Zacharias Moussaoui
| Zacarias Moussaoui (Abu Khaled al-Sahrawi) (Habib Zacarias Moussaoui) |
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Mug shot of Moussaoui
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| Born |
May 30, 1968 St Jean de Luz, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, France |
| Other names | "Shaquil" |
| Criminal penalty | Life without parole |
| Imprisoned at | 51427-054 (ADMAX prison, Federal Bureau of Prisons) |
Zacarias Moussaoui (Arabic: زكريا موسوي, Zakariyyā Mūsawī; born May 30, 1968) is a French citizen who pleaded guilty in U.S. federal court to conspiring to kill citizens of the United States as part of the September 11 attacks. As a result of his conviction, he is serving six life sentences without parole at the Federal ADX Supermax prison in Florence, Colorado.
On August 16, 2001, Moussaoui was arrested in Minnesota by the FBI and charged with an immigration violation. He aroused suspicion while taking flight training courses in Eagan, Minnesota.
On December 11, 2001, Moussaoui was indicted by a federal grand jury in United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia on six felony charges: conspiracy to commit acts of terrorism transcending national boundaries, conspiracy to commit aircraft piracy, conspiracy to destroy aircraft, conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction, conspiracy to murder United States employees, and conspiracy to destroy property.
Moussaoui was alleged by federal prosecutors to have been a replacement for the "first" 20th hijacker, possibly Ramzi bin al-Shibh. Bin al-Shibh and Zakariyah Essabar were denied visas. However, prosecutors in Moussaoui's drawn-out trial in the US had difficulty directly connecting him to the 19 participants.
Moussaoui's trial was seen in some circles as a barometer of the ability and willingness of the United States to give a fair hearing to terrorism suspects. Others objected to the degree to which the court and especially Judge Leonie Brinkema tolerated the bizarre and threatening courtroom behavior of Moussaoui. Moussaoui expressed contempt for the trial and court by introducing legal motions deriding Judge Brinkema, surprised onlookers by electing to represent himself in court, and rankled federal prosecutors by requesting the presence of captured al-Qaeda members as witnesses in his case. During the course of the proceedings, Moussaoui admitted his guilt in various degrees, and to being a member of al-Qaeda.
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