|
|||||
|
|||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||
 |
 |
    |
|
|
|||
 |
|
||
|
|||
|
|
|
|
||||||||
|
Padilla May be Charged, U.S. Attorney General Says
U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales suggested yesterday that criminal charges may be filed against Jose Padilla, who has been detained since 2002 on suspicion of plotting a “dirty bomb” attack, according to the Los Angeles Times (see GSN, March 2). “Certainly, pursuing criminal charges would be an option that the United States would have,” Gonzales said. “That decision has not been made yet.” The Justice Department is appealing a federal court ruling that declared Padilla’s indefinite detention illegal. The court ruled that the government must charge him with a crime, release him or name him as a material witness, the Times reported. It may be difficult for Justice Department to charge Padilla with a crime, the Times reported. Much of the information the department gathered against him was collected while Padilla has been in military detention and lacked access to a lawyer, raising concerns that it may not be admissible in court. In addition, Gonzales said there was concern that a case could not be brought against Padilla without risking “sensitive intelligence collection sources” (Richard Schmitt, Los Angeles Times, March 8).
| ||||||||||
Back to top
