By CURT ANDERSON, Associated Press Writer
Federal prosecutors and defense attorneys for alleged al-Qaida operative Jose Padilla spent months battling over issues ranging from torture allegations to the meaning of “jihad.” They pored over classified material and Arabic translations and traveled overseas to interview witnesses. On Monday, the two sides were poised to start opening statements in the trial of Padilla and two co-defendants that is expected to last through the summer.
Padilla, a 36-year-old former Chicago gang member and Muslim convert, has been in federal custody since his 2002 arrest at O’Hare International Airport. He was initially accused of plotting to detonate a radioactive “dirty bomb” in the United States and was held for 3 1/2 years as an enemy combatant at a Navy brig, but those allegations are not part of the Miami indictment.