Miami
Jose Padilla, an American Muslim held incommunicado for 21 months as an “enemy combatant,” was tortured, threatened with execution, and administered “truth serums” by his military jailers, his lawyers told a Miami court last week. The lawyers submitted a videotape that depicts a sullen and barefoot Padilla having his wrists and ankles manacled, and his eyes and ears covered before being led down a hallway by guards. The lawyers say Padilla was a docile, cooperative prisoner throughout his detention, and that his “dehumanization” by the military was both deliberate and unnecessary. They contend he is now so psychologically shattered that he is unfit to stand trail on terrorism conspiracy charges. Prosecutors say that Padilla’s experiences in military custody are not relevant to charges he now faces in a civilian court. The Pentagon denies Padilla was abused.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
Antony Gormley's Time Horizon – a 'judgmental army' of 100 cast-iron menThe Week Recommends Sculptures are 'everymen questioning the privilege of their surroundings' at the Norfolk stately home
-
'King's horses take free rein through London'Today's Newspapers A roundup of the headlines from the US front pages
-
Is pop music now too reliant on gossip?Talking Point Taylor Swift's new album has prompted a flurry of speculation over who she is referring to in her songs
