Feb. 28 (Bloomberg) -- A U.S. judge ruled that accused terrorism supporter Jose Padilla is mentally competent to stand trial, one of his defense lawyers said.

U.S. District Judge Marcia Cooke in Miami rejected defense claims that Padilla was unable to assist in his defense, according to defense lawyer Andrew Patel. The defense had argued that Padilla, a 36-year-old U.S. citizen, was abused during more than three years in military custody.

The government denies abusing Padilla, and a prosecutor argued earlier today, at the end of a four-day hearing, that his unwillingness to assist in his defense was a reasoned choice and that he should stand trial April 16 as planned.

Padilla was initially accused of plotting to explode a radioactive "dirty bomb" in the U.S. After his arrest in 2002, President George W. Bush declared him an "enemy combatant," which allowed authorities to hold him in military custody without charges. In November 2005, Padilla and four co- defendants were charged with supporting terrorists and conspiring to murder people in a foreign country.

Earlier today, defense lawyer Anthony J. Natale told the judge that Padilla was unable to effectively communicate with his defense lawyers because a "substantial similarity" to military interrogations "brings him back to the same circumstances that caused his trauma."

`Matter of Choice'

Assistant U.S. Attorney John Shipley countered that Padilla has assisted his lawyers, and "when he hasn't it has been a matter of choice." The prosecutor said, "It is a volitional decision, it is a choice that is not the foundation of a competency decision."

Two mental-health experts testified in Padilla's defense that he suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder that keeps him from working with his lawyers. His lawyers say that while he was in military custody authorities drugged him, filled his cell with noxious fumes and threatened him with severe injury.

A U.S. Bureau of Prisons doctor, Rodolfo Buigas, testified yesterday that Padilla is fit to stand trial. Buigas wrote a report cited by prosecutors as evidence that Padilla is mentally competent.

Padilla attended today's hearing wearing silver wire-rim glasses, a beige jumpsuit, white socks and leather sandals. He didn't speak in court during the hearing and left the courtroom through a side door.

Padilla's lawyers have separately asked Cooke to dismiss the charges based on the government's "outrageous conduct" and on a claim that he was denied a right to a speedy trial.

The case is U.S. v. Hassoun et al., 04cr60001, U.S. District Court in Miami.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jeff St.Onge in U.S. District Court in Miami or jstonge@bloomberg.net .
Last Updated: February 28, 2007 17:55 EST

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