Alleged Al-Qaeda Operative Jose Padilla Standing Trial In Miami May 14, 2007 10:39 a.m. EST
Linda Young - AHN Staff Writer
Miami, FL (AHN) - Alleged al-Qaeda operative Jose Padilla and two co-defendants are being tried in a Miami courtroom with opening arguments finally scheduled for Monday morning. The trial is finally opening after federal prosecutors and defense attorneys spent months battling over issues and definitions, questioned witnesses and agreed on jurors.
Muslim convert and former Chicago gang member Padilla, 36, was arrested in 2002 at O'Hare International Airport and accused of a plot to detonate a radioactive bomb in the United States. He was held for 3 1/2 years as an enemy combatant but is being tried on lesser charges.
"The crimes he has been charged with pale in comparison to the initial allegations," University of Miami law professor Stephen Vladeck told the Associated Press. "This is a far cry from being a major front in the government's war on terrorism."
Padilla is being tried, along with two co-defendants, on charges of being part of a support cell for Islamic extremists in Bosnia, Chechnya, Afghanistan and elsewhere. The defendants have all pleaded not guilty and could face life in prison if convicted.
The trial is opening under in U.S. District Judge Marcia Cooke's courtroom tight security with U.S. Marshalls flown in from around the country to provide that security.