Defense rests in Padilla case.

The defense rested yesterday in the case of Jose Padilla and two other co-defendants in a Miami District Court without calling any witnesses or presenting no evidence.  The trial testimony centered mostly on Padilla's co-defendants, Adham Amin Hassoun and Kifah Wael Jayyousi, who are accused of being part of and supporting terrorist groups, such as al Qa’ida.   Padilla's case was appended to the other defendants after the Bush administration faced increasing pressure over his 3 1/2 year detention without charge.  Padilla's involvement in the charges was apparently minimal.

Padilla was detained at Chicago's O’Hare airport on suspicion of plotting to detonate a radioactive “dirty bomb”and for conspiring with al Qa’ida.   He was transferred to a military brig in Charleston, SC, and held as an “enemy combatant.”  He spent more than 3 years in military custody where he was kept in solitary confinement and subjected to stress positions, as well as prolonged interrogations without an attorney present. 

Most of the evidence from Padilla's military detention is inadmissible in the current case in Miami.  U.S. District Judge, Marcia Cooke, has stated that any mention of the "dirty bomb" plot or Padilla's statements while in military custody would allow his defense team to cross-examine the prosecution regarding interrogation tactics, including alleged torture.  Prosecutors presented a tape of al Qa’ida leader, Usama bin Laden, and the intercepted phone activity of the three defendants, however, Cooke warned the jury that the tape did not apply to Padilla.

All three men face life imprisonment if convicted on all counts.

AP/NPR