US urges possible Moussaoui execution

The US government urged a federal appeals court yesterday to allow it to pursue a possible death sentence for accused September 11 conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui, even though it refuses to let him question three al-Qaeda captives who might help clear him.

In a hearing the government says could affect how it prosecutes future terrorism cases, a top Justice Department lawyer urged the federal appeals court in Richmond, Virginia, to overturn a lower court ruling that bars the government from seeking the death penalty or presenting evidence linking Moussaoui to the September 11, 2001, attacks.

District Court Judge Leonie Brinkema had ruled in October that prosecutors could not request the death penalty or present evidence about Moussaoui's alleged knowledge of, or involvement in, the September 11 attacks to punish the government for refusing to let Moussaoui's lawyers question the al-Qaeda captives.

Citing national security concerns, the government refuses to allow Moussaoui - the only person charged in connection with the attacks that killed more than 3,000 people - to question the men being held and interrogated overseas by the United States.

When the government refuses to obey an order to present a witness, the court then has the right to impose sanctions.

But Deputy Solicitor General Paul Clement said Mr Brinkema's sanctions were unfair.

He said the government could not obey Mr Brinkema's original order to give access to the witnesses because the captives were a part of a "military operation to prevent future terrorist attacks".

Judge Roger Gregory, one of the three-judge panel hearing the case, acknowledged the importance of national security. But he asked: "At what point is national security so important that a person can't get a fair trial?"

Moussaoui's lawyers say national security concerns should not outweigh the right to a fair trial. "These issues are critical. ... It is life and death for Mr Moussaoui," said Frank Dunham, one of Moussaoui's court-appointed attorneys. "We don't think the national security issue trumps the defendant's right to get information that is in the executive's hands."

Moussaoui wants to question Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the accused mastermind of the September 11 attacks; Mustafa Ahmed al-Hawsawi, believed to be one of the financiers of the hijackings; and Ramzi bin al-Shaibah, the man suspected of coordinating them.