HAMBURG, Germany, Sept 6 (AFP) - German authorities moved to speed up the expulsion of a September 11 suspect to Morocco Monday by denying his bid to continue his studies.
The Hamburg interior department said Abdelghani Mzoudi, who was acquitted in February of involvement in the 2001 suicide hijacking plot, would only be tolerated in Germany until a prosecutors' appeal of his case could be heard.
Anything that could serve to "strengthen or lengthen his right to residence" such as a student visa should be prevented, the department said.
His study visa expired during his 14 months in custody. He re-applied after his acquittal, but was turned down. No date has yet been set for his appeal.
According to a German security expert, Mzoudi could be transferred from Morocco into US custody and on to the lock-up in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where Al-Qaeda and Taliban suspects are held.
Hamburg interior authorities moved in July to expel Mzoudi, 31, and fellow September 11 suspect Mounir El Motassadeq -- both Moroccan nationals -- on the grounds they were a threat to public safety.
Motassadeq, now 30, was convicted in February 2003 of more than 3,000 counts of accessory to murder and membership in a terrorist organization for his alleged role in the so-called Hamburg cell that produced three of the hijackers.
But in March a federal tribunal granted him a new trial which began last month in Hamburg.
A court here ordered the city's College for Applied Sciences in late August to accept Mzoudi as a student again.
But the interior authorities said that ruling was a pure formality and had no bearing on its own decision to deny him a slot at the university.
Motassadeq has lived in Germany since 1993, Mzoudi since 1995.