Trial begins for Padilla and two co-defendants

MIAMI (AP) -- A federal prosecutor said "al-Qaida" 91 times in just over an hour as he made his opening arguments Monday against Jose Padilla and two co-defendants accused of supporting Islamic extremists.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Frazier also mentioned Osama bin Laden several times and dwelt on allegations that Padilla attended an al-Qaida training camp in Afghanistan.
Launching a fight they'll face throughout the trial, lawyers for Padilla, Adham Amin Hassoun and Kifah Wael Jayyousi took turns trying to jar the jury's attention from what they called the prosecution's smear tactics. Prosecutors were essentially saying, "We're going to make the jury afraid in this case. We're going to say, 'Al-Qaida, al-Qaida, al-Qaida,"' Jayyousi lawyer William Swor said.
"The government really is trying to put al-Qaida on trial in this case, and it doesn't belong in this courtroom," Hassoun lawyer Jeanne Baker said.
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