Padilla suffered brain damage during captivity, experts say

Padilla, a US citizen, was arrested at O’Hare Airport in Chicago in May 2002 and declared a “material witness” in the investigation into the September 11 terrorist attacks. In June 2002 he was designated an “enemy combatant” by the Bush administration, which claimed he was an Al Qaeda operative and had been plotting to explode a radioactive “dirty bomb” in a US city.

He was subsequently held, without charges and in defiance of fundamental democratic rights, in a South Carolina naval brig. According to a brief filed by his lawyers, he was deliberately and systematically tortured for the three-and-a-half years duration of his incarceration.

Patricia Zapf, an associate professor at the City University of New York and clinical forensic psychologist, testified that Padilla exhibited a “strong indication of cognitive impairment.” She estimated that there was a 98 percent chance that he had suffered brain injuries during his confinement.

Dr. Zapf described Padilla as “immobilized by anxiety” whenever he was questioned about his incarceration and treatment. “He said he can’t relive it, he can’t go through it again, and he can’t name names,” she said.

Angela Hegarty, a forensic neuropsychiatrist and assistant professor of clinical psychology at Columbia University, argued that Padilla did not fully understand the legal proceedings now under way, and that he is convinced that they represent yet another stage of his interrogation. For example, he has been disinclined to speak with his attorneys about his experiences in the brig because he thinks they are government agents.

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http://wsws.org/articles/2007/feb2007/padi-f24.shtml