WASHINGTON (voa) – The U.S. government is seeking the death penalty against Zacarias Moussaoui, the only person to be charged in the September 11 terrorist attacks.
U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft says prosecutors formally filed the charges Thursday at the court, just outside of Washington. Mr. Ashcroft says capital punishment is appropriate because of what he called aggravating factors, including the impact of the crime on thousands of victims from 15 nations.
The four charges Mr. Moussaoui faces that carry a maximum penalty of death include conspiring to commit terrorist acts, destroying aircraft, using airplanes as weapons of mass destruction and killing Americans.
Mr. Moussaoui was in jail for alleged visa violations the day of the attacks. But the FBI says it believes he is linked to the al-Qaida terrorist organization and conspired with the September hijackers. Investigators believe 19 men carried out the hijackings, crashing four planes and killing more than 3,000 people. All the hijackers were killed in the crashes. U.S. officials have said they believe Mr. Moussaoui was to have been the 20th hijacker.
Mr. Moussaoui’s trial is set to begin September 30 in a court in the U.S. state of Virginia.
France has expressed regret over the decision to seek the death penalty against Mr. Moussaoui, who is a French citizen of Moroccan descent.
Mr. Moussaoui’s mother tells VOA that she has appealed to the French government to fight the U.S. decision. Aicha Moussaoui says she is sorry for the victims of the September 11 attacks, but says her son was not responsible because he was in jail.
Like many European countries, France sees the death penalty as a violation of human rights. French Foreign Minister Hubert Vedrine said France will continue to help in the war against terrorism, but added that the U.S. decision may affect French cooperation in the Moussaoui case.
