This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/americas/7203276.stm
The article has changed 5 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Padilla given long jail sentence | Padilla given long jail sentence |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Jose Padilla, a US Muslim convert, has been sentenced to more than 17 years in prison for plotting to kill people overseas and of supporting terrorism. | Jose Padilla, a US Muslim convert, has been sentenced to more than 17 years in prison for plotting to kill people overseas and of supporting terrorism. |
| Padilla was held for three-and-a-half years as an "enemy combatant" after his arrest in 2002 on suspicion of plotting a radioactive "dirty bomb" attack. | Padilla was held for three-and-a-half years as an "enemy combatant" after his arrest in 2002 on suspicion of plotting a radioactive "dirty bomb" attack. |
| After a battle between the government and civil liberties groups, his case was moved to a civilian court in 2006. | After a battle between the government and civil liberties groups, his case was moved to a civilian court in 2006. |
| He faced life in prison after being convicted in August on the charges. | He faced life in prison after being convicted in August on the charges. |
| Two other men, Lebanese-born Palestinian Adham Amin Hassoun and Jordanian-born Kifah Wael Jayyousi, were convicted on the same counts and sentenced to 15 years and eight months, and 12 years and eight months respectively. | |
| The three defendants all denied the charges against them but, after a three-month trial in Miami, jurors took only a day-and-a-half to find them guilty. | |
| 'Harsh conditions' | |
| In sentencing Padilla to 208 months in prison, US district court Judge Marcia Cooke said she had given the 37-year-old some credit for his detention as an enemy combatant following his arrest in May 2002 after returning from Pakistan. | |
| JOSE PADILLA Born to Puerto Rican parents in New York, moved to Chicago when 4Involved in gang crime as a youth, jailed in 1991Brought up a Catholic, thought to have converted to Islam in jailAlleged to have learned bomb-making with al-Qaeda in Pakistan Profile: Jose Padilla | |
| Judge Cooke said she agreed with Padilla's lawyers that he had been subjected to "harsh conditions" and "extreme environmental stresses" at a Navy jail in South Carolina and that this warranted consideration. | |
| Padilla has said he was tortured while in military detention, an accusation US officials have denied. | Padilla has said he was tortured while in military detention, an accusation US officials have denied. |
| The judge also dismissed prosecutors' claims that Padilla and his two co-defendants had done any more than conspire to murder, kidnap and maim, and provide material support for terrorism. | |
| "There is no evidence that these defendants personally maimed, kidnapped or killed anyone in the United States or elsewhere," she said. | |
| The chief evidence presented against Padilla at last year's trial was what the prosecution called an al-Qaeda application form bearing his fingerprints and date of birth that was found in Afghanistan. | |
| FBI recordings of telephone conversations in Arabic between the defendants were also produced, containing, according to the prosecution, coded references to terrorist activity. | |
| Their defence lawyers argued that the three men had links with countries such as Afghanistan, Bosnia and Chechnya because they had been involved in humanitarian aid for Muslims and said the charges against them were exaggerated. |