"The extended torture visited upon Mr. Padilla has left him damaged, both mentally and physically," one of his lawyers, Orlando do Campo, said in court papers. "The government's treatment of Mr. Padilla has robbed him of his personhood."
The images, taken from an unclassified Pentagon video, show Padilla chained hand and foot, wearing headphones and goggles, and being led out of his cell by guards dressed in camouflage and wearing riot helmets and visors. The images are the first publicly released photos of his detention at a Navy brig in Charleston, S.C.
The existence of the video was first reported yesterday by The New York Times, which published two photos. Another one of Padilla's lawyers, Andrew Patel, said he was prevented by court rules from releasing a copy of the video or allowing a reporter to view it.
Patel did verify, however, the Times's account that one guard on the video states that Padilla is being led from his cell to undergo dental work.
Federal prosecutors and Pentagon officials have repeatedly denied that Padilla was tortured. In court papers, they said that he was humanely treated and that the tactics used were for "safety and security" reasons.
"If they pose a threat to the individuals charged with transporting them, clearly appropriate measures must be taken to protect the guards and any other personnel involved," a Pentagon spokesman, Navy Commander Jeffrey Gordon, said yesterday.
A spokeswoman for R. Alexander Acosta, the US attorney in Miami, had no comment.
Padilla, a 36-year-old US citizen and former Chicago gang member, was declared an enemy combatant by President Bush in June 2002 after he was arrested upon arrival at Chicago's O'Hare Airport. US authorities said he was on an Al Qaeda mission to detonate a radioactive "dirty bomb" in a US city.
Amid an intense legal battle over the president's wartime detention powers, Padilla was transferred to civilian custody earlier this year to face federal charges of supporting terrorism. Those charges do not mention the dirty-bomb allegations. Padilla's trial is set for Jan. 22.
