Moussaoui knows '20th hijacker'
2002-08-17 13:52
Alexandria, Virginia - Zacarias Moussaoui, the first person charged in connection with the September 11 attacks, says in a request released by the federal court here that he can identify the so-called "20th hijacker" on the passenger manifest of one of the planes used in the deadly strikes.
"Believe me, I have a precise ID in mind. I am the only one who can identify a suicide bomber.
"After all, I'm 'suppose' to be one (of course not to be
misunderstood as a statement of guilt or innocence)," he said in
the handwritten document, in which he also denies that he himself
was the 20th hijacker, as prosecutors allege.
Moussaoui also accused the Federal Bureau of Investigation of
having invented the idea of a 20th hijacker in order to justify his arrest and trial, and requested permission to review the passenger manifests from the four doomed flights.
Arrested in August 2001 on immigration violations, the
34-year-old Frenchman has since been charged with conspiracy to
commit acts of terror that transcend international borders;
conspiracy to commit aircraft piracy; conspiracy to destroy
aircraft; conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction; conspiracy to murder US employees; and conspiracy to destroy property.
He faces the death penalty on four of those charges.
Jury selection in Moussaoui's trial is scheduled to begin on
September 30, with opening statements expected in mid-October. But Moussaoui and his standby counsel - who he fired earlier this year but who remain on standby at the request of the judge overseeing the case - have requested a minimum two-month delay in his trial proceedings, to November 30.
Judge Leonie Brinkema has not yet made a pronouncement on the
matter. - Sapa-AFP
- SAPA