Judge Delays Padilla's Fla. Terror Trial

Jose Padilla, center, the alleged al-Qaida operative held as an "enemy combatant" for more than three years, is escorted by federal marshalls on his arrival in Miami, in this Thursday, Jan. 5, 2006, file photo. A federal appeals court is weighing whether to restore the only charge against alleged al-Qaida operative Jose Padilla that carries a sentence of up to life in prison. (AP Photo/Alan Diaz) (Alan Diaz - AP)

MIAMI -- A federal judge Friday ordered a three-month delay for the trial of alleged al-Qaida operative Jose Padilla and two others, in part to allow time for a full evaluation of Padilla's mental competency.

U.S. District Judge Marcia Cooke set a new trial date of April 16. It was the third time the case had been postponed.

Padilla, a 36-year-old U.S. citizen and former Chicago gang member, is charged with being part of a North American cell that provided cash, supplies and recruits to Islamic extremists.

He was arrested in 2002 at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport and originally accused of plotting to detonate a radioactive "dirty bomb" in a U.S. city.

President Bush designated him an enemy combatant, and Padilla was held without criminal charges at a Navy brig for more than 3 years before he was added to a Miami terrorism-support case in late 2005 during a legal clash over the president's wartime detention powers. The dirty bomb allegations are not mentioned in the Miami indictment.

Trial for Padilla, alleged recruiter Adham Amin Hassoun and Kifah Wael Jayyousi had been scheduled to start on Jan. 22.

Padilla claims he was tortured while in the Navy brig, a contention the Justice Department and Pentagon have repeatedly denied. Mental experts hired by Padilla's lawyers filed court papers saying that Padilla suffers from post traumatic stress disorder and cannot adequately assist his legal defense team.

"This is a case that has to be done right. If additional time is needed, then it is time well spent," said his attorney Anthony Natale.