U.S. Newswire

USA - French national faces federal death penalty

Attorney General John Ashcroft has announced the indictment of Zacarias Moussaoui on 6 counts, 4 of which would allow the death penalty to be imposed. Amnesty International today called for Zacarias Moussaoui and other suspects in U.S. custody to be tried without recourse to the death penalty. Amnesty International also called for any future individuals indicted to be given fair and public trials before impartial courts, and not in front of military commissions. Moussaoui, a French national, was arrested in Minneapolis on Aug. 17 and has been held since without charge as a 'material witness' in the investigations into the September 11 attacks on New York and Washington, D.C. Amnesty International has condemned the atrocities perpetrated on September 11, and has called for anyone involved to be brought to justice in accordance with internationally recognized standards for fair trial and without imposing the death penalty.