After being held three years without charges, a US citizen who had allegedly planned to build a radioactive "dirty" bomb was charged on Tuesday with aiding terrorists and conspiracy to commit murder, US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said.
The 11-count federal indictment -- the first brought against Jose Padilla since his arrest on May 8, 2002 -- accused him and four other men of running a US support cell providing money and recruits for a jihad campaign overseas.
It included no reference to previous accusations against Padilla, made with great fanfare by US officials, that he plotted with al-Qaeda to set off a radioactive "dirty bomb" in the US and blow up apartment buildings using natural gas.
PHOTO: EPA
Padilla was arrested at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport after returning from Pakistan at a time of high alert following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, when US troops were fighting al-Qaeda militants and supporters in Afghanistan.
Human rights activists and some lawmakers and lawyers questioned the government's authority to detain him without charges indefinitely as an "enemy combatant." Padilla's lawyers asked the Supreme Court last month to limit this authority.
The main charges against the men were conspiracy to murder, kidnap and maim people in a foreign country; conspiracy to provide material support for terrorists, and providing material support for terrorists -- all between October 1993 and about Nov. 1, 2001. They could face life in prison if convicted.
The indictment said Padilla traveled abroad to receive militant training, but did not say where.
"All of these defendants are alleged members of a violent terrorist support cell that operated in the United States and Canada," Gonzales told a news conference.
Gonzales declined to comment on the previous dirty bomb or apartment bombing claims, saying they were outside Tuesday's indictment. Justice Department officials said the outlined charges did not back away from previous statements and did not rule out other charges in the future.
Padilla's lawyer, Donna Newman, said in New York that her client denied all of the allegations and looked forward to being vindicated at trial.
"We are very happy about this indictment. It's what we've asked for. You don't hold American citizens without charges," Newman said. "Now we can go to court and challenge the government's assertions."
Jennifer Daskal, of advocacy group Human Rights Watch, said the indictment "is a welcome development, albeit three years too late. Anyone picked up outside the combat environment should be charged or released."
As part of the proceedings, US President George W. Bush authorized Padilla's transfer from military to Justice Department control. Gonzales said Padilla was "no longer being detained ... as an enemy combatant."
Padilla, a former Chicago gang member and convert to Islam, had been held as an enemy combatant in a South Carolina military brig under the sweeping presidential powers enacted after the Sept. 11 attacks.
Indicted with him were Adham Amin Hassoun, who is detained in Florida; Mohamed Hesham Youssef, who is in prison in Egypt; Kifah Wael Jayyousi, who is also detained in Florida, and Kassem Daher, who is outside the US.
The collapse of the Swiss Birch glacier serves as a chilling warning of the escalating dangers faced by communities worldwide living under the shadow of fragile ice, particularly in Asia, experts said. Footage of the collapse on Wednesday showed a huge cloud of ice and rubble hurtling down the mountainside into the hamlet of Blatten. Swiss Development Cooperation disaster risk reduction adviser Ali Neumann said that while the role of climate change in the case of Blatten “still needs to be investigated,” the wider impacts were clear on the cryosphere — the part of the world covered by frozen water. “Climate change and
Packed crowds in India celebrating their cricket team’s victory ended in a deadly stampede on Wednesday, with 11 mainly young fans crushed to death, the local state’s chief minister said. Joyous cricket fans had come out to celebrate and welcome home their heroes, Royal Challengers Bengaluru, after they beat Punjab Kings in a roller-coaster Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket final on Tuesday night. However, the euphoria of the vast crowds in the southern tech city of Bengaluru ended in disaster, with Indian Prime Minister Narendra calling it “absolutely heartrending.” Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said most of the deceased are young, with 11 dead
Poland is set to hold a presidential runoff election today between two candidates offering starkly different visions for the country’s future. The winner would succeed Polish President Andrzej Duda, a conservative who is finishing his second and final term. The outcome would determine whether Poland embraces a nationalist populist trajectory or pivots more fully toward liberal, pro-European policies. An exit poll by Ipsos would be released when polls close today at 9pm local time, with a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points. Final results are expected tomorrow. Whoever wins can be expected to either help or hinder the
DENIAL: Musk said that the ‘New York Times was lying their ass off,’ after it reported he used so much drugs that he developed bladder problems Elon Musk on Saturday denied a report that he used ketamine and other drugs extensively last year on the US presidential campaign trail. The New York Times on Friday reported that the billionaire adviser to US President Donald Trump used so much ketamine, a powerful anesthetic, that he developed bladder problems. The newspaper said the world’s richest person also took ecstasy and mushrooms, and traveled with a pill box last year, adding that it was not known whether Musk also took drugs while heading the so-called US Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) after Trump took power in January. In a