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November 22, 2005
US: Jose Padilla, US Islamist, Is Indicted With Four Others
We reported on October 27 that Jose Padilla, the Brooklyn-born jihadist held for 3 years in military custody, had requested a Supreme Court hearing to limit the time that he and other suspects could be detained without charge.
It appears his wish has been granted, for now, according to 680 News, he has formally been indicted for conspiring to "murder, maim and kidnap" people overseas as a member of a North American terrorist cell.
Charged with Padilla is Kassem Daher, a Canadian citizen, alleged to be a member of Usbat-al-Ansar, a terrorist group, who is believed to be in detention in Lebanon. Similarly charged are Adham Hassoun, Mohammed Youssef and Kifah Jayyousi, who are in US custody.
An official said under conditions of anonymity that the US would be consulting with the Lebanese authorities to bring Daher to the US for trial. He is said to be in custody following a shootout with Lebanese security forces. Daher used to own a cinema in Edmonton, Canada. Of Lebanese origin, he came to Canada in the 1980s and left in 1998.
The indictment was announced by US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to a news conference. It had been delivered last week by a federal grand jury in Miami. It alleges the five had sent money, assets and recruits to overseas conflicts for the purpose of violent jihad.
It has been widely reported that Padilla, a former gangster and petty criminal who apparently converted to Islam while in jail in Broward County, Florida, had plotted to create a "dirty bomb". This plot is the reason for which he has been incarcerated for the past three years. Mention of the "dirty bomb" plot is however not on his current charge sheet.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at November 22, 2005 7:52 PM
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