Regis Philbin
Apr 10th, 2007, 07:03 PM
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/04/10/terror/main2666880.shtml
Padilla Terror Charges Stick, Judge Rules
Alleged Al Qaeda Operative's Motion Denied, Terror Trial To Start Next Week
Fast Facts
Padilla's lawyers claim that during the 3½ years the former Chicago gang member was held as an "enemy combatant" at a Navy brig he was routinely subjected to harsh treatment and torture.
(AP) A federal judge rejected a motion by alleged al Qaeda operative Jose Padilla to dismiss terrorism charges against him over claims he was tortured in U.S. military custody.
The ruling removes one of the last major obstacles to the start of Padilla's trial next week.
U.S. District Judge Marcia Cooke stressed in a 12-page order filed late Monday that she was not passing judgment on the torture allegations. Rather, she said the effort to dismiss the case for "outrageous government conduct" was faulty on legal grounds.
Padilla's lawyers claim that during the 3½ years the former Chicago gang member was held as an "enemy combatant" at a Navy brig he was routinely subjected to harsh treatment and torture.
He claimed that he was forced to stand in painful stress positions, given LSD or some other drug as a "truth serum," subjected to loud noises and noxious odors, and forced to endure sleep deprivation, extreme heat and cold and harsh lights.
The Pentagon and Justice Department have repeatedly denied those claims. Officials with the brig in Charleston, S.C., said during earlier testimony before Cooke that Padilla, a 36-year-old U.S. citizen and Muslim convert, was not mistreated, though they acknowledged occasional removal of the mattress in his cell and of his copy of the Quran.
Padilla Terror Charges Stick, Judge Rules
Alleged Al Qaeda Operative's Motion Denied, Terror Trial To Start Next Week
Fast Facts
Padilla's lawyers claim that during the 3½ years the former Chicago gang member was held as an "enemy combatant" at a Navy brig he was routinely subjected to harsh treatment and torture.
(AP) A federal judge rejected a motion by alleged al Qaeda operative Jose Padilla to dismiss terrorism charges against him over claims he was tortured in U.S. military custody.
The ruling removes one of the last major obstacles to the start of Padilla's trial next week.
U.S. District Judge Marcia Cooke stressed in a 12-page order filed late Monday that she was not passing judgment on the torture allegations. Rather, she said the effort to dismiss the case for "outrageous government conduct" was faulty on legal grounds.
Padilla's lawyers claim that during the 3½ years the former Chicago gang member was held as an "enemy combatant" at a Navy brig he was routinely subjected to harsh treatment and torture.
He claimed that he was forced to stand in painful stress positions, given LSD or some other drug as a "truth serum," subjected to loud noises and noxious odors, and forced to endure sleep deprivation, extreme heat and cold and harsh lights.
The Pentagon and Justice Department have repeatedly denied those claims. Officials with the brig in Charleston, S.C., said during earlier testimony before Cooke that Padilla, a 36-year-old U.S. citizen and Muslim convert, was not mistreated, though they acknowledged occasional removal of the mattress in his cell and of his copy of the Quran.