Padilla appeals decision over alleged torture

A man convicted of plotting terrorism has appealed a judge's decision to throw out his lawsuit, which claimed he was tortured at a Navy brig in South Carolina.

Court documents show Jose Padilla appealed his case April 5 to the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

A federal judge threw out Padilla's lawsuit in February, ruling he had no right to sue for constitutional violations.

Padilla claimed he was illegally detained as an enemy combatant and then held in a brig near Charleston and tortured. Defendants named in the lawsuit included Defense Secretary Robert Gates and former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.

Padilla was arrested in 2002 on suspicion of plotting to set off a radioactive "dirty bomb." He is appealing a 17-year sentence for sending support to Islamic extremist groups.

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