US Seeks Death Penalty for 9.11 Terror Attack Suspect

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Friday, March 29, 2002

US Seeks Death Penalty for 9.11 Terror Attack Suspect

The U.S. Justice Department said Thursdayit will seek the death penalty against Zacarias Moussaoui,the onlyperson to be charged in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks against NewYork and Washington.

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The U.S. Justice Department said Thursdayit will seek the death penalty against Zacarias Moussaoui,the onlyperson to be charged in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks against NewYork and Washington.

Moussaoui, 33, a French citizen of Moroccan descent, is charged with conspiring with Osama bin Laden, the hijackers and others to commit the Sept. 11 attacks. His trial is to begin Sept.30. Four of the six counts brought against Moussaoui carry a maximum sentence of death.

``The defendant, Zacarias Moussaoui, intentionally participated in an act contemplating that the life of a person would be taken or intending that lethal force would be used ... and the victims died as a direct result of the act,'' U.S. Attorney Paul J. McNulty said in the filing.

Moussaoui's home country, France,a long-time opponent of the death penalty, has recently asked U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft not to seek the death penalty.

Ashcroft previously said the death penalty was an appropriate possibility for ``people who are part of a conspiracy and do everything they can to advance the conspiracy to kill Americans.''He described Moussaoui as an ``active participant'' in the Sept. 11 attacks.

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