Sept 11 accused faces death penalty

The Bush administration is demanding the death penalty for terror suspect Zacarias Moussaoui, the only person to be charged in relation to the September 11 outrage.

The US government also appealed to European allies to continue co-operating with terrorism investigations, despite their opposition to the death penalty.

Frenchman Moussaoui, 33, should be put to death because he helped plan "the largest loss of life resulting from a criminal act in the history of the United States", prosecutors said in notifying a Virginia judge of their intentions.

"Zacarias Moussaoui has demonstrated a lack of remorse for his criminal conduct," prosecutors wrote in setting up a rare effort to impose the death penalty on a defendant charged with conspiracy, rather than with murder.

The decision by Attorney General John Ashcroft, a long-time death penalty supporter, sparked immediate criticism from anti-terrorism allies who oppose capital punishment.

Officials in France said they would continue general cooperation with the United States but would not turn over any documents that could be used to support Moussaoui's execution.