May 14 (Reuters) - Following are some facts about former "enemy combatant" Jose Padilla.

* The 36-year-old American citizen is on trial in federal court in Florida on charges he aided Islamist extremists and conspired with them to murder, kidnap and maim people overseas.

* His lawyers argued that 3 1/2 years of secret detention and interrogation by the U.S. military had left Padilla too mentally impaired to help his lawyers defend him in court. A U.S. district judge ruled Padilla was mentally competent to stand trial, saying, "This defendant clearly has the capacity to assist his attorneys."

* Padilla has been in federal custody since May 2002, when he was arrested in Chicago on his return from Egypt.

* President George W. Bush ordered Padilla held in a military prison and his administration accused him of plotting to set off a radioactive bomb in the United States. Padilla was never charged with that. While a challenge to Bush's authority to hold him without charge was pending in the Supreme Court, Padilla was indicted in Florida and transferred to civilian custody last year.

* Padilla would face life in prison if convicted on the charges at his trial, which is expected to last four to six months.

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