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Suspect declines to enter a plea
Compiled from Times wires ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- Zacarias Moussaoui, the first person directly charged in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, refused to enter a plea Wednesday, so his attorney and the judge entered a not guilty plea for him. The half-hour hearing under tight security set in motion a prolonged and high-profile legal battle that also will put Osama bin Laden's terrorism network on trial before a global audience. Moussaoui, 33, whom authorities believe was intended to be the 20th hijacker, will be tried in U.S. District Court on six counts of conspiring with bin Laden, the 19 hijackers and others to murder thousands of people in the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. If convicted, he could face the death penalty on any one of four of those counts, and life in prison on each of the other two. "In the name of Allah I do not have anything to plead," said Moussaoui, speaking in heavily accented English. "I enter no plea. Thank you very much." Judge Leonie Brinkema said she understood Moussaoui's statement to be a plea of not guilty. After Moussaoui's lead defense attorney, Frank Dunham, agreed, Brinkema set an Oct. 15 trial date. Brinkema immediately began setting the tone for what is likely to be the most intensely watched trial in years as she turned down all attempts to delay the case. She was appointed by President Bill Clinton in 1993 and is often thought to be the most liberal judge on the famously conservative court, but she also is also a no-nonsense former prosecutor. Brinkema brushed off complaints by Moussaoui's lawyers that the date would not give them nearly enough time to prepare for the complex case. The alleged conspiracy took place in several European countries, and the evidence includes numerous Arabic documents. Gerald Zerkin, one of Moussaoui's attorneys, told Brinkema that such an early start would create enormous problems for the defense team and suggested a trial date in February 2003 instead. "The defense feels that it simply cannot prepare its case in the time suggested by the government," Zerkin said. He said defense lawyers must familiarize themselves with the details of Islam and the operations of the terrorist group al-Qaida. Many of the potential witnesses, Zerkin added, speak only Arabic and will require a translator. Zerkin also argued that the timing would require potential jurors to fill out their questionnaires in late September 2002, shortly after what are certain to be emotional remembrances on the one-year anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks. That could unfairly prejudice the jury pool, Zerkin said. That argument also made no headway with Brinkema. Throughout the hearing, signs abounded that this is no ordinary case. The Justice Department has detained hundreds of individuals in its four-month investigation of the attacks, but Moussaoui is the only one charged so far with direct involvement in the plot. That means his trial might be the government's only opportunity to make its case publicly against those it holds responsible for the largest mass murder on U.S. soil. The government's case against Moussaoui, a French citizen of Moroccan descent, describes not only his alleged actions but also the operations of al-Qaida, from its Afghan training camps to its alliance with the Taliban. It traces the hijackers' movements in places such as Germany, Saudi Arabia and Oklahoma, and tries to draw parallels between their actions and Moussaoui's. Moussaoui arrived at the courthouse Wednesday in the dark at 5:11 a.m. for the 9 a.m. hearing, transported in a sport-utility vehicle with the windows blacked out. In two accompanying vehicles, armed guards rode with the windows open, despite the frigid temperatures, to minimize response time in case of a surprise attack. The courthouse in this Washington suburb was transformed into a high-security operation. The road in front of the building was blocked off, and visitors filed through two metal detectors, one at the courthouse doors and another at the seventh floor courtroom. No coats were allowed in the courtroom. His hair grown out on the sides since his brooding mugshot was taken last summer, Moussaoui sat silently during the arraignment after his statement to the judge. Moussaoui's mother, who had flown from France to be at her son's side during the hearing, decided at the last minute not to attend, saying through a lawyer that she did not want to draw attention away from the proceedings. Later, in an emotional plea at Dulles International Airport, Aicha el-Wafi asked prosecutors to spare her son's life if he is convicted. And she repeated claims that he is innocent. "I refuse to have my son be a scapegoat for things he didn't do," she said before boarding a flight home. She added that, in a letter that her son mailed to her from jail, "he told me he didn't do anything." Much of Wednesday's session was occupied with haggling over the timing of various hearings on evidence and other matters. Several of the hearings could be compelling. On April 4, Moussaoui's defense lawyers can argue for a change in venue if they choose. The Alexandria courthouse is just a few miles from the Pentagon, which is still damaged from the attacks. On May 16, the prosecution and defense will argue over whether it is appropriate for the government to seek the death penalty. Throughout the summer, the two sides are scheduled for hearings on what classified information Moussaoui can use in his defense. Jury selection, meanwhile, is scheduled to begin Sept. 30. Potential jurors will be brought in by shifts to fill out their questionnaires, and then will undergo 15 minutes of questioning. Dunham, the district's chief public defender, argued this would not be enough time, but Brinkema shut him down. -- Information from the Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times and New York Times was used in this report.
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