Posted on 05/21/2006 4:31:37 PM PDT by Flavius
AMPA - A judge revoked bail for two Saudi men arrested Friday for boarding a school bus and riding to Wharton High.
Initially, Mana Saleh Almanajam, 23, and Shaker Mohsen Alsidran, 20, were held in Orient Road Jail on bails of $250 each on misdemeanor trespassing charges. Circuit Judge Monica Sierra decided to hold them at a court appearance Saturday so investigators could dig deeper into their pasts.
A friend of the two University of South Florida students tried to post their bail Friday night, said Ahmed Bedier, Tampa director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, but a jail clerk told the friend that they couldn't be released because they were under an immigration hold until a hearing Saturday morning.
At the hearing, Sierra agreed with a prosecutor that she needed to know more about them before she could feel comfortable releasing them.
The prosecutor said neither man carried identification when they were arrested at Wharton High School, and authorities haven't had an opportunity to gather background information beyond a check of state records.
Almanajam and Alsidran appeared confused by the proceedings and smiled nervously as they stood behind a public defender's table.
Investigators say the men boarded a school bus at Fletcher Avenue and 42nd Street, sat down and began speaking in Arabic. Their behavior concerned the driver, a substitute, who alerted the school district.
The bus was met at Wharton High School by a swarm of officers from the sheriff's Homeland Security Division, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement's Regional Domestic Security Task Force, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the FBI.
Bedier called the court's decision to revoke bond an overreaction and tied to the men being Arabic and Muslim.
"The only reason [this happened] is because of who they are, and that's wrong," he said. "How is it that they can say they can't find out who these kids are when they've searched their homes and found nothing? ... Thus far, it doesn't seem like they've been afforded their full rights for something as simple as getting on the wrong bus."
He questioned why the driver didn't tell them not to board if their appearance was suspicious.
Officials who questioned the men Friday said they at first said they were from Morocco but later admitted being from Saudi Arabia. Both arrived in the country six months ago and are enrolled at the English Language Institute at USF. Their reasons for getting on the bus ranged from wanting to enroll in easier English classes to having some fun.
Bedier said the men got on the bus out of a cultural misunderstanding.
"They don't have yellow school buses just for children in their home country," he said.
The judge scheduled a bond review hearing for Tuesday and asked that an Arabic interpreter be present. There was no interpreter Saturday.
Are non citizens afforded the same rights as citizens?
If so, we are in trouble.
Absolutely!
Astute observation. It could be just a coincidence that the driver was a substitute that day, but ...
"They need to be held until a through background check is done"
Actually, they need to be put on the next plane out. And somebody better go and disinfect the University of Southern Florida, home to Sami Al Ahrian (I'm quite sure I spelled his name wrong), and seemingly a hot bed of terrorists and wannabes.
Thank you, the Beslan murder photos were exactly what I was thinking.
Wish you were doing the daily photo posts daily.
I wonder who the regular bus driver was (and how they would have known there was a substitute)?
Lots of questions about this.
It's worth reading the descriptions of the these teachers again.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1243539/posts
Perhaps it would be a good idea to trace their telephone calls over the last moth or so to see whom they have been calling and who has called them. If only there were such a database that the government could freely search ...
It was his right to say that, and everyone else's right to ignore the statement. If the court was wrong, at least we can be sure no panties will be placed on their heads by prison guards.
HF
I do not understand why we continue to let Saudi "students" into this country.
Headline should be "riding" not "raiding"
update ping
I believe the terrorists have sent the US a message, we can hit you anytime we want and we can strike at the thing you really care about, your children.
Too many people are so busy fighting the president and the people trying to protect us to see the danger has not gone away regardless of the lack of terrorists strikes since 9/11.
ping...
Thank you! This clears it up a lot for me! Said they got on the bus by mistake, but who do you believe?
They have been released. One of was the nephew of Prince Faisel.
Thanks to STARWISE for this update:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1637319/posts
Foreigners Cleared In Bus Scare (Tampa)
TBO ^ | 5-23-06 | Keith Morelli
Posted on 05/23/2006 11:24:56 PM PDT by STARWISE
TAMPA
I'm saying that they are generally arrogant, rude, and genuinely inconsiderate.
At least those I met in Houston in the eighties.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.