated in those events. The government believes if he had not been detained on immigration problems, he might have piloted a fifth hijacked airliner headed for the White House.
Attorney General John Ashcroft praised Monday's ruling and said the trial is back on track.
