Have you guys seen this?
This is one step away from being disappeared. This is an American Citizen. Basically being held incommunicado on the say-so of Bush.
The article is stomach-turning. Imagine this was your spouse or child. Even if he did commit crimes, this can only be seen as mental assault. The guy is so damaged, he can't even have confidence in his own counsel!
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.
Mr. do Campo said that Mr. Padilla was not incommunicative, and that he expressed curiosity about what was going on in the world, liked to talk about sports and demonstrated particularly keen interest in the Chicago Bears.
But the defense lawyers’ questions often echo the questions interrogators have asked Mr. Padilla, and when that happens, he gets jumpy and shuts down, the lawyers said.
Dr. Hegarty said Mr. Padilla refuses to review the video recordings of his interrogations, which have been released to his lawyers but remain classified.
He is especially reluctant to discuss what happened in the brig, fearful that he will be returned there some day, Mr. Patel said in his affidavit.
“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.â€
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/04/us/04detain.html?pagewanted=2&ei=5090&en=accb01df2436f791&ex=1322888400&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss
And here's a question.
How is this characterization of his "crimes" any different from what Reagan and Oliver North were doing?
Mr. Padilla is portrayed in the indictment as the recruit of a “North American terror support cell†that sent money, goods and recruits abroad to assist “global jihad†in general, with a special interest in Bosnia and Chechnya. Mr. Padilla, the indictment asserts, traveled overseas “to participate in violent jihad†and filled out an application for a mujahedin training camp in Afghanistan.
