COMPLETE COVERAGE | FRONT LINES | AMERICA AT HOME | INTERACTIVES »

Mother fears for Sept. 11 suspect

Aicha el-Wafi said she shared in the suffering of those who lost loved ones

PARIS, France -- The mother of Zacarias Moussaoui, the only person indicted in the September 11 suicide hijackings, says she fears her son will become a scapegoat for America's pain and suffering.

"Tell the American people that I share in their suffering, particularly with those who lost their loved ones," Aicha el-Wafi told The Associated Press as she arrived at Paris' Charles de Gaulle airport on Thursday, after returning from the United States.

"I don't want my son to be used as a scapegoat for the pain and suffering of the American people," she said.

Moussaoui, a Frenchman of Moroccan descent, declined to enter a plea on Wednesday to charges that he conspired to murder thousands on September 11.

CNN.COM SPECIAL REPORT  CNN NewsPass Video  Agencies reportedly got hijack tips in 1998  MORE STORIES Intelligence intercept led to Buffalo suspects Report cites warnings before 9/11  EXTRA INFORMATION Timeline: Who Knew What and When? Interactive: Terror Investigation Terror Warnings System Most wanted terrorists What looks suspicious? In-Depth: America Remembers In-Depth: Terror on Tape In-Depth: How prepared is your city?  RESOURCES On the Scene: Barbara Starr: Al Qaeda hunt expands? On the Scene: Peter Bergen: Getting al Qaeda to talk

A U.S. district court judge entered a plea of innocent on his behalf and set a trial date for October.

El-Wafi, who lives in Narbonne in southern France, travelled to the United States before her son's arraignment. But she said it would have been too upsetting to see him.

"I would have broken down if I saw him and so would he, it was not the right moment," she told AP.

El-Wafi said that her son had told her he had proof of his innocence. "He must be allowed to show proof," she said.

Moussaoui has been in U.S. custody on immigration charges since August, when he aroused suspicions at a Minnesota flight school where he was taking lessons.

He has been indicted on six conspiracy charges, four of which could bring the death penalty, in connection with the September 11 attacks.

"I will not accept the death penalty, I will fight it very strongly," his mother told AP.