Alexandria, Va. ? Prosecutors have agreed with Zacarias Moussaoui’s lawyers that all charges against the terrorism defendant should be dismissed but only to hasten an appeal that challenges his right to question fellow al-Qaida prisoners.

In a written motion made public Thursday, the government also asked U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema to issue a stay, an order that would keep the charges in place during the appeal.

Prosecutors want an appellate court to overrule two of Brinkema’s orders that gave Moussaoui the right to question three captives who, he says, could testify he was not a conspirator in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

A panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va., has heard oral arguments on one of the orders allowing Moussaoui to question enemy combatants but said it would rule only after Brinkema punished the government for defying the court.

Testimony by the witnesses would disclose classified information and damage national security, the government contended.

Brinkema could impose a punishment next week, after a Monday deadline expires for Moussaoui to submit his recommended sanctions against the government.