Man's Brother Talks of Brainwashing

The Associated Press/October 5, 2001

New York -- A man suspected of planning to be a hijacker in the terrorist attacks once loved America but was brainwashed by a radical Islamic group, his brother says.

Zacarias Moussaoui liked blue jeans, basketball and Bruce Springsteen but came to hate the United States after joining the group, Abd Samad Moussaoui told CBS' "48 Hours'' for its show Friday.

Abd Samad Moussaoui said he hoped his brother "was manipulated, that he wasn't aware of these horrific things.'' He did not name the Islamic group.

The brothers' mother, Aicha Moussaoui, has said Zacarias Moussaoui was put through "a real brainwashing'' by Islamic extremists.

Zacarias Moussaoui, a French-Moroccan, was arrested Aug. 17 after he raised suspicions at a Minnesota flight school by telling instructors he wanted to learn to fly a jetliner but did not want to learn to land. He also asked about opening cabin doors while planes were in flight.

His computer was found to contain data related to jetliners and crop-dusters. He is being held in New York on immigration violations and is a material witness in the investigation.

Abd Samad Moussaoui, interviewed Wednesday in the south of France, called the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon "utterly monstrous'' and said those responsible "have to be found, tried and punished.''

"I don't think my brother is capable of committing suicide,'' Abd Samad Moussaoui said. "It was not possible for the brother I knew up until 1995 to commit suicide or kill others.''

But if he is found to have been involved?

"It's time for him to correct himself,'' his brother said.