Judge Requests Explanation for Designation of Padilla “Enemy Combatant”
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Judge Michael Mukasey asked government lawyers to prepare a full explanation for Al-Muhajir’s current status |
NEW
YORK, July 31 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - A U.S. judge
Wednesday, July 31, requested the government explain the designation
as an “an enemy combatant” a U.S. national accused of plotting to
set off a radiation-laced “dirty bomb” in the United States.
The
request came during a hearing on the legal jurisdiction over Abdullah
Al-Muhajir, 31, who was born Jose Padilla but changed his name after
converting to Islam.
Al-Muhajir
has been held at a military detention center in South Carolina for
nearly two months.
Named
an “enemy combatant,” he has been held without formal charge or
the right to counsel. The lack of any formal criminal charges against
Al-Muhajir is the main reason defense attorney Donna Newman petitioned
the court for Al-Muhajir’s release last month.
The
government accuses Al-Muhajir of plotting to detonate a “dirty
bomb” somewhere in the country and alleges he has links with
Al-Qaeda - the network the U.S. blames for the September 11 attacks.
A
radioactive, or dirty bomb, is a conventional explosive device
containing radioactive material toxic to humans that can be fatal to
people in the vicinity of the blast.
Tuesday’s
hearing was requested by lawyers representing Al-Muhajir, who want the
“enemy combatant” designation dropped and the case returned from
military jurisdiction to a federal criminal court.
Judge
Michael Mukasey asked government lawyers to prepare a full explanation
for Al-Muhajir’s current status.
"Before
I decide jurisdiction, I want to have all the pieces in the shop
before I put the machine together," Mukasey said.
In
addition, Mukasey asked Al-Muhajir’s lawyers why U.S. President
George W. Bush was named in court papers filed by the defense.
“I
don’t understand what you want out of President Bush,” he said.
Newman
said Bush should be a party to the case because he declared Al-Muhajir
an “enemy combatant” and issued an order to put him in military
custody.
Mukasey
said he would also consider whether the Manhattan federal court still
has jurisdiction over the matter, since Al-Muhajir has been detained
since early June at a U.S Navy brig in Charleston, South Carolina,
reports CNN.
Al-Muhajir
was arrested May 8 in Chicago and was moved to New York where he was
held secretly for a month as a material witness before being moved to
a military prison.
The
U.S. government has said Al-Muhajir twice met with senior al-Qaeda
operatives in Pakistan and discussed a plot to detonate a radiological
weapon in the United States, possibly targeting Washington, reports
news agencies.
Newman,
along with defense attorney Andrew Patel, argue that his continued
detention without charge is unconstitutional, violating due process
guarantees; that there is "insufficient evidence for the
government to obtain an indictment;" and that their client’s
protections to be free from unreasonable seizure and to counsel have
been violated.
Newman
has not been able to meet or communicate with Padilla since he was
transferred from Department of Justice custody to Department of
Defense custody, reports CNN
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