Moussaoui 'should be executed'

2006-03-07 15:11

Alexandria - Federal prosecutors argued on Monday that even though September 11 conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui was in jail during the attacks he should be executed because his lies led to the deaths of 3 000 people.

But, one of his court-appointed lawyers said executing Moussaoui would only make him a martyr because many al-Qaeda members only "live so that they can die".

Moussaoui, a French citizen of Moroccan descent, pleaded guilty in April to six counts, three of which carried the death penalty. The charges included conspiracy to commit terrorism.

Defence attorney Edward MacMahon said: "Please don't make him a hero. He just doesn't deserve it."

Hijackings

Moussaoui, 37, was arrested the month before the 2001 attacks after raising suspicions at a flight school. Prosecutors said the hijackings might have been averted if he had not lied to investigators and told them what he knew.

Prosecutor Robert Spencer said: "Even though he was in jail on September 11 2001, Moussaoui did his part ... as a loyal al-Qaeda soldier."

"His lies provided the operational security and allowed his brothers to go forward and kill.

"Had Moussaoui just told the truth on September 11 2001, it would all have been different."

Court appearances

Moussaoui, dressed in a green prisoner's jumpsuit and a white cap, spent most of his time leaning back in his chair rubbing his long, bushy beard.

In the past, he had disrupted court appearances, but this time he watched with little expression and took notes.

But, after the government later showed two videotapes - one of Osama bin Laden and another depicting an al-Qaeda training camp -- Moussaoui smiled and mouthed the words to some songs.

After the judge left the courtroom, Moussaoui criticised MacMahon - one of several court-appointed attorneys whom Moussaoui detested - and vowed to testify to tell his side of the story.

Speculative argument

Earlier, United States district judge Leonie Brinkema seated 12 jurors and five alternates in the only trial to be held in America in connection with the hijackings.

The jury must first decide whether his actions led directly to at least one death on September 11. If it decided that they did, another phase of the trial would be held to decide if Moussaoui would be executed.

If the jury found the opposite, he would receive life in prison. MacMahon called the government's argument "entirely speculative".

He said: "The evidence in this case will be entirely clear that Moussaoui was totally uninvolved in the 9/11 plot.

"This trial can't be viewed by you as jurors as part of the war on terror. We must give this man a fair trial no matter who he is, what he thinks of us and who he represents."

A few relatives of those who died on September 11 were in the courtroom and others watched at special viewing rooms in Boston, New York, New Jersey, Philadelphia and at the Alexandria courthouse.

- Reuters