Judge Denies Terror Trial Broadcast

ByABC News
January 16, 2002, 12:03 PM

Jan. 18 -- Television cameras won't be in the courtroom during the trial of accused Sept. 11 conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui, a federal judge in Alexandria, Va., ruled today.

In a 13-page ruling, U.S. District Court Judge Leonie Brinkema denied the request to allow video or audio recording during Moussaoui's trial.

"We are very aware of the extensive, legitimate public interest in this case, and understand that many thousands of people in this country, and throughout the world, suffered devastating losses on September 11, 2001. It is understandable that they might want to watch this trial," she wrote in the decision.

Nevertheless, she said the point of the trial was not to serve the needs of victims of the terror attacks or the global community.

"Instead, the purpose is to determine the innocence or guilt of this defendant for the specific crimes charged in the indictment," she wrote.

Concerns Over Defendants Conduct

Sometimes called the "20th hijacker," Moussaoui was picked up by the FBI shortly before the Sept. 11 attacks after a flight school flagged his behavior as unusual.

Moussaoui, a 33-year-old French citizen who allegedly trained at one of Osama bin Laden's camps in Afghanistan, is charged with conspiracy to commit acts of terrorism, to commit aircraft piracy, to destroy aircraft, to use weapons of mass destruction, to murder federal employees and to destroy property.

He could face the death penalty if convicted.

With consent from Moussaoui's lawyers, Brinkema entered a plea of not guilty for him at his arraignment on Jan. 4, after Moussaoui said he had no plea. Brinkema indicated that Moussaoui's conduct at his arraignment and concern that he would try to make a statement at a televised trial influenced today's decision.

"This possibility [of using the trial for showmanship and to promote al Qaeda] is of particular concern because, at his arraignment, the defendant insisted on personally advising the Court that he would not respond to the charges against him by entering, as is the normal practice, a plea of guilty or not guilty," Brinkema wrote in her decision. "This behavior suggests that the defendant's conduct in this case may be both unorthodox and unpredictable."