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'America you lost'
04/05/2006 07:54 - (SA)
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| Court public information officer Edward Adams reads the Zacarias Moussaoui verdict outside federal court in Alexandria, Virginia. (Evan Vucci, AP) |
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Alexandria - Al-Qaeda plotter Zacarias Moussaoui shouted "America you lost ... I won" on Wednesday after a jury rejected a death sentence against him over the September 11 attacks.
Moussaoui gave no immediate reaction as Judge Leonie Brinkema announced that the jury had ordered that he be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
But after the jury had gone and he was being led out of the court, the 37-year-old Frenchman shouted: "America you lost, David Novak (the prosecutor) you lost ... I won".
The sworn follower of Osama bin Laden had refused to stand when the verdict was read out. Moussaoui shook his head and sat calmly in his chair, though just before the pronouncement, he mumbled to himself as though saying a prayer.
After the jury had left, Brinkema praised the defence and prosecution lawyers for doing a "stellar" job.
Moussaoui then made a 'V' for victory sign with his fingers to the defence.
Mistake to make him the scapegoat
Prosecutors sat silently with their heads bowed as the verdict was read.
Six relatives of victims of the September 11 2001 attacks watched in the courtroom as the verdict was delivered. Several bowed their heads and covered their eyes with their hands.
After being dismissed, the jury all walked out without looking at Moussaoui or the public benches.
The prosecution had strongly demanded a death sentence for Moussaoui, but Brinkema told the prosecutors "the government always wins when justice is done".
She said they had "served the interests of the American people in this case".
During the trial, no one contested the contention that Moussaoui came to the United States intending to do harm and that he received flight training toward that goal. But his lawyers contended he was an al-Qaeda outcast who was not trusted with the knowledge of the 9/11 plot.
"It was a mistake of the government to make Moussaoui the
poster child for the 9/11 conspiracy to begin with," added
Daniel Benjamin, a terrorism analyst and former member of the
Clinton administration.
Al-Qaeda wannabe
Last year, Moussaoui pleaded guilty to six counts of
conspiracy, three of which could have carried a sentence of
death.
At the White House, President George W Bush hailed the
sentencing of the man he said "openly rejoiced" at the deaths
on 9/11 and said that "evil" had been vanquished.
Jim Cohen, a professor at Fordham Law School in New York,
said the jury was looking for a just resolution. "This is not
sympathy for Moussaoui. It's the penalty they thought most of
the victims wanted, and it's the penalty they thought would be
worse for him."
Family members of victims, some of whom sat in the
courtroom as the verdict was read, said they were pleased with
the sentence.
"He will be in jail for the rest of his life, which is
exactly what this man deserves," said Carie Lemack, whose
mother died on one of the airplanes that was crashed into New
York's World Trade Centre.
"He's an al-Qaeda wannabe and he does not deserve any
credit for 9/11 because he was not part of it, and I am so glad
the jury recognised that." - AFP/ Reuters
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