ON THE ABDULLAH al-MUJAHIR FRONT: Appeals Court Considers Re-instating Major Terror Charge Against Abdullah al Mujahir (formerly Jose Padilla)

A federal appeals court today considered restoring the only charge against alleged al-Qaida operative Abdullah al-Mujahir (Jose Padilla) that carries a sentence of up to life in prison.

Padilla/al-Mujahir, is now charged with being part of a North American cell that provided cash, supplies and recruits to Islamic extremists.

A three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments earlier today (Wednesday, Januray 10th) over the dropped charge, “conspiracy to murder, kidnap and maim persons in a foreign country." A judge (Marcia Cooke) dismissed that charge in August after ruling it duplicated two other terrorism-support counts against Padilla and two co-defendants.

Federal prosecutors argued that U.S. District Judge Cooke, used the wrong legal analysis in dropping the charge.

The terrorism case is scheduled for trial Jan. 22 in Miami, but Cooke has said she will not allow the trial to go forward until the question before the 11th Circuit is settled.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070110/ap_on_re_us/padilla_terror_charges