UNITED STATES: Judge orders end to indefinite detention

On March 1, federal Judge Henry Floyd ordered the federal government to release Jose Padilla within 45 days, or to charge him with a criminal offence. Padilla, a US citizen, was arrested in May 2002, when he arrived back to the US at Chicago airport. He was classified as an "enemy combatant", which US President George Bush declared meant he could be held indefinitely without charge Initially, Bush claimed that Padilla had intended to detonate a "dirty" bomb in a major US city. Then, the Justice Department changed the story to a gas-fuelled attack on an apartment building. However, no charges have been laid. The Justice Department intends to appeal against the decision by Floyd, who was one of Bush's judicial appointees.

From Green Left Weekly, March 9, 2005.

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From GLW issue 618