ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — Zacarias Moussaoui's isolation was eased temporarily to allow him to interview his former Muslim imam in March, according to documents released Tuesday in the case of the accused terrorism suspect.

U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema released 18 previously sealed records, including court orders, pleadings by the government, Moussaoui's handwritten motions and briefs by court-appointed defense lawyers. Several of the documents were from last year.

The documents show Moussaoui's court-appointed defense team sought volumes of CIA records and ran into heavy government objections. It was not clear just how many documents, if any, were turned over to the lawyers -- who, unlike Moussaoui, can review classified material.

The imam was El Hadi Ndiaye, Moussoaui's minister when he was in Norman, Okla. Brinkema allowed Moussaoui to interview Ndiaye before he gave videotaped testimony -- necessary because the imam was leaving the country.

Normally, Moussaoui cannot see anyone in the Alexandria Detention Center except his mother and his lawyers -- with whom he avoids contact.

The defense lawyers, called "standby" attorneys because Moussaoui represents himself, made a vigorous argument in one edited pleading for the defendant to interview witnesses of his choosing.

The judge has allowed Moussaoui, an acknowledged al-Qaida loyalist, access to at least one al-Qaida prisoner, but the government has consistently opposed the idea and is trying to work out a compromise to make summaries of witness statements available.

"There is no precedent for denying a defendant facing the death penalty access to such witnesses," the defense lawyers argued in one pleading.

Moussaoui is the lone U.S. defendant charged as a conspirator with the 19 Sept. 11 hijackers.