The former ambassador of the Taliban in Spain was arrested by US immigration officers on Saturday and remained custody after a federal judge refused to release on Monday.
Former Afghan diplomat, Mohammad Rahim Wahidi, was arrested at Washington Dulles International Airport under what his lawyer described as weapons of part of the Immigration and Nationality Act. According to the law, the Foreign Minister can not deport a citizen who is classified as a national security risk.
Mr. Wahidi is a lawful permanent resident, and his wife Mary Shakeri-Wahidi is an American citizen, according to a court report from his lawyer Hassan Ahmad.
The Trump government has recently cited Similar legal reasons for the cancellation of the visas of hundreds of students to establish their participation in pro-Palestinian demonstrations for prison and deportation. When focusing on student activists such as Mahmoud KhalilPresent Believe Ozturk And Momodou language For the deportation, the administration tried to combine its protests against Israel with “undesirable foreign policy consequences” that would justify their distance.
The case of Mr. Wahidi seems to be different.
According to the submission of his release, Mr. Wahidi’s brother -in -law is sought by the United States in connection with a conspiracy to murder an Iranian journalist, whom the Ministry of Justice described in detail Press release In November.
Mr. Wahidi was robbed of his title in Spain in Spain for sexual attacks during his time, but there was never criminal charges against him, and he was allowed to leave the country after registration.
When Mr. Wahidi returned to the USA with a flight Turkish Airlines on Saturday, he was arrested for more than 30 hours without access to a lawyer. He was then interrogated by “an unclear number of officers” who came from the FBI, wrote Mr. Ahmad in the petition.
Mr. Ahmad also represented Badar Khan SuriA postdoctoral at Georgetown University, which was written off there for his participation in Campus protests.
After submitting the petition of Mr. Wahidi, judge Leonie Brinkema from the US district court for the eastern district of Virginia prevented the government from transferring Mr. Wahidi from the area. In cases in which the student activists were involved, people were routinely laid in adhesionate and hundreds of miles from their originally arrested in adhesives of the immigration and customs authorities.
Neither Mr. Ahmad nor a spokesman for customs and border protection responded to inquiries about comments.
Judge Brinkema It refused to order Mr. Wahidi’s release immediatelyAnd say that “the court cannot offer any relief at this time”.
During the case, she called for the government to “comply with the CBP short-term statement standards” and not to prevent Mr. Wahidi from speaking to a lawyer.
