US court hears Moussaoui suffered child abuse

The US court considering whether Zaccarias Moussaoui should face a death sentence for involvement in the September 11th attacks in the United States has heard that he is a schizophrenic who was abused by a brutal father. A social worker called as a defence witness told the court in Virginia that Moussaoui had a long history of mental illness and came from a broken home with a history of violence.

During his childhood in France Moussaoui was fun and outgoing, but he changed after going to London in 1992, the court heard. It was then that got involved with Islamist extremists. Moussaoui has already been convicted on six counts of conspiracy in connection with the 9/11 attacks.

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