Terror attack suspect enters no plea

The Washington Post and The Associated Press

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Zacarias Moussaoui, the only person so far to face charges in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, declined "in the name of Allah" and told an Alexandria, Va. courtroom Wednesday morning that he didn’t have anything to plead. A federal judge then accepted a not guilty plea on his behalf.

The judge set a schedule that could put him on trial for his life in October.

Wearing a green jail jumpsuit, Moussaoui, 33, a French national of Moroccan descent, asked permission to address the court directly when the time came to enter his plea. "In the name of Allah, I do not have anything to plead and I enter no plea," he said politely before ending his statement by telling U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema "thank you very much."

Brinkema replied, "I will take that as a plea of not guilty," and Moussaoui’s lawyer Frank Dunham replied, "That is correct."

Prosecutors have until March 29 to announce whether they will seek the death penalty for Moussaoui, who is charged with six counts, ranging from conspiracy to commit international terrorism to conspiracy to murder federal employees.

While accusing him of links to Osama bin Laden’s terrorist network, the indictment doesn’t explain his role in the attacks.

Nonetheless, Attorney General John Ashcroft called Moussaoui an active participant with the 19 hijackers who crashed four jetliners in New York, Washington and western Pennsylvania, killing more than 3,000 people.

Moussaoui received money in July and August from Ramzi Bin al-Shibh, an alleged member of a German terrorist cell who was a roommate of Mohammed Atta, the suspected ringleader in the attacks, the indictment charges. The FBI contends Bin al-Shibh may have been planning to be the 20th hijacker.

The indictment alleges that Moussaoui attended an al-Qaida camp in Afghanistan and by the end of September 2000 was making parallel moves to some of the hijackers, taking flight training in the United States, inquiring about crop dusting and purchasing flight deck training videos.

Brinkema ordered jury selection to begin Sept. 30 and the trial to start approximately two weeks after selection begins, meaning mid-October.

Brinkema also said she did not anticipate major problems with finding an impartial jury in northern Virginia next fall.

A motion to request a change of venue will be heard at an April 4 hearing. Brinkema has also set a hearing for Jan. 9 to consider a request by the cable network Court TV to televise the trial.

Copyright ©2002 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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