Posted on 10/13/2001 9:24:36 PM PDT by auggy
Under a heavy veil of secrecy and security, eight Evansville men of Middle Eastern descent appeared in federal court Friday on warrants alleging they are witnesses in a grand jury investigation in Alexandria, Va.
Officials in U.S. District Court in Evansville and attorneys called in to represent the men were extremely tight-lipped about the nature of the case
A judge immediately issued a gag order instructing the attorneys not to speak to the media. The court hearing was closed, the courtroom door was locked and blinds were installed so action inside could not be seen. Armed U.S. Marshals patrolled the halls of the court for most of the afternoon
What has been confirmed is that U.S. Marshals detained nine men Thursday night in the Henderson County (Ky.) Detention Center in preparation for Friday’s hearing. One man remained at the Henderson jail until the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) could pick him up for deportation, a jailer said
According to Col. Ron Herrington, chief deputy jailer in Henderson, the marshals indicated the men “are being detained pending an investigation into possible alleged terrorist links"
Herrington said the men likely were detained in Henderson because its jail is a newer facility compared to the Vanderburgh County Jail. None of the men has been charged with a crime.
Detained Thursday night were Fathy Saleh Abdelkhalek, 34; Tarek Abdelhamid Albasti, 29; Ahmed
Attia Hassan, 26; Adel Ramadan Khalil, 46; Khaled Salah Nassr, 25; Tarek Eid Omar, 26; Hesham Salem, 28; Yasser Shahin, 24; and Mohammed Youssef, age unavailable
Youssef is being detained for the INS.
Before ordering the U.S. Marshals to seal the courtroom, Hussmann said the disclosure of information about the men or the case “would disclose matters occurring before the grand jury.” He also said because the men were witnesses they should be afforded some protection from “being exposed to trauma” and publicity.
Several confused spouses of the men began to pour into the William K. Denton Federal Building shortly before 10 a.m. Friday looking for answers. The tearful group of women, all Americans, waited for three hours before attorneys for the men arrived to prepare for the hearing
The women also were excluded from the hearing.
One of the attorneys, Mark Foster, was heard telling one of the women that the men were detained because they were wanted as material witnesses in a case out of Alexandria.
Late Friday afternoon, attorney Mike Keating was heard after the hearing telling one of the concerned women that “all I can tell you is that this involves money and, if proven true, could be very serious.”
Although what occurred during the hearing is unknown, the men will likely be extradited for the grand jury hearing. The detainees could either waive extradition or a hearing will be held before a judge, who can order that they be extradited
As attorneys began to exit the courtroom, they shunned questions by reporters. One attorney said a gag order had been issued while another said “I’m not even supposed to tell you I was here.”
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