Trial of Jose Padilla, accused of aiding terrorists, set to begin

[struggle4progress]

Source: Associated Press

Published: May 13, 2007

~snip~ "The defendants were members of a secret organization, a terrorism support cell, based right here in South Florida," Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Frazier told jurors in his opening statement. "The defendants took concrete steps to support and promote this violence."

Lawyers for the three defendants were scheduled to deliver their opening statements later Monday in the trial, expected to last into August.

Attorneys on both sides have spent months battling over issues ranging from torture allegations to the meaning of "jihad." They pored over classified material and Arabic translations and traveled overseas to interview witnesses and spent weeks picking a jury.

If convicted, the three defendants could face life in prison. ~snip~

Read more: http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/05/14/america/NA-GEN-US-Padilla-Terror-Charges.php

---

Document is crucial in Padilla case
He allegedly applied to be Islamic warrior
By Carol J. Williams, Tribune Newspapers: Los Angeles Times
Published May 14, 2007

MIAMI -- When federal prosecutors begin to present evidence Monday against accused terrorist Jose Padilla, their case is expected to rest heavily on a single document: his alleged application to become an Islamic warrior.

The Mujahedeen Data Form was reportedly filled out by Padilla on July 24, 2000, "in preparation for violent jihad training in Afghanistan," according to the federal indictment that alleges Padilla and two co-defendants -- Kifah Wael Jayyousi and Adham Amin Hassoun -- sought U.S. recruits and funding for foreign holy wars.

Proof of the document's authenticity and how the U.S. government got possession of it are not spelled out in the 40-page indictment. Prosecutors plan to call a covert CIA operative to testify in disguise about the document's source and chain of possession, and will go on to introduce more than half of the 200-plus transcripts from wiretapped conversations among the defendants.

Nowhere in the indictment is there any mention of the sensational charges leveled against Padilla when the former Chicago gang member was arrested at O'Hare International Airport in May 2002. Then-Atty. Gen. John Ashcroft claimed U.S. agents had thwarted a plot between Padilla, 36, and top Al Qaeda figures to detonate a radioactive "dirty bomb" or blow up apartment buildings in U.S. cities. ~snip~

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0705130525may14,1,7426218.story?coll=chi-newsnationworld-hed


US terror trial begins, minus dirty bomb charge
May 14, 2007
Nico Hines and agencies

~snip~ The charges brought against Mr Padilla will be an embarrassment to the Justice Department who justified his extra-legal detention by citing far more serious allegations. ~snip~

Adham Amin Hassoun and Kifah Wael Jayyousi, both 45, are also due in court today. They will also be charged with assisting an American al-Qaeda cell, it will be argued that they were the men responsible for recruiting Mr Padilla.

Mr Hassoun and Mr Jayyousi were under FBI surveillance for much longer than Mr Padilla. The prosecution will present hundreds of intercepted phone calls and various money transfers between the two men and alleged al-Qaeda operatives. ~snip~

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article1789200.ece


Reporters face unusual limits at Padilla terror trial
Security officers might prevent reporters from asking questions of defense lawyers or federal prosecutors under certain circumstances.
By Warren Richey | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor
Page 1 of 3

~snip~ In effect, newspaper, radio, and television reporters are being granted observer status – they may sit quietly, watch the trial, and take notes. But if during a court recess they approach a defense lawyer or prosecutor in the courtroom with a question, they risk being whisked away by security officials. ~snip~

If reporters need to ask questions for clarification or routine housekeeping matters during the trial, they must ask their questions somewhere else.

I learned about this rule the hard way. During a recent five-minute recess during jury selection, I approached one of the prosecutors and asked who at the US Attorney's Office was handling questions from the press.

He gave me the name of a spokesperson and a telephone number. When I lifted my notebook to jot these down, a court security officer confronted me. He accused me of conducting an interview and asked me to step out of the courtroom. ~snip~

http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0514/p25s02-usju.html

[Bandit]

1. Thank goodness Americans are given the RIGHT to a speedy trial..

:sarcasm:

[underpants]

2. "aiding terrorists"? I thought he WAS a terrorist

Oh I see that is addressed in the Trib article.

Sheesh glad they held onto him for so long :sarcasm:

[midnight]

3. So the initial allegations that got this man charged and sent to

prison were made to be bigger than what his day to day life suggest. It seems that his crime was that he was opinionated while being Muslim.

[uppityperson]

4. The evidence is an application form?

He supposedly applied, so that means he did bad things, or wanted to do bad things, so should be convicted of aiding and abetting bad people doing bad things?

From timesonline article: "There will be absolutely no mention of the dirty bomb plot, which led to his initial arrest, during the trial. Nothing Mr Padilla told interrogators during his three years in the military prison is admissible."

And reporters can't ask questions.

Well, this will be something.

[gratuitous]

5. We went from a "dirty bomb" to an application?

An application that the jury won't know where it came from, how it was authenticated, and whether or not Padilla actually filled it out will be off the table. Yeah, there's some rock solid evidence, every bit as convincing as Joe McCarthy's list of 206 Commies in the State Department.

How long before Jell-O boxes and microfilms stored in pumpkins are trotted out?

[uppityperson]

6. 1 article says his fingerprints are on the application. ooooo. nt

[struggle4progress]

10. Here's a story with a pdf link to the supposed application and English translation:

Key Evidence in Padilla Case: An Al Qaeda Job Application
Prosecutors Say an al Qaeda Job Application Will Be a Key Piece of Evidence in the Trial of Jose Padilla
http://abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/story?id=3170794&page=1

The "application" (dated 7-24-2000) is about five pages but mostly the questions simply aren't answered: according to the translation, the applicant is an American born 10-18-1970 who graduated high school, has some carpentry skills, studied the Quran, can return to America without problem, went to Egypt to study and Saudia Arabia for Hajj before entering Yemen for jihad, has no military background, is married with one child, can speak English and Spanish and Arabic, and has no former political or Islamic organizational connections.

[stlsaxman]

7. NPR was saying this morning the "dirty bomber" charges "are not part of this trial".

They failed to mention that those charges were dropped! Don't want to make their boy look bad.

Fuckin' NPR- Nationalist Propaganda Radio...

:mad:

[Solly Mack]

8. and they do this without an ounce of shame

[rocktivity]

9. I hope the prosecution doesn't forget to bring along

Padilla's Al Qadea job application.

:evilgrin:
rocknation