-Caveat Lector- Arab News SAUDI ARABIA'S FIRST ENGLISH LANGUAGE DAILY http://www.arabnews.com/Article.asp?ID=22119
Saudi citizen victim of American witch hunt By Barbara Ferguson, Arab News Correspondent Published on 21 January 2003 WASHINGTON, 21 January 2003 � This story would be a nightmare, except it�s too complicated for anyone to dream up. Abdulraouf Batterjee, 29, is a Saudi national who was working full time, on a legal work visa, and pursuing his master�s degree in chemical engineering in Phoenix, Arizona. His life was uneventful here, except he met an American woman, fell in love, and married. The woman, Christina Wood, converted to Islam and changed her name to Malak. She has proved worthy of the name that Abdulraouf chose for her. Abdulraouf and Malak, 26, were just married when their troubles began. Not between them, but between them and the American legal system. Two months after terrorists� crashed planes into the World Trade Center, in November 2001, Abdulraouf was terminated from Circuit Components, Inc., in Phoenix, where he worked as a process engineer. He made semi-conductors, little microchips that keep computers from overheating. He was told the company was downsizing employees at the company. Soon after, Malak, (who spoke to Arab News from Houston, Texas, during several lengthy telephone interviews), said they learned the head of human resources at his former company had called the FBI and said �she had heard from someone that someone had said Abdulraouf owned a firearm, and was in illegal possession of it, and had allegedly made slanderous remarks about Sept. 11.� It is now, �for the first time,� Malak says, that the FBI enters the picture. They interviewed him regarding Sept. 11. �It was the typical interview that they were giving around the time.� The FBI left, and both Abdulraouf and Malak mistakenly thought this was the end of their troubles. It would not be the last time they would hope so. Later that month, Malak said the ATF (Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms) agents arrived at their home with search warrants, and searched the apartment. They confiscated the firearm Abdulraouf had legally purchased on April 17, 2001, and took pictures of �basically everything,� including multiple magazines, including a copy of a Time magazine tribute about Sept. 11. They also photographed paper targets, which he had used for target practice, and which are readily available from gun shops. During all of this, he was handcuffed and told, �not to do anything silly� by the ATF agents, said Malak. Abdulraouf was taken outside the apartment while the agents conducted �a security sweep,� to ensure no one else was there, then led him back in his home, they left him handcuffed for the entirety of the search, which took about 30 minutes, recalled Malak. Following the search, agent Tallas, who headed the search, started questioning Abdulraouf, �who had not been �Miranda-ized,� (advised of his legal rights) nor informed of his consular rights.� Malak said this would serve in his favor, as later in federal court, his testimony was thrown out of court by the judge because the agents had not told Abdulraouf his rights, which they are required to do by law. �We actually have a very fair judge for this federal case, Judge Paul Rosenblatt,� said Malak. Unsure as to why the agents had targeted him, Abdulraouf was told he should legally be able to obtain this information. But Malak said they never could find the reason. He was also told he could petition to have his property returned to him (the agents had taken his firearm, a Springfield 45, and bullets). �He filled out all the paper work correctly, and didn�t hear anything back from anyone. Life was back to normal, we didn�t think anything more was going to come of it.� Unfortunately, their legal nightmare was just beginning. One night, sometime around May 20, Malak said Abdulraouf went out at about 11 p.m. to return a video. �I was tired, and wanted to go to bed, so I didn�t go with him,� she said. Driving to the video store, Abdulraouf for was pulled over for a traffic violation; Malak said she presumed it was for speeding. �He likes to drive fast.� The office took his driver�s license, went back to his police car ran a routine check on him. The response to the officer�s query was that he was �armed and dangerous.� Abdulraouf was arrested at gunpoint. �We had no clue there was a warrant out for his arrest,� said Malak. �We had absolutely no idea. I had had an interview with the INS prior to this, and we had filed a petition for him to get his Green Card after we were married, but nothing like this was ever brought up. �Now it turned out he was deemed a fugitive and there was a huge investigation out on him.� Malak said he called her about 1 a.m. Despite the late hour, she rushed to the police station where she said she found �a police officer on duty who was kind enough to bend the rules a bit and let me see him at that late hour. �After that visit, I went home. The next day I started making phone calls, trying to figure out what to do. I didn�t understand why he had been arrested; we weren�t clear on the charges � just that he was considered a fugitive. �Abdulraouf is a graduate from Arizona State University; he graduated with honors, as a chemical engineer. He�s halfway through his master�s degree. He pays his taxes, obeys the law, and is a very religious man, and for this to happen to someone like him amazes me,� said Malak. The problem was that Abdulraouf had purchased, and possessed, a firearm that the ATF had seized in November. His petition to get the firearm returned was viewed, legally, as his admission of guilt. Which, to the authorities, meant he had broken the law by requesting the return of the now illegal weapon. Abdulraouf was given a court hearing, and appointed a public attorney, Alan Kyman, who Malak says, �is worth his weight in gold. The man is a saint. He�s been wonderful to us.� Abdulraouf was let out on bond two weeks after was jailed, at the end of May of last year. The problem regarding his possession of a firearm was both bad timing and bad paperwork. �No one wants to admit that they are wrong; the gun dealer says he didn�t know about Abdulraouf�s dual status, despite the fact that it is his responsibility to find out the legal status of the buyer. And, the ATF Form 4473, which Abdulraouf filled out to buy the firearm, says �he must establish that he is a resident of the state, must present a valid ID, and must provide documentation, gas bills or lease agreement that he or she has resided in the state for 90 days�,� said Malak, reading directly from the form. �It�s under the section headed: �For Aliens�.� �On Form 4473, which he filled out, it asks if he is an illegal alien. He answered no; which is true. Are you a citizen of the US? He said: No. Everything he wrote on the form was correct. They ran the background check on him, and he got the firearm. �Now we found out that around 1998, the law changed, and the form changed, but they never issued proper updated forms to the gun stores. The owner of the gun store didn�t even know that a new law was in effect. If he had the new forms, there would be no question that Abdulraouf could not have a gun,� said Malak. These new ATF forms say that aliens are not allowed possess a firearm, unless they own a hunting license, or are a government official with a proper license to carry a weapon. Malak said the judge took this evidence into consideration. �He had previously pronounced Abdulraouf guilty, before he realized that the forms had not been updated.� A new sentencing date had been set for Abdulraouf, but once the judge discovered this new information � that it was neither the fault of the gun shop owner or Abdulraouf�s � he suspended the sentencing date and said that Abdulraouf was not considered convicted until sentencing was passed. Meanwhile, Abdulraouf and Malak had moved from Phoenix to Houston where Abdulraouf had found a new job with MPR, an oil processing company, as a chemical engineer. In an ever more- tangled web, enter the �stool pigeon� � a person in prison who hopes to get a more lenient sentence by informing on other prisoners. �Last September, I was still in Phoenix tying up loose ends, when the FBI came to our new apartment in Houston and interviewed Abdulraouf four about 4 hours. They asked him bizarre questions, and it turned out that while he was incarcerated last July, someone he met in prison had told the authorities that Abdulraouf had threatened to make a bomb and blow something up. �I don�t know the details of the specifics,� said Malak, �but I do know it is absolutely untrue. And Abdulraouf wanted to make sure they understood he had nothing to hide, so he didn�t ask for his attorney to be present while the FBI was interviewing him, which legally, he could have done. �Abdulraouf said he wanted to help them, and answered all the questions. He has always been very, very accommodating to all the federal agents who interviewed him,� said Malak. During this interview, the FBI asked if Abdulraouf would submit to a lie- detector test. He said he would � because he had nothing to hide. �I moved out to Houston, and the Saudi Embassy instructed him to take the lie-detector test as soon as possible regarding the accusations made by that fellow in jail, which he did. The test came out 99% positive that he was telling the truth, which is as good as it can get.� Things returned to being apparently normal for Abdulraouf and Malak. Then, on Nov. 9, he was arrested again � at 6 a.m. �Ramadan had just started. We had just finished prayers and were going back to bed when we heard a pounding on the door.� At the door were FBI agents who not only wanted to do a security sweep of their new apartment, but they informed Abdulraouf he was under arrest, and was convicted of a felony. As proof, they handed Abdulraouf an administrative warrant, signed by the head of the INS. After having to dress in front of the FBI agents, said Malak, they led him away in handcuffs. As timing would have it, this happened at 6 a.m. on a 3-day holiday weekend. �About two hours after he was arrested, an FBI agent returned to the apartment, under the guise of making sure that I was okay. He was there to be my friend and talk to me. I thanked him for his concern, and answered a couple of questions he had about when we were married,� said Malak. �I couldn�t reach any attorneys; our attorney was out of town on vacation. All the law offices were closed, and I couldn�t even find an immigration attorney.� The worse part, said Malak, is that she had to contact Abdulraouf�s father, �and tell him that his son had been arrested, which was difficult, as I had never met him before.� Convicted of a felony, Malak said the INS suddenly dropped the charge, charging him instead with �working without proper work authorization.� Which is untrue, said Malak, as Abdulraouf has �pending status� and can legally work in the US because he is awaiting his Green Card. The following week, after the holiday, two more agents showed up to interview Malak. �They were basically playing �good cop, bad cop�.� �The female agent was very straightforward, asking questions she wanted answered; she wanted to know what I knew. The other agent was very intent on getting me to doubt my relationship with Abdulraouf, he called our marriage a sham, and tried to build a wall between Abdulraouf and me. I told them he�s my husband and is innocent, and was never affiliated with terrorism or terrorist acts.� They questioned her for about an hour and left. About two weeks later, Abdulraouf had his first bond hearing, and the INS dropped the charge of conviction. But, that very morning, the prosecuting attorney for the INS received a letter from the FBI, which said they were now interested in him. Incredibly, the felony charge was reinstated. �Apparently, the INS and the federal courts have different terms for conviction wordage. The federal judge doesn�t consider him guilty until a sentence has been passed; the INS believes that as soon as a guilty verdict is rendered, he is considered guilty. Abdulraouf had been pronounced guilty by the federal judge, but not sentenced,� said Malak. As the conviction is a deportable offense, Abdulraouf was not allowed bond. Another hearing was set for Dec. 2 in Houston. Here, alas, the story gets a bit tricky. Abdulraouf had a motion hearing with the federal judge in Phoenix on Dec. 3, where the federal court case was being held. They decided to transport him back (to Phoenix) on the 2nd for this hearing, but somehow, Malak says the INS tripped up, and Abdulraouf consequently missed his bond hearing. And with the accused person not present � there can be no bond hearing. It�s as simple as that. �Instead of being transported back to Phoenix, Abdulraouf was taken to a federal building in Houston, to be arraigned for crimes that he didn�t commit, in front of a federal judge. But, once in front of the judge, they realized they had the wrong person,� said Malak. Abdulraouf was put into solitary confinement and kept there for a day. The next day he was transported to Phoenix, on a private jet, provided by the INS, and paid for by American taxes. �On the 3rd of December, the federal judge in Phoenix suspended the sentencing date, and adamantly stated that Abdulraouf had not been convicted of a felony. I don�t know why he was being held in Phoenix all this time. They wouldn�t take him to the INS facility, because apparently the man who had made these false claims against him was still being held there, so he was held in the county jail,� said Malak. Now in a county jail, Abdulraouf had to contend with a sheriff who believes in humiliating his prisoners by forcing them to wear pink underwear, under black and white jumpsuits. Abdulraouf was also having problems, as a Muslim, getting pork-free meals. Nor would the prison officials give him a copy of the Qur�an. One day, in sheer frustration, he put in a request for a kosher meal. A rabbi visited him the next day. �He immediately got attention when they thought he was Jewish,� said Malak, �Whereas they had ignored all his requests as a Muslim.� In frustration, Malak contacted CAIR, the Council on American Muslim Relations, in Washington. CAIR swung into action and immediately contacted the jail. It worked. The next day a Qur�an and halal meals arrived. Then, Malak and their lawyers were told Abdulraouf would be transferred to Houston for a bond hearing on Dec. 30. Too easy. There was another miscommunication at the INS, and Abdulraouf�s immigration lawyer in Houston was told the bond hearing was set for Dec. 23. The judge had ordered that he be available to appear at that hearing over the telephone, as he was still in Phoenix. But the INS prosecuting attorney refused to accept the idea, and insisted Abdulraouf return for the hearing. On Dec. 23, Abdulraouf was supposed to be transferred back to Houston, but �somehow� missed his flight again. This was the second bond hearing he had been forced to miss. �So on the 23rd, we showed up for the bond hearing. But the judge said it couldn�t proceed because Abdulraouf was not physically in INS custody, because he was in the county jail. But Abdulraouf was not in federal custody either, as the INS detained him. No one claimed responsibly for holding him, which meant we couldn�t proceed with a bond hearing,� said Malak. Abdulraouf, as a result, has been in prison for over two months. Nor was this the last of the strange twists in store for Abdulraouf. On Jan. 9, he was transported to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, where a processing center is located that is used by US marshals. This time, he was held in solitary confinement. Malak says Abdulraouf has lost over 25 pounds, and was suffering in solitary confinement. �Because he�s Saudi, he�s a social person and likes being around people. Forcing him to be alone was a terrible for him.� �He was scared, it was a federal prison. So he went on a hunger strike. He wanted to be able to make phone calls and to be put in with the rest of the prisoners,� said Malak. After five days, she was finally able to speak with Abdulraouf on the phone. He told her he was �doing well,� and still in federal prison. The authorities, he said, had told him they were going to transport him back to Houston for his third bond hearing. This time Abdulraouf was flown back to Houston in time to make his bond hearing, which was this week. The charge of him working without a valid authorization was dropped, and the charge being convicted of a felony was dropped. Now he�s being charged with not being in legal status. His lawyers say he is. Malak says �he has proper travel authorization, work authorization, everything is legal.� �The immigration service has been doing this for years; they�re very good at making war on American families,� Peter Williamson, Abdulraouf�s immigration attorney in Houston, told Arab News. Asked how this could happen, Williamson said: �Because no one cares very much. Sometimes I think it�s because they�re not visible or don�t come from high-profile families. Other times I think it�s because they�re not rich.� He said congressmen are aware of the problems caused, but don�t seem to care. Williamson said the legal twist for people such as Abdulraouf is that they are being held in �detention, not imprisonment. �As long as it�s not a criminal charge, few of your constitutional rights apply,� he said. During last week�s bond hearing, Abdulraouf was questioned about the criminal case, the gun. The judge set bond for $20,000. �For the charges against him, it�s outrageous,� says Malak. As soon as the judge set the bond, the INS stood up and handed the judge his already filled out �Intent of Appeal,� which means even though a bond was set, Abdulraouf cannot be released because the government has an appeal pending. So the judge set a date in February for the case to continue. �The reason why the date is so far away is that the judge wants to wait for the INS to decide on our petition for his Green Card,� said Malak. In the meantime, Abdulraouf is in Houston at a private correctional facility, one of the �Correctional Corporations of America.� Called �CCA,� it�s an immigration holding facility. Malak says he�s not in solitary confinement, and is able to have halal meals. And, if Abdulraouf�s Green Card were approved, the question over his INS status would become obsolete, because he would have his legal working papers. �This could very well be a blessing in disguise,� she said. Finally, Malak and Abdulraouf have requested that Arab News readers know that both Abdulraouf�s immigration attorney in Houston and his public-appointed attorney in Phoenix are Jewish. �The solidarity we have with these attorneys is phenomenal. Abdulraouf has developed a great relationship with both men, and they have worked very hard to help him. We find it significant and wonderful that they are willing to fight so hard for a Muslim man at this time � especially when you consider what is happening worldwide,� she said. �I�m an American, I was raised to believe that justice is blind, that we have checks and balances in our government system for a reason. I�m very adamant about American civil rights. Not only have I become disillusioned, but so have my family and friends. My father was a city manager, my mother worked as an investigator for the Department of Labor, and my sister is graduated, with honors, with a degree in criminal justice and worked for a police department. My family is a military family, and I�ve been brought up to believe in the government and in the system. But here I am � right in the middle of it.� Copyright � 2003 ArabNews All Rights Reserved. Forwarded for your information. 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