The government response flatly rejects allegations of torture

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U.S. identifies al-Qaida leader as key informant in Padilla case

By CURT ANDERSON
AP Legal Affairs Writer

MIAMI (AP) -- A senior member of al-Qaida held for years at an undisclosed overseas CIA prison was a key source of information that led investigators to alleged terror operative Jose Padilla, federal prosecutors have disclosed.

The informant, known previously only as "CS-1" in government court filings, was Abu Zubaydah, who was among a group of 14 top al-Qaida operatives and leaders who were transferred in September from the secret foreign prisons to the U.S. detention camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Court papers filed Thursday by U.S. prosecutors say that Zubaydah's role as a source in the investigation of Padilla, a former Chicago gang member, was recently declassified along with that of a second Guantanamo Bay detainee identified as Binyam Muhammad - formerly "Subject-1" - who corroborated much of what Zubaydah said. snip

Padilla's lawyers argue the evidence should be suppressed because, among other things, Zubaydah and Muhammad may have been tortured and Zubaydah was being treated with medication for gunshot wounds that raises questions about his reliability. The government response flatly rejects allegations of torture and notes that Zubaydah's claims were backed up by Muhammad.