Moussaoui's friend sentenced on plea, agrees to testify

NEW YORK -- A former roommate of Zacarias Moussaoui who admitted he lied to investigators about their activities together was sentenced Tuesday to time served.

Hussein al-Attas, 24, had pleaded guilty in July to lying about Moussaoui to FBI agents before and after the Sept. 11 attacks. He agreed to testify against him.

Moussaoui, the so-called 20th hijacker who was arrested in Minnesota the month before the attacks when a flight school became suspicious, faces a death penalty trial as an alleged conspirator in the attacks.

Al-Attas testified in July that on several occasions Moussaoui "expressed a general desire to participate in jihad," or holy war.

Al-Attas also said then that Moussaoui, who went by the name "Shaqil," sought to persuade him to go to Pakistan to speak with Islamic scholars and others who believe that Islam favors participation in jihad.

In a letter to U.S. District Michael Mukasey before Tuesday's sentencing, al-Attas apologized, saying he was "in a state of shock and confusion when I lied to law enforcement agents."

"All I was trying to do was to distance myself from a situation that didn't really involve me," he said. "Still, I should have been truthful and let the truth take care of me."

Mukasey sentenced al-Attas to time served, though he will remain in custody the rest of the year as a material witness for the Moussaoui trial.