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US seeks death penalty for Moussaoui
28/03/2002 18:27 - (SA)
James Vicini
Washington - The US justice department will seek the death penalty for Zacarias Moussaoui if a jury finds the French citizen guilty of conspiring to kill thousands in the September 11 attacks on America, according to court papers filed on Thursday.
In a move sure to spark new criticism from European nations opposed to capital punishment, Attorney-General John Ashcroft rejected pleas from the French justice ministry not to seek a death sentence for Moussaoui, the only person charged in the United States for the September 11 attacks.
Ashcroft, the top US law enforcement official who must approve all federal death penalty cases, accepted the recommendation of his prosecutors in the Moussaoui case and said he had authorised them to seek the death penalty.
"The government will seek the sentence of death, in that the circumstances of the offences are such that a sentence of death is justified," prosecutors Paul McNulty and James Comey said in the eight-page court filing.
They said Moussaoui's actions resulted in the deaths of about 3 000 people, the largest loss of life stemming from a criminal act in US history, and they added he "has demonstrated a lack of remorse for his criminal conduct".
Moussaoui possibly the 20th hijacker
A December 11 indictment accused 33-year-old Moussaoui of conspiring with Saudi-born extremist Osama bin Laden and his al-Qaeda network to carry out the hijacked plane attacks on the US.
US officials have said Moussaoui may have been preparing to be the 20th hijacker. One of the planes that crashed into a Pennsylvania field had only four hijackers on board, while the other three planes which hit the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon had five hijackers.
Moussaoui's lawyers have until April 18 to file objections to the death penalty. US District Court Judge Leonie Brinkema has scheduled a hearing on the death penalty for May 15.
Moussaoui's lawyers have entered a plea of not guilty on his behalf. His trial is scheduled to begin on September 30 in Alexandria, Virginia, with jury selection.
Even before Ashcroft formally made his decision, prosecutors had begun interviewing relatives of the September 11 victims and plan to select 30 of them to testify at any penalty phase about the crime's impact on them.
Four counts carry the death penalty and the other two counts carry a maximum punishment of life in prison upon conviction.
French threaten to withdraw support for US?
French Justice Minister Marylise Lebranchu has said France, which abolished capital punishment in 1981, would not accept the death penalty for Moussaoui. France warned the US its cooperation with the September 11 investigation could be jeopardised by seeking the death penalty.
On September 11, Moussaoui was already being held by U.S. officials on immigration charges. He was detained on August 16 in Minnesota after officials at a flying school where he was training became suspicious.
Moussaoui has been accused of engaging in the same preparation and training as the 19 suspected hijackers.
On the day of Moussaoui's indictment, the human rights group Amnesty International said the US should not seek the death penalty for Moussaoui.
Prosecutors McNulty and Comey said Moussaoui had committed the alleged offences after "substantial planning and premeditation" and that the acts occurred "in an especially heinous, cruel and depraved manner".
Ashcroft told a news conference the court filing "listed numerous reasons, called aggravating factors, which we believe indicate why the death penalty is appropriate".
"Among these reasons is the impact of the crime on thousands of victims," he said.
- Reuters
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