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France will oppose any sentence of death
©Associated Press PARIS -- France will oppose the death penalty if Sept. 11 suspect Zacarias Moussaoui is convicted and will offer the French citizen diplomatic support while he's on trial, officials said Wednesday. "We do not accept the death penalty," Justice Minister Marylise Lebranchu said. Highlighting potential obstacles facing the international war against terrorism, Lebranchu told RMC-Info radio, "there has to be a discussion with the United States." Moussaoui, a 33-year-old Frenchman of Moroccan descent was indicted Tuesday in connection with the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. He was charged with six felonies, including four that carry the death penalty. Lebranchu said, "We completely respect the investigation," and added that substantial evidence supported the indictment against Moussaoui. "This person will, nonetheless, receive French consular protection," she said. Such protection would include diplomatic visits to Moussaoui, who is in a New York jail, support for his family in France and, Lebranchu said, assuring a fair trial according to French standards. Moussaoui refused diplomatic support when he was first arrested, France's Foreign Ministry said, adding that he has the right to change his mind. Like other European countries, France has abolished the death penalty and refuses to extradite its citizens to countries where the death penalty could be imposed. However, it is unlikely that France would have any power to influence the proceedings against Moussaoui. Attorney General John Ashcroft, meanwhile, said the United States would deal with European objections regarding the death penalty on a "case-by-case" basis. Ashcroft was in London on a European tour that will also take him to Spain, Germany and Italy to meet law enforcement officials. On Tuesday, he called Moussaoui "an active participant" in the terrorist attacks, and accused him of "undergoing the same training, receiving the same funding and pledging the same commitment to kill Americans" as the terrorists on the hijacked planes.
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From the Times wire desk
From the AP |
