ALEXANDRIA, Va. (Reuters) - Zacarias Moussaoui on Thursday withdrew his guilty pleas to charges of conspiracy in connection with the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States.
One week after District Judge Leonie Brinkema refused to accept his guilty plea, Moussaoui appeared in court to first say was going to plead guilty, but then after a brief recess changed his mind.
"Because of my obligation to my creator, Allah, and to save and defend my life I withdraw my guilty plea," he told a packed courtroom in still another stunning change of events.
The judge accepted his decision and said the government cannot use his earlier plea against him.
Last week Moussaoui, 34, pleaded guilty and stunned a court by saying he was a member of al Qaeda, had knowledge of the Sept. 11 attacks and had pledged his allegiance to Osama bin Laden.
The United States blames bin Laden and al Qaeda for the hijacked plane attacks that killed 3,000 people. U.S. officials believe Moussaoui, a French citizen of Moroccan descent who was detained on immigration charges on Sept. 11, was meant to be the 20th hijacker.
Is this accurate? I thought he was detained before?