by Elizabeth Stawicki, Minnesota Public Radio — St. Paul, Minn. — Defense attorneys will ask a federal judge in a terrorism case being heard in Minneapolis today to allow them to talk to high-ranking al-Qaeda members held in U.S. custody.

The defendant, Mohamed Warsame, is a Canadian citizen of Somali descent who lived in Minneapolis in 2002.

The federal government charged Warsame with providing material support to al-Qaeda after he left Canada to attend two terrorist training camps in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Warsame says he never knowingly attended an al Qaeda training camp but sought a “utopian” society in Afghanistan.

The U.S. Government has held Warsame in segregation for more than five years as his case has dragged on through the courts.

Warsame’s attorneys want to talk to some-al Qaeda members, including Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind behind the 9-11 attacks, because they were unable to identify Warsame by photo or name.

The defense will also ask for Warsame’s conditional release.