Zacarias Moussaoui: Martyr or Madman?

Solely-responsible or wannabe-terrorist? Death penalty verdict for Moussaoui or lifer?

22 February 2006
MUMBAI, INDIA

America is not new to high courtroom drama. This one promises not to disappoint. The only person directly linked to the September 11 attack, Zacarias Moussaoui, has pleaded guilty and his trial will begin this Monday, the only question being, will he get the death penalty or life.

The defendant has gained much support in many parts of the world for his advertising "Islamic fundamentalism" through his trial, introducing legal notions that baffled the judge (who also said that he knew his law better than some lawyers the judge himself had known), and annoyed prosecutors by requiring the presence of captured Al-Qaida members as witnesses.

Now, in a sentencing trial that could last up to three months, the prosecution is pushing for the death penalty. Prosecutor Rob Spenser argued that the 37-year old Frenchman "did his part as a loyal al-Qaeda soldier" and "lied so the plot could proceed unimpeded." It seems, "With that lie, he caused the deaths of nearly 3,000 people... Had Mr Moussaoui just told the truth, it would all have been different."

Defence lawyer Edward MacMahon put up the line of argument that if Moussaoui got the death penalty, he would become a martyr, a smiling face on Osama bin Laden's posters. The defense went to the other extreme, saying he was "sound and fury signifying nothing,," a wannabe-terrorist, and that he was being made a scapegoat for "failures by US government officials."

The trial will listen to the evidence of six witnesses who are, according to the judge, "enemy combatants." A jury of 18 members has been selected from a pool of 80 and Judge Leonie Brinkema has told them to use "reason" rather than a sense of justice or bias. It seems reason and justice are two different things in a courtroom (of justice!), and when in doubt, reason must prevail.

Moussaoui chose to defend himself when he was implicated with the September 11 attack on December 2001, and argued that he was actually involved in another plot and had nothing to do with the attacks. Subsequently, on April 2005, he confessed to all six felony counts against him, still maintaining that his intention was to free the blind sheikh Omar Abdel-Rahman. Moussaoui first came under police scrutiny for asking too many questions in a flight instruction class in Minnesota. It seems, he raised suspicions because his questions had the right jargon, but didn't make too much sense.