Court Reinstates Charge Against Padilla
Alleged “Dirty Bomber” Loses Another Round
By California Yankee Posted in Law — Comments (0) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
Jose Padilla, the alleged “Dirty Bomber,” who also calls himself Abdullah al-Muhajir, lost another round in his nearly five year long legal battle with the government.
A federal appeals court reinstated the most serious charge against the alleged al-Qaeda operative. A three-judge panel of the Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed U.S. District Judge Marcia Cooke's decision and found that the charge that al-Muhajir and his two co-defendants conspired to "murder, kidnap and maim" people overseas did not duplicate other counts in the indictment. Al-Muhajir and his co-defendants are also charged with being part of a North American terror support cell that provided personnel, materiel and money to extremist Islamic causes.
Al-Muhajir, a U.S. citizen, was held as an enemy combatant for more than three years without charges. He was arrested at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport in 2002 after returning from Pakistan.The "dirty bomb" allegations are not part of the indictment against al-Muhajir.