The Daily Background

Apparently, it would be a threat to national security if this man was allowed to see daylight or hear anything going on around him
The New York Times has a front page article today about the treatment of Jose Padilla, an American citizen who was branded an ‘enemy combatant’ by the White House in 2002 and treated unconstitutionally ever since. His family had no idea where he had disappeared to when he was kidnapped by the government, and thought he had been kidnapped for months. In a way, he was. The Times writes:

In the brig, Mr. Padilla was denied access to counsel for 21 months. Andrew Patel, one of his lawyers, said his isolation was not only severe but compounded by material and sensory deprivations. In an affidavit filed Friday, he alleged that Mr. Padilla was held alone in a 10-cell wing of the brig; that he had little human contact other than with his interrogators; that his cell was electronically monitored and his meals were passed to him through a slot in the door; that windows were blackened, and there was no clock or calendar; and that he slept on a steel platform after a foam mattress was taken from him, along with his copy of the Koran, “as part of an interrogation plan.”

Mr. Padilla’s situation, as an American declared an enemy combatant and held without charges by his own government, was extraordinary and the conditions of his detention appear to have been unprecedented in the military justice system.

He was not charged with any crime for years, and when he was charged, he was charged with something totally different from what they government said they had arrested him for in the first place. Originally, they said they had made a big terror bust, and captured somebody who was plotting to build and detonate a “dirty bomb”– a large explosive with chemical weapon components. They had zero evidence of this.

When the Supreme Court came close to ruling that the Administration’s holding of him was unconstitutional, the Department of (in)Justice charged him with totally unrelated acts (conspiracy to kill foreigners abroad). Later, a judge threw that out as well, and now he stands accused of providing monetary support to terrorists. When Padilla was brought outside of his cell for a root canal, he was forced to wear goggles and headphones so that he was not allowed to see daylight.

The Times discusses how Padilla is cut off from the rest of the world (does he even know we’re reading about him now?) and believes his lawyers may in fact be part of the government’s plot to interrogate him:

Mr. Padilla’s lawyers say they have had a difficult time persuading him that they are on his side.

From the time Mr. Padilla was allowed access to counsel, Mr. Patel visited him repeatedly in the brig and in the Miami detention center, and Mr. Padilla has observed Mr. Patel arguing on his behalf in Miami federal court.

But, Mr. Patel said in his affidavit, his client is nonetheless mistrustful. “Mr. Padilla remains unsure if I and the other attorneys working on his case are actually his attorneys or another component of the government’s interrogation scheme,” Mr. Patel said.

The Times closes with this: “During questioning, he often exhibits facial tics, unusual eye movements and contortions of his body,” Mr. Patel said. “The contortions are particularly poignant since he is usually manacled and bound by a belly chain when he has meetings with counsel.”

Filed under: Human Rights, Z-TDB Blog