Background:Jose Padilla (also known as Abdullah al-Muhajir): A forgotten Muslim Prisoner
18-09-2008
Background:
Jose Padilla (also known as Abdullah al-Muhajir) was born
in Cumberland Hospital in Brooklyn, New York, on 18th October 1970. He is of
Puerto Rican origin. He grew up amongst four siblings. His family moved from
Chicago to New York City when he was four. As a teenager, Padilla had a number
of run-ins with the authorities, in particular, a number of gang-related
encounters with police in Chicago.
When Padilla was 19, his first son Joshua was born. Soon afterwards, Padilla and
his mother moved to South Florida. Padilla spent some time in jail after a
road-rage shooting incident in Florida, in 1991. A few months into his
detention, Padilla got aggressive with a guard and was charged with battery on a
law enforcement officer. It was at this point he vowed to turn his life around.
Padilla began fasting, working out and reading the Bible from cover to cover.
Padilla then had some moving dreams, in one of which he saw a man in a turban
surrounded by the dust of the desert. These dreams made him change his way of
life.
In 1992, Padilla left jail and applied for a job at the Taco Bell in Davie where
Ms. Stultz, his girlfriend who he met in 1991 worked. He was hired by Muhammed
Javed, a Pakistani American and co-founder of the Broward School of Islamic
Studies. Both continued to work there for 2 years.
During this time, Ms. Stultz became interested in Islam. She would often visit
Mr. Javed's home where his wife gave classes to women. Padilla, who was brought
up as a Roman Catholic, joined her in visiting Mr. Javed’s home, and upon a
suggestion by Mrs Javed, visited a mosque. When Padilla saw men there wearing
turbans, he remembered his dream, and felt that that was the place he belonged.
Both Ms. Stultz and Padilla accepted Islam. Padilla became a regular student at
Darul Uloom mosque in Pembroke Pines and then at Masjid Al-Iman in Fort
Lauderdale. In 1994, Padilla formally changed his name to Ibrahim. And in 1996,
married Ms. Stultz.
In 1998, Padilla decided that he wanted to immerse himself more fully in the
Arabic language and in Islam, and left for Egypt. After a year, he married an
Egyptian woman, Shamia'a. Ms. Stultz filed for divorce upon hearing this, and
the marriage was dissolved.
Padilla and his new wife moved to Cairo, where he taught English at a private
school. In early 2000, Padilla travelled to Saudi Arabia for the hajj. Soon
after his return, he went to teach English in Yemen. His wife gave birth to a
son, Hussein, in September 2000.
Government officials say Abu Zubaydah, a senior official of Al Qaeda who was in
American custody at an undisclosed location overseas, told his interrogators
about Padilla and the alleged dirty bomb plot in the spring of 2002. At about
the same time, Padilla was briefly detained in Pakistan on a passport violation.
This led to authorities into identifying Padilla as the individual mentioned by
Abu Zubaydah.
Outlining his steps before his arrest, Padilla made two trips to Zurich. He then
returned to Egypt to see his family, where his wife had given birth to his
second son, Hassan. He then left for the U.S. On 8 May 2002, Padilla checked in
at the Zurich airport for a flight to Chicago. On arrival at Chicago's O'Hare
International airport from Pakistan, he was arrested by F.B.I agents. From
Chicago, Padilla was transferred to New York and imprisoned on a high-security
floor, at the Metropolitan Correction Centre in Lower Manhattan. The court
appointed Ms. Newman, a criminal defence lawyer, to represent him. Ms. Newman
mentions that when she first met him, he was brought out in a 'three-piece suit'
— shackles, leg irons and a metal belt.
Padilla's
Egyptian wife
It
was then the legal battles began. Thereafter, President Bush declared him an
"enemy combatant" and Padilla was placed under solitary confinement by the
military. Padilla’s case is shrouded in secrecy, and as yet, no charges have
been filed against him. Ms. Newman had been surprised when she initially read
the affidavit. Dale Watson, who was then the F.B.I.'s executive assistant
director for counterterrorism, was also surprised when he read Mr. Padilla's
complete file, and has stated that he recollects that it was a rather weak case.
Law-enforcement officials and White House aides, often speaking on condition of
anonymity, have quickly distanced themselves from claims that he was planning to
detonate a radioactive "dirty bomb". And there are numerous accounts of other
officials stating there is no evidence that such a plot was under way. The US
government has not charged Padilla with any crime. According to one new report,
his cell is floodlit 24 hours a day and he has been interrogated for months. He
has no contact with the outside world.
He has been in military custody for nearly 33 months without any charges being
brought or any opportunity to confront his accusers or assert his constitutional
rights - the longest any US citizen has ever been held without any judicial
proceeding, simply on the say-so of the president. In the beginning of March, a
federal judge in South Carolina ordered the Bush administration to release
Padilla within 45 days or bring charges against him in a state or federal court.
Submitted by a Mujahid