9/11 terrorist loses his appeal
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Zacarias Moussaoui, the only person convicted in a US court on criminal charges related to the 9/11 attacks in 2001, lost a bid yesterday to overturn his guilty plea and a life sentence.
A US appeals court rejected arguments by Moussaoui, who is serving his sentence at a supermaximum federal security prison in Colorado, that his guilty plea was invalid because the US government failed to turn over classified evidence that could have helped in his defence.
"Moussaoui challenges the validity of his guilty plea and his sentences" on the six criminal conspiracy counts, the appeals court said in its ruling. "We affirm Moussaoui's convictions and sentences in their entirety."
The ruling occurred at a time of growing political debate over whether terrorism suspects should be tried in the regular US court system or in special military tribunals.
Moussaoui, a French citizen of Moroccan descent, pleaded guilty in 2005 to taking part in an al Qaeda conspiracy to crash hijacked planes into US buildings. The conspiracy included the attacks on the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon.
In 2006, a federal jury in Alexandria, Virginia, sentenced Moussaoui to life in prison, rejecting demands by prosecutors that he get the death penalty.
Moussaoui testified at his trial that he was supposed to hijack a fifth plane and crash it into the White House. He was arrested several weeks before the Sept. 11 attacks after raising suspicions at a Minnesota flight school.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments