Jan 18, 2008 5:30 pm US/Eastern
Padilla Co-Defendants Deny Links To Al-Qaida
MIAMI (CBS4) ―
On Friday, Jose Padilla's two-co defendants adamantly denied that they were supporters of al-Qaida or other Islamic extremists.
Adham Amin Hassoun and Kifah Wael Jayyouis poignantly pleaded with a federal judge to give them lenient sentences on terrorism-related charges.
Padilla did not address U.S. District Judge Marcia Cooke, who said she will announce sentences for the 3 men next Tuesday.
All 3 face maximum sentences of life behind bars and they are seeking far less prison time.
Padilla, a U.S. citizen, was held for 3 1/2 years without criminal charge after his May 2002 arrest at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport. Authorities said at the time he was on an Al Qaeda mission to detonate a radioactive "dirty bomb" inside the U.S.
Those charges were later dropped and Padilla, allegedly recruited by Hassoun for Al Qaeda while living in South Florida, was added in late 2005 to a Miami terrorism support case just as challenges to his detention were headed to the U.S Supreme Court.
(© 2008 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
