A view into Moussaoui's very restricted prison world

This is what Zacarias Moussaoui is forbidden to possess: a comb, a pencil, a ballpoint pen, hot tea, and hot coffee.

All are listed as potential terrorist weapons under high-security rules adopted at the federal detention facility in Alexandria, Va., where Mr. Moussaoui is being housed. Regulations also ban possession of "condiments or spices of any kind."

Apparently taking no chances, the government's attention to minute detail in its security vacuum around the self-proclaimed Al Qaeda operative is a testament to its imagination.

In applying so-called "special administrative measures" to Moussaoui, Attorney General John Ashcroft wants to make doubly sure the alleged "20th hijacker" is given no opportunity during pretrial detention to help wage jihad in the US. Critics call the special security provisions overkill, saying they threaten Moussaoui's ability to serve as his own defense lawyer and receive a fair trial in accordance with the US Constitution.

Supporters say the US is at war, and prevention of future attacks takes precedence over the luxury of civil liberties.

"Some of it is fairly standard for any prison or jail," says David Fathi of the National Prison Project of the American Civil Liberties Union. But he says security provisions that limit Moussaoui's access to legal advice and bar any contact with the news media are far harsher than routine prison regulations.

"Usually prisoners are allowed to meet with and talk to whomever they want," says Mr. Fathi. "This is someone who has not yet been tried. He is presumed innocent," he says.

Details of the Moussaoui restrictions are trickling out, offering a rough sketch of life in high-security detention.

There are no bars in Moussaoui's solitary-confinement cell. It is just a small room with a steel toilet, steel sink, and a concrete platform with a mattress. The only view is through the food slot or tiny window in the door. There is no television and no radio. Moussaoui spends 22 hours every day in a cell that is normally reserved for prisoners who are being punished. (He leaves his cell for showering and exercising, which account for the other two hours in a day.)

Moussaoui's mother, Aicha El-Wafi, sees the issue of security restrictions on a more personal level. She says barring her son from virtually all access to the outside world for almost a year has taken a serious toll on his mental health. "She feels the conditions of his confinement have caused significant mental deterioration," says Randall Hamud, a San Diego lawyer hired by Mrs. El-Wafi.

But some experts point out that special restrictions are sometimes imposed precisely because of concerns about a prisoner's mental health, and the restrictions are meant to protect the prisoner's well-being. Each case "depends on the circumstances," says Michael O'Neill, a former assistant US attorney, who notes that terror suspects like Moussaoui fall into a different category from other criminal defendants. "It's not uncommon for the government to take steps," adds Mr. O'Neill, an associate law professor at George Mason University in Arlington, Va.

Page: 1 | 2