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Haddad seeks political asylum in U.S By ALEXANDRA R. MOSES Associated Press Writer DETROIT (AP) The detained co-founder of an Islamic charity who the government is trying to deport is seeking political asylum in the United States because of a fear he will not be safe in his native Lebanon, his attorney said Tuesday. Rabih Haddad, who appeared via a video linkup from the Monroe County Jail, has been detained for more than six months on a visa violation. ``There is a justifiable fear that he will be persecuted'' if he returns to his native country, his attorney Ashraf Nubani...

DETROIT, May 2 (UPI) -- An Ann Arbor, Mich., man who has been detained by federal authorities since mid-December has accused the FBI of "railroading" him and engaging in a "deliberate disinformation propaganda campaign." Rabih Haddad, 41, a Muslim cleric and co-founder of the Islamic group Global Relief Foundation, issued a letter from his federal jail cell, denying any ties to the Islamic terrorist group al Qaida and calling the FBI "dishonest." "I have been railroaded by the government in a series of actions that had denied me the most basic of rights," Haddad said in a letter released with...

DETROIT -- A federal appeals court delayed the release Wednesday of transcripts from the closed deportation hearings of an Islamic charity's founder. The three-judge panel of the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the Justice Department did not have to turn over the transcripts by a Wednesday afternoon deadline that had been set by a lower court judge. The government is investigating suspected links between terrorists and the Global Relief Foundation, which Rabih Haddad co-founded. Haddad is accused of overstaying his visa; he has not been accused of helping terrorists. Last week, U.S. District Judge Nancy G. Edmunds...

<p>The government portrays him as a mystery man who traveled the world with no clear means of support, kept bricks of cash in a briefcase and founded a U.S.-based charity that fed money to terrorists.</p> <p>He says he is a simple Ann Arbor clergyman who lived off the charity of others and is the victim of a witch-hunt by federal agents.</p>

Rabih Haddad, a founder of an Islamic charity based in suburban Bridgeview, held meetings outside the U.S. more than a decade ago with members of terror groups linked to Al Qaeda, according to federal prosecutors. During his overseas trips, the Lebanese-born Haddad, who was arrested by immigration agents four months ago, was reportedly seen at facilities that housed and supported organizations tied to the terrorist network, government officials said. The accusations were contained in the more than 1,000 pages of documents from immigration court transcripts released Friday by the government. Their release came after a federal appeals court in Cincinnati...

A federal immigration judge denied bond for Ann Arbor Muslim leader Rabih Haddad in December because he was less than forthcoming about his income and showed a pattern of deceit, according to court transcripts released late Friday. Haddad, 41, a Lebanon native arrested Dec. 14 for overstaying a tourist visa, initially refused to answer questions about how he supports his family of five and how he traveled to almost every major city in America over the past 14 years. When he did talk on cross examination, he disclosed minimal information, the documents said. The decision by U.S. Immigration Judge Elizabeth...