BEIJING, April 21 (Xinhuanet) -- A federal judge on Wednesday declared French citizen Zacarias Moussaoui mentally competent to plead guilty to terrorism charges on the Sept. 11 attacks and scheduled a hearing for Friday, New York Times said.

 

Zacarias Moussaoui (file photo)

    Moussaoui not only had told the authorities about his intention to plead guilty but had also asked to be executed, according to one of Moussaoui's defense lawyers.

    Opposed to the highly unusual decision, defense lawyers plan to file a motion on Thursday challenging his mental fitness and his ability to understand the charges. One question likely to be raised is whether Moussaoui's desire to be put to death is, by itself, evidence that he may be mentally incompetent.

    But the judge, Leonie M. Brinkema, of Federal District Court in Alexandria, Virginia, met with Moussaoui on Wednesday and  found him "fully competent to plead guilty to the indictment," according to New York Times. She did not explain the decision, saying it was part of a sealed hearing.

    Moussaoui is charged with six counts of conspiracy in relation to the Sept. 11 attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people in New York and Washington.

    It is not known if Moussaoui would plead guilty to all or only some of the charges, four of which could bring him the death penalty.

    Moussaoui, who was arrested in August 2001 on immigration charges, was indicted in December 2001 but his trial has been delayed three times. For most of the past two years, the case has been tied up in the appellate courts in a dispute over his access to key al Qaeda witnesses.

    Moussaoui tried to plead guilty in 2002 but withdrew his plea a week later. His mental state has been an issue in the case ever since. Enditem