Posted on 10/13/2005 3:41:16 PM PDT by MizSterious
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Bad timing blamed for group's detainment The Oklahoman NORMAN - A University of Oklahoma instructor from Egypt said he and others of foreign descent were handcuffed at gunpoint and questioned after the OU bomb blast Oct. 1, but added he is not bitter. "Not at all. I understand. They explained. But if they keep coming back -- that's something else," Hossam Barakat said. "Because I'm not guilty in any way." Barakat, 37, blames unfortunate timing. The roommate of the student killed by the explosion just happened to wander into an apartment where he and four or five others were visiting. Also arrested was Pakistani student Fazal M. Cheema, the roommate of the student who apparently killed himself with a bomb, Joel "Joe" Henry Hinrichs III. Cheema took a polygraph test and later was released, The Oklahoman has learned. The others do not wish to be identified or interviewed, Barakat said. He described them as either born abroad or Americans of Middle Eastern descent but said he does not believe they were targeted because of nationality or religion. "It wasn't toward the Muslim community. It was just because of Cheema," Barakat said. "I can understand. He's the roommate." Roommate visited The others came under suspicion because Cheema had stopped by an apartment where they were talking around midnight Oct. 1, Barakat said. "Cheema always come to this apartment. That night, he just walk in," Barakat said. In addition, one of the men in the apartment was a visiting professor from Algeria who had his suitcases packed and was ready to leave the country on an airplane the following day, Barakat said. "I understand, absolutely, that something had happened and we needed to cooperate. If this had happened in any other country, they would have done it the same way." Hinrichs, an engineering student, has tentatively been identified as the student who died Oct. 1 in an explosion on a campus bench about 100 yards from OU's packed football stadium. Investigators believe he blew himself up. Investigators found identification on the body, but the state medical examiner is awaiting DNA test results for a positive identification. Salvador Hernandez, special agent in charge of the FBI's Oklahoma City office, told a congressman Tuesday the investigation into the explosion is continuing, but so far it appears to be "an individual act." Barakat, who lives in the same university apartment complex as Hinrichs, said that hours after the bomb blast, he went to another apartment in the complex to say goodbye to the Algerian friend who was scheduled to fly out of the United States the next day. Later, Cheema dropped in unexpectedly, staying only a few minutes. When Cheema left, the commotion began. Outside, guests heard yelling, Barakat said. "We heard someone said, 'Put your hands up! Put your hands up!' And someone looked from the window and seen that Cheema got arrested," he said. Because Cheema has a hearing impairment, he did not respond immediately to the police order to stop. "That's why they got mad and started to yell and flashed in his eyes and got guns," Barakat said. Barakat said he started to leave his friend's apartment to go home about 15 minutes later, but an officer pulled a gun and ordered him back inside. "We knew that they are investigating this thing but I didn't know that we are under house arrest. That didn't come to our mind," Barakat said. Hours passed as the group waited in the apartment. "We are terrified. We were sitting waiting for them to come at any time," Barakat said. About 4:05 a.m., police telephoned the apartment and told the group to come out the front door, one at a time, hands up, he said. As they arrived outside, they were ordered to kneel and put their hands behind their heads so they could be handcuffed. Barakat said they were separated at that point and questioned individually. "They asked if I knew Joel," Barakat said. "I said, 'No.' They kept asking over and over, 'Do you have bombs, guns or knives?'" Barakat said he did not. About 5:30 a.m. Sunday, all were released to go home except Cheema, who was put up in a motel overnight because FBI agents wanted him to take a polygraph the next day, Barakat said. The apartment where they had been was among those evacuated so officers could remove explosive material from Hinrichs' home, so the group went to Barakat's apartment, which was outside the evacuation area. Exhausted, they fell asleep, some on the floor, he said. An FBI agent called again about 8:45 a.m. Oct. 2, saying agents wanted to talk to them some more, Barakat said. Later that morning, the agents arrived but instead of questioning them at Barakat's apartment as expected, they took them to an FBI office in Oklahoma City, where they spent the day watching football on television with an equal number of FBI agents. The agents brought in chicken for lunch and pizza for dinner and joked with the men. But they also accompanied them to the rest room, Barakat said. Eventually, an immigration officer arrived and questioned each person individually to make sure they were in the country legally, he said. "He make a copy of everything I have in my wallet -- everything except the cash," he said. Later, FBI agents separated the group again and asked more questions: Where have you been? What have you been doing? Do you know any radical person in the Islamic community? Did you ever see anyone taking anything out of Hinrichs' apartment in a garbage bag? Barakat said he answered "no" to the last two questions. About 10:30 p.m., an FBI agent finally told them it was all over and thanked them for their assistance. Barakat said the FBI agents were polite and professional throughout the investigation, but he also said Norman police were "very aggressive, very mean." |
Read his following statement. Seems to me he was upset at the Norman police.
"Barakat said the FBI agents were polite and professional throughout the investigation, but he also said Norman police were "very aggressive, very mean."
Interesting tie in to the La Jolla "suicide" when you read the link.
very interesting!
Thank you for posting this RegulatorCountry!
They knew it was Hinrichs shortly after he blew up, because they found his wallet. They naturally are looking for his Islamic roommate. They grab the roommate as soon as he exits the apartment
Now, here's the thing I'm curious about: how is it the cops were waiting right outside the apartment for Cheema to come out? It suggests they had the apartment under surveillence. How long was it under surveillance, and what caused the cops to decide to put it under surveillance?
Inquiring minds would like to know
That was my thought, too. I can understand how they id'ed Hinrichs, but usually it takes awhile to go through friends or records to find out (a) there is a roommate, and (b) what his name is.
But maybe the authorities suspected he would commit suicide in a dramatic fashion. (Yes, that's sarcasm, in case anyone wonders.)
Thank you for the pings.
Thanks for the ping, BB in a little bit to read it. :)
If they're very motivated, and choose to assign a bunch of people, it can take a short time.
They have the address. A bunch of cops show up and ask everybody there what they know. Meanwhile another bunch of cops go to the University office building, having called up relevant people and told them to be there with the keys. Go thru the records computer to see who has the same address and apartment # as Hinrichs.
Meanwhile, it would be hard for word to not get back to Cheema that they're looking for him. Cops and FBI probably decided to tap every line in the building (known to be mostly Muslim occupied) to see if anybody makes any calls to tip off Cheema that the cops are looking for him
Since the FBI is involved, they can rather quickly find out Cheema's cell number, and ask the cell company to ping the phone to find out what cell area its in. Once they know the area, they have equiptment that can ping the cell phone and triangulate on its position
I wondered that, too, but it *is* the same apartment complex, so maybe someone else there told Norman cops they had seen Cheema go 'over there.' Barakat did say that Cheema went to that apartment all the time, so it's a regular occurrence.
I do feel sorry for Cheema, as being hard-of-hearing, cuz I can imagine how the officers yelled at him. *If* he's innocent, that had to be upsetting.
They also evidently knew what Cheema looked like, in order to to arrest him. Wonder if they got to the school records computer and got his picture out of there?
Thanks for the ping...
"they can rather quickly find out Cheema's cell number" ... those Mooselims really *are* organized.
Bad Grammar Blamed for Group's Detention
And you left this out: "Not at all. I understand. They explained. But if they keep coming back -- that's something else," Hossam Barakat said. "Because I'm not guilty in any way."
Barakat, 37, blames unfortunate timing.
No, I still don't see any whining.
Thanks for posting this Miz. I wonder where Cheema was between 7:30 and midnight... This is the first I've seen about a polygraph as well.
Thanks for the ping indcons.
I think I remember that Cheema was scheduled to leave for Algiers soon.
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