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American Morning

France, Which Has No Death Penalty, Trying to Intervene on Zacarias Moussaoui's Behalf

Aired December 13, 2001 - 08:07   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Now we're going to turn to the case of Zacarias Moussaoui. He is the only person to be charged here in the U.S. in connection with the deadly events of September 11. He makes his first court appearance in New York today. He is accused of conspiracy in the terrorist attacks, and the charges could carry the death penalty, if he is convicted.

But the 33-year-old Moussaoui is a French citizen of Moroccan descent, and now France, which has no death penalty, is trying to intervene on his behalf. Jim Bittermann is standing by in our Paris bureau with the details -- Jim.

JIM BITTERMANN, CNN PARIS: Well, Paula, in fact France is doing exactly what all other countries in the world do under the Vienna Convention of 1963, and that is provide a consular protection for one of its citizens. Basically, he is entitled to that under the Vienna Conventions.

It looks like France will have some kind of protest, because he will face -- Mr. Moussaoui will face the death penalty. It's the policy here in France not to extradite suspects who may face the death penalty, and in the past, that has led to some kinds of conflicts between the United States. But it doesn't really apply in this case, because Mr. Moussaoui is actually in the jail in the United States. So there's really not much the French can do, except for protest.

The justice minister said here that, in fact, that she would have some discussions with the United States. "We do not accept the death penalty," she said.

For many years now, the French have tried, as other Europeans have, to change American policy on the death penalty without any avail. One anti-capital punishment campaigner here told me this morning, you know, enforcing capital punishment, enforcing the death penalty on someone who is willing to a commit a suicide attack really isn't much of a punishment at all -- Paula.

ZAHN: So, Jim, what is the sense of how much friction this might create between France and the United States, as they are allies in this war on terrorism?

BITTERMANN: Well, I think in the case of France, not very much friction at all, because other than a simple protest, there isn't much the French government can do in this case. However, there are other cases involving suspects who are in other European jails, for instance, the eight suspects in Spain.

Now, Spain is part of the European Union, upholds the same policy the European Union does, which is to say not to extradite citizens or suspects to any place in the world where they might face the death penalty, and that would include the United States. So those eight suspects may have some reason to go to the Spanish government and see if they can somehow get the Spanish government to take up their cause and block the extradition of the United States.

So far, the U.S. has not asked for extradition for those eight suspects, and it's not clear whether the kinds of crimes they will be charged with would include death penalty punishments -- Paula.

ZAHN: Jim Bittermann -- thanks so much for that report.

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