by Kenneth J. Theisen
Remember Jose Padilla? His capture was one of the early well-publicized “victories” in the Bush regime’s “war on terrorism.” With great fanfare the regime announced his initial arrest. We were told by then Attorney General Ashcroft that Padilla was on a mission to set off a “dirty” radioactive nuke somewhere in America intended to cause “mass death and injury.” Thanks to the diligent work of the Bush regime uncounted lives were saved. But as usual this was just another big lie told by Bush regime officials.
On Tuesday, January 22, the charade continued with Padilla being sentenced to 17 years and four months in prison after being convicted on charges of conspiracy to murder, kidnap, and maim people abroad, conspiracy to provide material support for terrorism, and providing material support for terrorism. No mention was made of the original accusations of the Bush regime that he had been engaged in a “dirty bomb” mission.
A Concentration of Abuses
The Padilla case has concentrated some of the worst abuses of the Bush regime in its efforts to undermine the rule of law and the Constitution. It was a test case for Bush’s expansion of presidential authority.
Padilla, a U.S. citizen, was arrested in Chicago in May 2002 when he returned to the U.S. after living abroad and allegedly being recruited by Al Qaeda. Instead of bringing him before a judge and arraigning him as he was entitled to by the U.S. Constitution, President George W. Bush, in his role as Commander-in-Chief, ordered the military to detain him as an “enemy combatant” without any charges. The Bush regime maintained that Padilla had no rights guaranteed under the Constitution since he was allegedly an “enemy combatant.” This was despite the fact that he was born and arrested in the U.S.
Padilla was then held in isolation, interrogated, and tortured for three-and-one-half years in a military brig. He was denied habeas corpus (the right to a hearing). The systematic, sustained, and almost unbelievably cruel treatment of Jose Padilla was designed to break down any recognizable qualities of a human being. According to his attorneys he suffered an almost complete breakdown during his years of torment. The sentencing judge described the conditions under which he was held as “so harsh for Mr. Padilla … that they warrant consideration of the court” in determining his sentence.
Philip D. Cave, a lawyer who specializes in military law and formerly had been a judge advocate general for the U.S. Navy told the New York Times that the government’s treatment of Padilla had “nothing comparable in terms of severity of confinement, in terms of how Padilla was held, especially considering that this was pretrial confinement”.
Padilla may have been held indefinitely without due process, but in 2006 the Supreme Court was preparing to hear his court challenge to his detention. In order to avoid his case being heard, the Bush regime finally transferred his case to the federal court.
The regime then brought trumped up charges against him in order to justify their arrest and unlawful detention. The government added him to a “terrorism case” in Miami and charged him and his co-defendants, Adham Amin Hassoun and Kifah Wael Jayyousi with numerous charges related to “terrorism.” They were accused of belonging to a North American “terrorism support cell” that provided assistance to Islamic extremists. His co-defendants were sentenced to 15 years and eight months and 12 years and eight months, respectively. They all had faced a potential life sentence.
While the Bush regime gloated over the convictions, the regime did not escape unscathed in the sentencing aspect of the case. U.S. District Judge Marcia Cooke rejected the regime’s recommendation for life sentences. The sentence was less than the federal sentencing guideline recommendations. The judge said, “There is no evidence that these defendants personally maimed, kidnapped or killed anyone in the United States or elsewhere. There was never a plot to overthrow the United States government.” Despite the objections of the Department of Justice, Judge Cooke also gave Padilla credit for time served before his case was transferred to the federal courts.
A Terrible Precedent Set
Estela LeBron, Padilla’s mother, summed up the sentencing outside the courtroom. She stated she was “very happy”They tried to fabricate a case but there was no evidence. They wanted to send him to die in prison but the government’s little game didn’t work out. He’s not a terrorist. He’s not an enemy combatant. He’s not a member of the Taliban. He’s just a human being.”
Lawyers for all three defendants promised to appeal the sentences and verdicts and though they were upset at any prison time for their clients they were pleased that life sentences were not imposed. Jeanne Baker, a lawyer for one of the defendants stated, “It’s definitely a defeat for the government.” The United States attorney’s office was not pleased by the sentencing as Alicia Valle, one of their spokespeople, said the government was considering an appeal on the sentences.
William Swor, another lawyer for the defendants stated, “The government has not made America safer nor promoted the rule of law. The government has just made America less free.”
Even though the Bush regime was ultimately forced to transfer this case to the civilian courts, the ultimate outcome still sets a terrible precedent. These defendants were convicted and sentenced to prison. The “brand” of terrorism was attached to them and this appeared to be enough to get a jury to convict them. Padilla was held for over 3 years virtually incommunicado without any due process and no Bush regime officials have been held accountable. Only when the Bush regime is driven from power and all those responsible for the crimes committed against Padilla and others are held accountable will we achieve true justice. Not only was the humanity of Mr. Padilla diminished by his treatment by the U.S. justice system, but we were all diminished by the actions of the government. What happened to Padilla could happen to any of us.