Government agrees to free 19-year-old Egyptian man held after terror attacks

By WAYNE PARRY
Associated Press Writer

NEWARK, N.J. – A 19-year-old Egyptian man who has been held in custody for weeks even after he was cleared of involvement in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks will be released, his lawyer said.

Sohail Mohammed said he was shown a letter Tuesday from the Newark office of the Immigration and Naturalization Service stating that his client Mohamed Omar had been cleared for deportation, although it did not set a date.

Omar was on a six-month tourist visa when he was detained by federal agents Sept. 18 for working illegally at a gas station owned by a friend's father.

He was questioned and cleared of criminal involvement by the FBI and approved for release by an immigration judge a week later, but remained locked up for 11 weeks without explanation, Mohammed said.

Kerry Gill, an INS spokesman, refused to comment.

Mohammed said he planned to break the news to his client during a visit to the Hudson County Jail on Wednesday. Omar's situation was detailed in an Associated Press story Thursday.

"It's quite a difference from pre-September 11, when I would hug my clients and give them the good news that they could stay in this country," he said. "Now the good news is that they can leave."

Omar was studying engineering at a university in Egypt, and has lost his third year of study because of his incarceration.

Omar has a valid passport, an airline ticket and all the travel documents he needs to be released, his lawyer said. He said he is hopeful Omar will be home in time to celebrate the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Mohamed Younes, president of the American Muslim Union in Paterson, N.J., had championed Omar's cause, and asked FBI officials during a meeting last week to try to expedite his release. He said he spoke with Omar's mother Tuesday afternoon to tell her that her son would soon be free.

"I thought she was going to fall on the floor," Younes said. "She couldn't talk; she lost her voice, she was so happy."

Omar's father, Mustafa, made four unsuccessful trips to America from Egypt to try to bring his son home, spending more than $1,000 on airfare each time.

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On the Net:

Newark FBI office: http://newark.fbi.gov

Immigration and Naturalization Service: http://www.ins.usdoj.gov

APNP-12-12-01 0716CST