EFL:
An exiled Saudi whose father is an outspoken critic of his homeland's royal family has been detained in Seattle by federal anti-terrorism agents and could be deported on criminal charges, his lawyer said on Tuesday. | A critic of the royal family, huh? Must be a pro-democracy spokesman. No? |
Majid al-Massari, a computer specialist working at the University of Washington, has been held under tight security since his arrest on July 17, and his supporters fear he is being punished for his father's views. | Working for full rights for women? No? |
"We are not blind to the issue that he might be guilty, and we are not fighting for his political statements or views. We want to ensure he gets due process and make sure this is not due to any association to his father's views," co-worker David Hughes told Reuters. | Freedom of speech advocate? No? So, what are his views? |
Majid's father, Muhammad al-Massari, is an exile living in London and has been quoted in news reports advocating a fundamentalist Muslim takeover of Saudi Arabia and praising al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. | Dad's group is the Committee for the Defense of Legitimate Rights — they believe the Saudi royals are not strict enough followers of Islam. |
FBI agents raided al-Massari's office, seizing computers and translating hundreds of e-mails written in Arabic between him and his father, the Seattle Times said on Tuesday. | It's nice to see a close father / son relationship. |
Nance said al-Massari family members had been tortured in Saudi Arabia and that Majid applied for asylum in the United States in 1997. Co-workers called Majid al-Massari respectful, professional and very religious. "In the time I have known him he hasn't once talked about having the views that his father does," Hughes said. | Well, he may not be talking but his dad has: Muhammad al-Massari acknowledges there may be other reasons for increased scrutiny of himself and his family. He acknowledged yesterday a long relationship with an al-Qaida sympathizer named Mustafa al-Ansari, who led an attack on a Saudi petrochemical plant in Yanbu in May that left two Americans, two Britons and an Australian dead. He also said he was "acquainted" with Abdurahman Alamoudi, who pleaded guilty last week in Washington, D.C., to being involved in a Libyan-funded plot to assassinate Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz. Al-Massari denied any involvement in the scheme. |
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