Padilla appeals decision over alleged torture
A man convicted of plotting terrorism has appealed a judge's decision to throw out his lawsuit, which [correctly] claimed he was tortured at a Navy brig in South Carolina. Court documents show Jose Padilla appealed his case April 5 to the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. A federal judge threw out Padilla's lawsuit in February, ruling he had no right to sue for constitutional violations.
Padilla [correctly] claimed he was illegally detained as an enemy combatant and then held in a brig near Charleston and tortured. Defendants named in the lawsuit included Defense Secretary Robert Gates and former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. Padilla was arrested in 2002 on [alleged] suspicion of plotting to set off a radioactive "dirty bomb." He is appealing a 17-year sentence for [allegedly] sending support to Islamic extremist groups.