IHT : Palestinian-American man wrongly accused of terror plot in US says he was targeted, wants apology

Palestinian-American man wrongly accused of terror plot in US says he was targeted, wants apology

The Associated Press | September 7, 2006

DALLAS -- One of three men wrongly accused of planning a terror attack on a bridge said Thursday said he plans no formal action and just wants authorities to issue a public apology.

Louai Othman, 23, who spoke at the Council on American-Islamic Relations office in Dallas, said his bank account was closed and neighbors accuse him of being a terrorist. He said officials targeted him because of his race.

"We just want them to come on TV and apologize," Othman said. "Give us our innocence back."

Gina Balaya, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Detroit, did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment.

A federal judge in Michigan ruled Tuesday that prosecutors failed to present enough evidence to justify bringing Othman and two others to trial on conspiracy and money laundering charges involving the buying and reselling of prepaid cell phones. They were cleared earlier of terror charges.

Othman, 23, his brother Adham Othman, 21, and their cousin Maruan Muhareb, 18, all of the Dallas suburb of Mesquite, are Palestinian-American. They were arrested Aug. 11 after buying large numbers of prepaid cell phones at a retail store in Caro, Michigan, about 80 miles (130 kilometers) north of Detroit.

The other two former defendants did not appear at the Dallas news conference, which was called by CAIR, a civil rights group.

Othman said he has visited 15 U.S. states to buy prepaid cell phones for resale in Texas with few problems, but that the three were detained briefly in Wisconsin a day before their arrest.

He said he hopes to resume a normal life, but will change his line of work.

"I'm going to find a job or do something else, maybe work at a computer store," he said.

Othman, who never felt personally affected by prejudice before the Michigan arrest, said he would probably move from his apartment. He said the ordeal could someday prevent him from getting a job with the government.

"They shouldn't treat people different. We all bleed the same blood," he said. "We're not different than anybody else."

Tuscola County authorities in Michigan said they were alarmed by the hundreds of prepaid cell phones they said were found in the men's van and by images on their digital camera of the five-mile-long (8-kilometer-long) Mackinac Bridge, which links Michigan's two peninsulas.

They charged the men with collecting or providing materials for terrorist acts and with surveillance of a vulnerable target for terrorist purposes.

The FBI and state police later said there was no imminent threat to the landmark span and no information linking the Othmans and Muhareb to known terrorist groups.

Mustafaa Carroll, a CAIR board member in Dallas, called the charges "ludicrous."

"It doesn't take 1,000 cell phones to do something bad," he said. "I know everybody wants to feel safe and be sure we don't have another 9/11, but we can't just trample people's rights under the auspices of helping everybody else."

Ultimately, CAIR officials said, Muslims are overjoyed that the charges were dropped.

"I hope the whole Dallas-Fort Worth community will celebrate together that this chapter was closed, and it closed with a happy ending," said Nabil Sadoun, another board member of the Islamic group in Dallas.


DALLAS One of three men wrongly accused of planning a terror attack on a bridge said Thursday said he plans no formal action and just wants authorities to issue a public apology.

Louai Othman, 23, who spoke at the Council on American-Islamic Relations office in Dallas, said his bank account was closed and neighbors accuse him of being a terrorist. He said officials targeted him because of his race.

"We just want them to come on TV and apologize," Othman said. "Give us our innocence back."

Gina Balaya, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Detroit, did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment.

A federal judge in Michigan ruled Tuesday that prosecutors failed to present enough evidence to justify bringing Othman and two others to trial on conspiracy and money laundering charges involving the buying and reselling of prepaid cell phones. They were cleared earlier of terror charges.

Othman, 23, his brother Adham Othman, 21, and their cousin Maruan Muhareb, 18, all of the Dallas suburb of Mesquite, are Palestinian-American. They were arrested Aug. 11 after buying large numbers of prepaid cell phones at a retail store in Caro, Michigan, about 80 miles (130 kilometers) north of Detroit.

The other two former defendants did not appear at the Dallas news conference, which was called by CAIR, a civil rights group.

Othman said he has visited 15 U.S. states to buy prepaid cell phones for resale in Texas with few problems, but that the three were detained briefly in Wisconsin a day before their arrest.

He said he hopes to resume a normal life, but will change his line of work.

"I'm going to find a job or do something else, maybe work at a computer store," he said.

Othman, who never felt personally affected by prejudice before the Michigan arrest, said he would probably move from his apartment. He said the ordeal could someday prevent him from getting a job with the government.

"They shouldn't treat people different. We all bleed the same blood," he said. "We're not different than anybody else."

Tuscola County authorities in Michigan said they were alarmed by the hundreds of prepaid cell phones they said were found in the men's van and by images on their digital camera of the five-mile-long (8-kilometer-long) Mackinac Bridge, which links Michigan's two peninsulas.

They charged the men with collecting or providing materials for terrorist acts and with surveillance of a vulnerable target for terrorist purposes.

The FBI and state police later said there was no imminent threat to the landmark span and no information linking the Othmans and Muhareb to known terrorist groups.

Mustafaa Carroll, a CAIR board member in Dallas, called the charges "ludicrous."

"It doesn't take 1,000 cell phones to do something bad," he said. "I know everybody wants to feel safe and be sure we don't have another 9/11, but we can't just trample people's rights under the auspices of helping everybody else."

Ultimately, CAIR officials said, Muslims are overjoyed that the charges were dropped.

"I hope the whole Dallas-Fort Worth community will celebrate together that this chapter was closed, and it closed with a happy ending," said Nabil Sadoun, another board member of the Islamic group in Dallas.