US Indicts 'Dirty Bomb' Suspect
--On Civilian Criminal Charges--

Wednesday November 23, 2005

Washington (AFP)--In an abrupt reversal, US authorities unveiled a Civilian Indictment against American terror suspect Jose Padilla, after holding him for more than three years in military jail as an "enemy combatant."

Padilla was charged with conspiracy to "murder, kidnap and maim" abroad, but not Indicted for plotting to detonate a radioactive dirty bomb on US soil, a claim made by top officials after his arrest in Chicago in May 2002.

Padilla is one of only two US citizens dubbed "enemy combatants"--a designation that voids his constitutional rights--and has been at the centre of a fierce political and legal tussle over the government's treatment of terror suspects.

Padilla had been waiting for the Supreme Court to consider his appeal against detention without trial, seen as a major test of President George W. Bush's claim he has the power to detain terror suspects indefinitely.

Padilla's lawyers Immediately accused the Bush administration of trying to avoid a Supreme Court showdown over how long a US citizen be held in custody without charges.

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales refused to say why Padilla had not been charged with the "dirty bomb" plot or with other previousely mentioned allegations of conspiracy to blow up apartment buildings in the United States.

Senior Justice Department officials said on condition of anonymity that Padilla would no longer be "held as an enemy combatant."

The process of transferring Padilla from Military to Civilian custody was already taking place Tuesday officials said.

Newman said Padilla's defense team had contacted him and he was "very happy" and looked forward to being "Vindicated" at trial.

"We would absolutely contest any of the allegations that are contained in this Indictment and we look forward to the trial to demonstrate our clients Innocence," said Newman.

She accused the Bush administration of exploiting Padilla's plight for political gain.

"In three and a half years every single time they needed something newsworthy, whether their ratings were down or whether they needed to speak about terrorism, they have used Mr. Padilla and once again they have used him."

Newman also claimed that a Jury could be prejudiced against him because he had been unable to fight to clear his name on the dirty bomb charges.

But how he graduated from being a member of the latin desciples gang to an alleged operative for the group blamed for the September 11, 2001 attacks has left many experts scratching their heads.

"I could show you 1,000 people like this," a Chicago police gang expert once told the Chicago Tribune. "If you were to show me this record, I would say he's a gangbanger.
These are gangbanging arrests. There's nothing to tell me he's a terrorist."

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