FRANCE. FRANCE OBTAINS U.S. GUARANTEES ON MOUSSAOUI TRIAL - MINISTER

the French justice minister reiterated the US had guaranteed France none of the information it provided for the US case against al-Qaida conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui would be used to seek the death penalty.
Pascal Clement, speaking to reporters after a meeting with US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales in Paris, stressed France's long-standing opposition to the death penalty, and said the two officials had discussed Moussaoui.
Moussaoui, a Frenchman, pleaded guilty in a US court in April to conspiring with al-Qaida to fly planes into US buildings, but said he wasn't involved in al-Qaida's September 11, 2001 plot. He said he was instead training to fly a 747 jetliner into the White House as part of a possible later attack.
"I'm quite aware, of course, of the severity of the facts for which he is blamed and has pleaded guilty," Clement said, referring to Moussaoui. "However, I reminded the attorney general of France's position on the death penalty." "As you know, France has obtained the guarantee that the information which was transmitted would not be used - directly or indirectly - toward a request for the death penalty," he said.