[Marxism] Padilla's "Motion to dismiss for outrageous government conduct"

[Andy]

"It cannot be disputed that Mr. Padilla was tortured for a period of  
over three years.  The pain and anguish visited upon Mr. Padilla will  
continue to haunt him for the remainder of his life. The government's  
conduct vis-à-vis Mr. Padilla is a stain on this nation's character,  
and through its illegal conduct, the government has forfeited its right  
to prosecute Mr. Padilla in the instant matter. Mr. Padilla  
respectfully requests that this Court dismiss the indictment against  
him for the government's outrageous conduct and requests a hearing on  
this motion."

<http://www.discourse.net/archives/docs/ 
Padilla_Outrageous_Government_Conduct.pdf>

[excerpt:]

In an effort to gain Mr. Padilla's dependency and trust, he was  
tortured for nearly the entire three years and eight months of his  
unlawful detention. The torture took myriad forms, each designed to  
cause pain, anguish, depression and, ultimately, the loss of will to  
live. The base ingredient in Mr. Padilla's torture was stark isolation  
for a substantial portion of his captivity. For nearly two years - from  
June 9, 2002 until March 2, 2004, when the Department of Defense  
permitted Mr. Padilla to have contact with his lawyers - Mr. Padilla  
was in complete isolation. Even after he was permitted contact with  
counsel, his conditions of confinement remained essentially the same.  
He was kept in a unit comprising sixteen individual cells, eight on the  
upper level and eight on the lower level, where Mr. Padilla's cell was  
located. No other cells in the unit were occupied. His cell was  
electronically monitored twenty-four hours a day, eliminating the need  
for a guard to patrol his unit. His only contact with another person  
was when a guard would deliver and retrieve trays of food and when the  
government desired to interrogate him.

His isolation, furthermore, was aggravated by the efforts of his  
captors to maintain complete sensory deprivation. His tiny cell - nine  
feet by seven feet - had no view to the outside world. The door to his  
cell had a window, however, it was covered by a magnetic sticker,  
depriving Mr. Padilla of even a view into the hallway and adjacent  
common areas of his unit. He was not given a clock or a watch and for  
most of the time of his captivity, he was unaware whether it was day or  
night, or what time of year or day it was.

In addition to his extreme isolation, Mr. Padilla was also viciously  
deprived of sleep. This sleep deprivation was achieved in a variety of  
ways. For a substantial period of his captivity, Mr. Padilla's cell  
contained only a steel bunk with no mattress. The pain and discomfort  
of sleeping on a cold, steel bunk made it impossible for him to sleep.  
Mr. Padilla was not given a mattress until the tail end of his  
captivity. Mr. Padilla's captors did not solely rely on the inhumane  
conditions of his living arrangements to deprive him of regular sleep.  
A number of ruses were employed to keep Mr. Padilla from getting  
necessary sleep and rest. One of the tactics his captors employed was  
the creation of loud noises near and around his cell to interrupt any  
rest Mr. Padilla could manage on his steel bunk. As Mr. Padilla was  
attempting to sleep, the cell doors adjacent to his cell would be  
electronically opened, resulting in a loud clank, only to be  
immediately slammed shut. Other times, his captors would bang the walls  
and cell bars creating loud startling noises. These disruptions would  
occur throughout the night and cease only in the morning, when Mr.  
Padilla's interrogations would begin.

Efforts to manipulate Mr. Padilla and break his will also took the form  
of the denial of the few benefits he possessed in his cell. For a long  
time Mr. Padilla had no reading materials, access to any media, radio  
or television, and the only thing he possessed in his room was a  
mirror. The mirror was abruptly taken away, leaving Mr. Padilla with  
even less sensory stimulus. Also, at different points in his  
confinement Mr. Padilla would be given some comforts, like a pillow or  
a sheet, only to have them taken away arbitrarily. He was never given  
any regular recreation time. Often, when he was brought outside for  
some exercise, it was done at night, depriving Mr. Padilla of sunlight  
for many months at a time.  The disorientation Mr. Padilla experienced  
due to not seeing the sun and having no view on the outside world was  
exacerbated by his captors' practice of turning on extremely bright
lights in his cell or imposing complete darkness for durations of  
twenty-four hours, or more.

Mr. Padilla's dehumanization at the hands of his captors also took more  
sinister forms. Mr. Padilla was often put in stress positions for hours  
at a time. He would be shackled and manacled, with a belly chain, for  
hours in his cell. Noxious fumes would be introduced to his room  
causing his eyes and nose to run. The temperature of his cell would be  
manipulated, making his cell extremely cold for long stretches of time.  
Mr. Padilla was denied even the smallest, and most personal shreds of  
human dignity by being deprived of showering for weeks at a time, yet  
having to endure forced grooming at the whim of his captors.

A substantial quantum of torture endured by Mr. Padilla came at the  
hands of his interrogators. In an effort to disorient Mr. Padilla, his  
captors would deceive him about his location and who his interrogators  
actually were. Mr. Padilla was threatened with being forcibly removed  
from the United States to another country, including U.S. Naval Base at  
Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where he was threatened his fate would be even  
worse than in the Naval Brig. He was threatened with being cut with a  
knife and having alcohol poured on the wounds. He was also threatened  
with imminent execution. He was hooded and forced to stand in stress  
positions for long durations of time. He was forced to endure  
exceedingly long interrogation sessions, without adequate sleep,  
wherein he would be confronted with false information, scenarios, and  
documents to further disorient him. Often he had to endure multiple  
interrogators who would scream, shake, and otherwise assault Mr.  
Padilla. Additionally, Mr. Padilla was given drugs against his will,  
believed to be some form of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) or  
phencyclidine (PCP), to act as a sort of truth serum during his  
interrogations.

Throughout most of the time Mr. Padilla was held captive in the Naval  
Brig he had no contact with the outside world. In March 2004, one year  
and eight months after arriving in
the Naval Brig, Mr. Padilla was permitted his first contact with his  
attorneys. Even thereafter, although Mr. Padilla had access to counsel,  
and thereby some contact with the outside world, those visits were  
extremely limited and restricted. Significantly though, it was not  
until Mr. Padilla was permitted to visit with counsel that one of his  
attorneys, Andrew Patel, was able to provide Mr. Padilla with a copy of  
the Qur'an. Up until that time, for a period of almost two years, Mr.  
Padilla was the [deprived] right to exercise his religious beliefs...