US citizen finally charged on terror plot

US citizen finally charged on terror plot

Three years after Jose Padilla, a US citizen was held without charges of plotting to detonate a crude nuclear device known as a "dirty bomb", he was finally indicted on Tuesday on charges of conspiring to "murder, kidnap and maim persons" overseas.

Mr Padilla, a Brooklyn-born Muslim convert, was being held on charges of being an "enemy combatant" till now. He was jailed for a period of three and half years and was used by the White House as evidence of the sustained threat posed by Al-Qaida to the US.

Mr. Padilla's lawyers also filed an appeal in the Supreme Court last month, posing a question which read: “Does the president have the power to seize American citizens in civilian settings on American soil and subject them to indefinite military detention without criminal charge or trial?” The administration, on its part, said there was no need to answer that question.

But, President Bush shifted gears by issuing a directive on Sunday ordering the Defense Department, to transfer Mr. Padilla to the Justice Department "for the purpose of criminal proceedings against him."

With this initiative on part of the President, things are looking to change.

Professor John Yoo, who teaches law at the University of California, Berkeley, a former Justice Department official who was also instrumental in devising the administration's approach said: “Whatever benefits would have been gained by interrogating him are now gone.” He added that nevertheless the government's decision to charge Mr. Padilla is encouraging saying that the timing is nonetheless suggestive.

Jonathan M. Freiman, Mr. Padilla's lawyer said that his client would seek for a Supreme Court review.

Judge J. Michael Luttig representing a three judge panel wrote: “The exceedingly important question before us is whether the president of the United States possesses the authority to detain militarily a citizen of this country who is closely associated with Al Qaeda, an entity with which the United States is at war.”

According to Judge, as per the powers bestowed on the president by Congress after the Sept. 11 attacks, the answer is in the affirmative.

The Bush administration's change of stance in its handling of Padilla's status is seen as a belated but welcome victory for the rule of law. It also suggests that the administration is rethinking on its presumed authority to hold a citizen indefinitely without citing any charges.

If Mr. Padilla is convicted, he may be sentenced to life imprisonment.