Zacarias Moussaoui, the only person charged in the United States in the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks, has notified the United States government that he intends to plead guilty, sources familiar with the case said on Monday.

   U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema in Alexandria is set to meet with Moussaoui this week to determine if he is mentally competent to enter a plea now, Washington Post cited the sources as saying. 

Moussaoui tried to plead guilty in 2002 but withdrew his plea a week later. His mental state has been an issue in the case ever since. 

    The French citizen was indicted in December 2001, but his trial has been delayed three times. For most of the past two years, the case has been tied up in the appellate courts in a dispute over his access to key al Qaeda witnesses.

In recent letters to the U.S. government and to Brinkema, Moussaoui said he is willing to accept a possible capital punishment, Washington Post said.

    If Brinkema accepts a plea, she would then probably set a death penalty trial, at which jurors would decide Moussaoui's fate.

Source: Xinhua