Man held in Ethopia now back in N.J.
- By News Hound
- Published 05/28/2007
- Politics
- Unrated
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View all articles by News HoundMan held in Ethopia now back in N.J.
By DANIELA FLORES
A man who had been held in Ethiopia on allegations of supporting Islamic militants has been released and is back home, his family and their lawyer said Saturday night.
Amir Mohamed Meshal, 24, returned home Saturday, said Jonathan Hafetz, a lawyer with the Brennan Center for Justice at the New York University School of Law.
"The Meshal family is thrilled that their son Amir has returned home after months of detention without due process," Hafetz said, adding that they don't know why he was released. "They look forward to spending time with their son whom they love so much."
The Meshal family declined to comment at length when reached at their Tinton Falls home on Saturday night, but Mohamed Meshal, Amir's father, said "everything's fine."
"We're very grateful to have our son back," Mohamed Meshal said. "We just need some privacy."
Amir Meshal was one of dozens held by Ethiopia in what human rights activists and lawyers claim is an illegal detention program that violates international laws on deportations and the treatment of prisoners. Ethiopia says the detentions are part of the fight against terrorism and that it has the right to defend itself.
Meshal was arrested in late January while trying to enter Kenya from Somalia, at a time when much of Somalia was controlled by hard-line Islamists. Hundreds of people, including Islamist fighters, fled Somalia for Kenya in late December and January after Ethiopian troops invaded the country in support of a weak but internationally backed government.
Meshal was sent to Somalia, then to Ethiopia.
U.S. authorities in Washington have said that after interviewing Meshal in Kenya they determined he was not a threat and had not violated U.S. law. The State Department also said it formally protested his deportation from Kenya.
Many of the detainees in Ethiopia had been questioned by members of the FBI and the CIA, and Hafetz has previously questioned whether the U.S. had any role in the matter.
"I think that serious questions remain about his prolonged detention without due process," Hafetz said. "Right now, the Meshal family is just happy to see their son again."
A State Department spokeswoman declined to comment Saturday night on Meshal's release.
http://www.kansascity.com/440/story/124402.html
A man who had been held in Ethiopia on allegations of supporting Islamic militants has been released and is back home, his family and their lawyer said Saturday night.
Amir Mohamed Meshal, 24, returned home Saturday, said Jonathan Hafetz, a lawyer with the Brennan Center for Justice at the New York University School of Law.
"The Meshal family is thrilled that their son Amir has returned home after months of detention without due process," Hafetz said, adding that they don't know why he was released. "They look forward to spending time with their son whom they love so much."
The Meshal family declined to comment at length when reached at their Tinton Falls home on Saturday night, but Mohamed Meshal, Amir's father, said "everything's fine."
"We're very grateful to have our son back," Mohamed Meshal said. "We just need some privacy."
Amir Meshal was one of dozens held by Ethiopia in what human rights activists and lawyers claim is an illegal detention program that violates international laws on deportations and the treatment of prisoners. Ethiopia says the detentions are part of the fight against terrorism and that it has the right to defend itself.
Meshal was arrested in late January while trying to enter Kenya from Somalia, at a time when much of Somalia was controlled by hard-line Islamists. Hundreds of people, including Islamist fighters, fled Somalia for Kenya in late December and January after Ethiopian troops invaded the country in support of a weak but internationally backed government.
Meshal was sent to Somalia, then to Ethiopia.
U.S. authorities in Washington have said that after interviewing Meshal in Kenya they determined he was not a threat and had not violated U.S. law. The State Department also said it formally protested his deportation from Kenya.
Many of the detainees in Ethiopia had been questioned by members of the FBI and the CIA, and Hafetz has previously questioned whether the U.S. had any role in the matter.
"I think that serious questions remain about his prolonged detention without due process," Hafetz said. "Right now, the Meshal family is just happy to see their son again."
A State Department spokeswoman declined to comment Saturday night on Meshal's release.
http://www.kansascity.com/440/story/124402.html
