Zacarias Moussaoui's request to interview three fellow detainees held in connection with alleged acts of terror has been rejected by the United States Supreme Court. The court let stand a lower court ruling that gave the government a right to restrict Moussaoui to summaries of the testimony of the detainees due to overriding national security concerns. Moussaoui wanted to have his attorney question the detainees directly.

The case now goes back to an Alexandria, Virginia federal court where the summary of these testimonies must be prepared for Moussaoui's defense attorney.

Moussaoui remains the only person held in connection with the September 11 attacks. He has freely admitted that he has an allegiance to terrorist mastermind Osama Bin Laden but denies any involvement in the September 11 attacks.

Bryan Sierra, a spokesman for the Justice Department was pleased with the ruling. He claimed it 'once again affirms our belief that the government can provide Zacarias Moussaoui with a fair trial while still protecting national security interests.' He later told the Associated Press, 'Today's denial of Moussaoui's appeal puts us another step closer to trial and we look forward to presenting our case to the district court.'

The case is expected to commence again in September although further procedural issues could push it back to next year.