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| Padilla codefendant tries to kill himself |
| 2007-12-04 |
| The mentor to former ''enemy combatant'' Jose Padilla attempted suicide last week as he was held at the Federal Detention Center in Miami, just ahead of their sentencing on terrorism charges. Adham Amin Hassoun, 45, a former computer programmer from Sunrise who was born in Lebanon, tried to kill himself in his solitary cell in a section known as the special housing unit, according to several people familiar with his detention. Hassoun, Padilla and a third defendant, Kifah Wael Jayyousi, were convicted at trial in August and face up to life in prison at their sentencing Wednesday. Hassoun's attempted suicide could be a factor at the hearing in federal court. Hassoun tried to hang himself with a bedsheet after he was moved from one cell to another for security reasons, said several sources, who did not want to be identified because of the sensitive matter. He was transferred to an area where other inmates were constantly screaming, and his new cell had a foul stench, they said. Hassoun, a Palestinian whose wife and children relocated to Lebanon, is under 24-hour observation in a sterile cell without bedding, the sources said. He also is taking antidepressant medication. Of the three defendants, Hassoun, a vocal member of a Fort Lauderdale mosque, has been in custody almost as long as Padilla, starting in June 2002 on immigration violations. He was indicted in the Miami terrorism case in March 2004, accused of raising money for Islamic causes and sending Padilla and other recruits abroad to fight jihad in the late 1990s. Padilla, a U.S. citizen, was held since May 2002 without charges before a federal grand jury indicted him in Miami in November 2005. Padilla, 36, was transferred from military to civilian custody in January 2006. He allegedly trained with the terrorist group al Qaeda in Afghanistan in September 2000. Jayyousi, 45, who worked as a public school administrator, published an Islamic newsletter and did fundraising for embattled Muslims overseas, was indicted in April 2005. All are in solitary confinement at the detention center. |
| Posted by:ryuge |
| #4 If he's in special housing, does he get the special housing inmate treatment? |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2007-12-04 19:03 |
| #3 "Hassoun tried to hang himself with a bedsheet..." C'mon Adham...nobody likes a quitter. |
| Posted by: DepotGuy 2007-12-04 18:46 |
| #2 under 24-hour observation in a sterile cell without bedding Yup, rubber room. Enjoy it, it's much worse than a regular cell. Although if your neighbors are constantly screaming and the toilet is leaking sewage and stinking up the place, I can see how you might do a suicide attempt just to get out of there. |
| Posted by: gromky 2007-12-04 08:17 |
| #1 Why was he stopped? I much prefer they kill themselves with bedsheets to the 'suicide vest in the market' technique. |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2007-12-04 07:33 |