THE US: Lawyers for a defiant Mr Zacarias Moussaoui have said he pleaded not guilty to conspiring with Osama bin Laden to murder thousands of people - the first charges filed in the September 11th attacks on the US.
District Court Judge Leonie Brinkema said the trial would begin in the federal courthouse in Alexandria, Virginia, on October 14th.
Flanked by two guards and dressed in a green jumpsuit with the word "Prisoner" on his back, Mr Moussaoui (33), a French citizen of Moroccan descent, stood briefly to address the court during his arraignment.
"In the name of Allah, I do not have anything to plead. I enter no plea. Thank you very much," he said. Ms Brinkema said she understood that to be a plea of not guilty and one of Mr Moussaoui's court-appointed attorneys, Mr Frank Dunham, said: "That is correct."
Mr Moussaoui was indicted by a grand jury on December 11th on six counts of conspiracy, four of which carry a possible death penalty. The indictment accused him of conspiring with bin Laden to kill thousands.