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Immigration judge rejects Saudiâs offer to return home
An immigration judge on Friday rejected a Saudi manâs offer to voluntarily return home, three weeks after federal officials suggested he had ties to the Sept. 11 hijackers. Hasan Saddiq Faseh Alddin, 34, wrote Immigration Judge Anthony Attenaid that he was prepared to abandon his fight to remain in the United States. His attorney, Randy Hamud, and his supporters said Alddin was discouraged by the prospect of remaining jailed while his case winds its way through court. ``Not all persons are cut out for long-term incarceration,ââ Hamud told reporters. Attenaid closed the bond hearing to reporters and other spectators after rejecting Alddinâs offer. After the hearing, Hamud said the judge granted a defense request to continue the case to July 8. He indicated that Alddin wasnât ready to give up. ``Thereâs still a lot of fight left in the dog,ââ Hamud said.Federal agents arrested Alddin on May 27 near his home in Vista, a north San Diego suburb, on immigration charges resulting from two convictions for domestic violence. Alddin has since been in federal custody, awaiting the outcome of deportation proceedings. The Department of Homeland Security said last month that Alddin was a roommate of a close friend of Saudi hijackers Nawaf Alhazmi and Khalid al-Midhar in the 1990s. The two hijackers died aboard the American Airlines jet that crashed into the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001. Homeland Security said in a press release at the time that Alddin was ``believed to have tiesââ to two of the Sept. 11 hijackers. The press release said the government was ``committed to taking action on intelligence to prevent another terrorist attack on American soil.ââ Several Alddin supporters, speaking to reporters outside the courthouse, criticized the government for attempting to link Alddin to terrorists. ``This is nothing more than a witch hunt,ââ said Khalid A. Jaludi, who knows Alddin from a Vista mosque. ``Just because youâre Muslim, youâre guilty.ââ Jesse Bernal, who also knows Alddin through the mosque, said it was natural for Alddin to choose someone from his own country as a roommate. ``Weâre not guilty by association,ââ he said. According to Homeland Security, Alddin entered the United States on a student visa in 1994 and became a legal permanent resident in 1999. Posted by: TS(vice girl) 2004-06-19 |
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