Trial began in the trial of the Islamist who carried out a terrorist attack in the center of New York City

The trial of an Uzbek national accused of committing a 2017 terrorist attack and killing eight people, who were killed by a truck driven by the defendant, began in New York City.

Sayfullo Saipov drove into a bike lane in Manhattan, where parents and children were at the time, as they prepared to celebrate Halloween on Oct. 31, 2017.

The attack was the deadliest attack in New York City since Sept. 11, 2001, when al-Qaida operatives rammed the World Trade Center towers with planes.

Five Argentine nationals were killed in the attack, a group of friends who had come to New York to celebrate their 30th anniversary since graduating from high school. At least 12 others were injured. It wasn’t over until after police used a firearm and wounded the suspect.

This is the first federal trial since Joe Biden entered the White House in which prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for a defendant. Biden himself opposes the death penalty, and U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland declared a moratorium on the use of the death penalty in federal sentencing in July 2021.

In doing so, Garland allowed the Justice Department to appeal to the Supreme Court seeking the death penalty for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the terrorist who bombed the Boston Marathon with his brother.

Observers believe that the examples of Tsarnaev and Saipov demonstrate that the U.S. Justice Department is willing to apply the death penalty for terrorism. It may also motivate suspects to plead guilty in exchange for a life sentence instead of execution.

In the United States, most executions are carried out at the state level. New York State has abolished the death penalty, and such cases are very rare here.

The administration of former U.S. President Donald Trump has executed a record number of prisoners after a 17-year hiatus in the use of executions at the federal level. Between July 2020 and January 2021, 13 people were executed.

Federal executions were halted after Joe Biden took office in January 2021.

Prosecutors say Saipov planned his attack throughout the year and deliberately chose the Halloween date to kill as many people as possible.

Saipov claimed to have acted on behalf of the jihadist group Islamic State, whose representatives called him their “warrior.”

The trial is expected to last three months.