RICHMOND, VA. ? Fighting to reclaim the right to execute terrorism suspect Zacarias Moussaoui, the government told a federal appeals court Wednesday that the al-Qaida loyalist shouldn’t be able to benefit from victories in the U.S. war on terrorism by gaining access to terrorists captured abroad.

The outcome of the case could be crucial in determining whether other terrorism suspects are tried in the civilian criminal court system or before a military tribunal. Moussaoui could be moved before a military panel if the government loses.

“The question for an independent judiciary is at what point is national security so great that a person can’t get a fair trial?” asked Judge Roger Gregory, the lone Democratic appointee on the three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond.

Justice Department lawyers are challenging a lower court’s decision stripping them of the ability to seek the death penalty and to use evidence connected to the Sept. 11 attacks, essentially the heart of the case. The government was sanctioned after refusing to allow Moussaoui’s lawyers access to al-Qaida captives held abroad. The defense claims that they would help exonerate Moussaoui by saying he wasn’t involved in the attacks.

Moussaoui’s lawyer asked in court Wednesday whether the government should be able to try to execute someone while barring him access to witnesses who could cast doubt on his guilt.

“Can the government sit on witnesses that have favorable testimony to a defendant in a case?” attorney Frank Dunham asked. “That’s what they’re doing. They may be doing it for laudable reasons, but they are sitting on witnesses.”