ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — Lawyers for terrorism suspect Zacarias Moussaoui have made new requests for access to al-Qaida prisoners, contending that recent government interrogation summaries indicate their testimony would help the defendant show he was not part of the Sept. 11 attacks.

U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema, who released the written arguments Wednesday, already has ruled that Moussaoui should have access to one high-level al-Qaida captive, Ramzi Binalshibh. She is considering penalties against the government for its refusal to produce him for questioning by Moussaoui.

Prosecutors vigorously opposed the new requests, arguing again that national security would be irreparably harmed if the government's interrogations of the al-Qaida prisoners are interrupted. Legally, the government added, the defendant has no right of access to prisoners held abroad in the war on terrorism.

Much of the material in the prosecution and defense filings was deleted by the government on national security grounds.

Moussaoui, who is accused of conspiring with the Sept. 11 hijackers, is the only U.S. defendant whose case arose from the attacks. He has acknowledged his loyalty to Osama bin Laden but denied he was part of the Sept. 11 attacks.

His case has become a legal battle pitting the government's need to protect national security against a defendant's constitutional right to information that could exonerate him and spare him from the death penalty.

The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va., has said it would rule on the Binalshibh question after Brinkema decided on penalties.

Moussaoui, a French citizen, is representing himself but his court-appointed defense team has been permitted to file motions on his behalf -- even though the defendant has not be cooperating with the lawyers.

The filings do not name the al-Qaida prisoners, but the defense lawyers contended the new summaries show their testimony would be material and favorable to the defense -- an assertion the government strongly rebuts.

The defense said the summaries back Moussaoui's argument that he was not part of the Sept. 11 plot, adding that some of the material "eliminates Moussaoui from any role" in the 2001 attacks. Previous defense filings said Moussaoui was to be part of an operation outside the United States.

The prosecutors responded that Moussaoui's intended role in the attacks on Sept. 11 is not important. Rather, they said, Moussaoui is charged in a broad conspiracy to attack the United States, including the Sept. 11 attacks as well as religious edicts to kill U.S. soldiers in Somalia; training al-Qaida terrorists for a holy war; and attempts by al-Qaida to obtain components of nuclear weapons.

The government added that some of the interrogation summaries implicate Moussaoui in the conspiracies charged in the indictment.

"Thus, even if al-Qaida never intended to put Moussaoui on one of the four planes on Sept. 11, he would nonetheless be guilty of the charges specified in the indictment," the government said.