Jose Padilla's Mental Health

Apparently Jose Padilla, the American citizen who was detained by the Bush administration for more than 3 years without being charged with a crime or having access to courts, is suffering from some serious mental health problems that resulted from his prolonged detention. A psychiatrist that analyzed Padilla said that he was anxious, sweating, had facial tics, and had dilated pupils. Padilla was also exhibiting symptoms of Stockholm Syndrome, a condition usually exhibited by hostages in which captives defend their captors.

It is notable that those seemingly suffering from Stockholm Syndrome have usually been exposed to very harsh treatment, possibly including torture. Padilla's lawyers claim that he was "subjected to sleep deprivation, extreme heat and cold, threats of execution, exposure to noxious fumes, and was forced to wear a hood and stand in one position for extended periods of time." They also claim that he was given either PCP or LSD in the form of a "truth serum". These highly stressful and physically harsh conditions, along with the alleged drugging with strong psychedelics -- could go a long way in explaining his current mental problems.

Of course apologists for Bush's illegal detention program will claim that Padilla's mental problems are fabricated or have nothing to do with his treatment while in detention. It should be evident to any honest observer that this sort of illegal detention is prohibited precisely because of the horrors that a person can endure while deprived of all legal rights in the way Padilla was.

It is also quite revealing that the charges eventually brought against Padilla -- "conspiracy to murder, kidnap and maim persons outside the United States" -- flatly contradicts the initial justification for his detention. When he was first detained, the Bush administration claimed that they had solid evidence that he was part of a plot to detonate a "dirty" radiological bomb within the U.S. Now, their story has completely changed.

Besides exhibiting again precisely why a person should never be detained without being charged with a specific crime, this total change in allegation is extremely suspicious. What happened to this "evidence" of the dirty bomb plot? What reason do we have to believe that the current charges aren't completely fabricated, just like the initial charge appears to have been? This is the most shocking display of government abuse and illegality in quite a while, and the fact that it isn't getting more press or causing more outrage in the U.S. is very sad and worrisome.