US Judge Rejects Guilty Pleas by Sept. 11 Suspect

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Friday, July 19, 2002

US Judge Rejects Guilty Pleas by Sept. 11 Suspect

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A US federal judge rejected attempts Thursday by Zacarias Moussaoui, the only person charged as a Sept. 11 conspirator, to plead guilty to federal charges during a court hearing in Alexandria, Virginia.

Moussaoui, 34, also said that he is a member of al Qaeda and had sworn a loyalty oath to the organization's leader, Osama bin Laden.

US District judge Leone Brinkema told Moussaoui she would not allow him to plead guilty and urged him instead to enter plea negotiations with the government. She then recessed court for a week.

Moussaoui was arraigned for a third time Tuesday on a new indictment that supported US prosecutors' efforts to seek his execution if he is convicted of conspiracy in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

The new indictment accuses Moussaoui of carrying out the four death penalty eligible offenses after "substantial planning and premeditation to cause the death of a person and commit an act of terrorism."

The four counts are conspiracy to commit acts of terrorism transcending national boundaries; conspiracy to commit aircraft piracy; conspiracy to destroy aircraft; and conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction.

Moussaoui, a French citizen of Moroccan descent, is the only individual charged in connection with the attacks. He was indictedin December on the four charges.

Although Moussaoui was jailed on an immigration charge a month before the Sept. 11 attacks, he was accused of conspiring with the19 hijackers who killed more than 3,000 people by crashing airplanes in New York and Washington. Government officials believe he was planning to be the 20th hijacker.

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