World News 12-12-2001 Death Penalty Faces First Man Charged Over September Attacks who: Alleged Hijacker Zacarias Moussaoui what: Becomes first to be charged with September 11th atrocities where: Virginia, USA when: Yesterday snippet: "The so-called 20th hijacker was accused yesterday of plotting the September 11 suicide attacks in New York and Washington," begins Toby Harnden in this morning`s Telegraph. "If convicted, he will face the death penalty." "American Attorney General John Ashcroft said the charges represented a chronicle of evil perpetrated by 34-year-old Moussaoui, bin Laden and his hated al-Qa`ida network," adds the Sun, which also publishes a picture of Moussaoui standing outside the tube station at Brixton, South London, where he lived until a year ago. "It was in London, where he moved in 1992 to learn English, and then study business at the South Bank University, that he came under the influence of extreme clerics preaching the politics of jihad," explains the Guardian`s Julian Borger. Moussaoui moved to Minnesota late last year to take flying lessons, continues the Telegraph, where "he was arrested after arousing suspicion by trying to buy lessons on a jumbo jet flight simulator at a flying school, but showed no interest in learning how to take off or land." FBI Investigators believe Moussaoui "may have been the fifth member of the team that took over Flight 93, which crashed in Pennsylvania after passengers tried to rush them. The other three planes each had five hijackers whereas Flight 93 had only four." "Moussaoui`s shocked mum Aicha last night protested his innocence," says the Sun by way of balance after referring to Moussaoui as `Bin`s Beast in Brixton`. "She said in Narbonne, southern France: `He told me in a letter that he didn`t do it.`" [... more]

What The Papers Say is delivered to thousands of readers every morning by web, WAP and email. Sign up today!