SA woman 'on US terror list'

2004-07-28 21:17

Harlingen - United States congressman Solomon Ortiz says a South African woman detained by immigration officers at McAllen Airport last week is on a watch list for suspected terrorists.

The woman, Farida Goolam Mahomed Ahmed, 48, was detained by US border patrol agents on July 19 after she tried to board a flight at McAllen International Airport.

After a lengthy hearing on Tuesday, magistrate Dorina Ramos ruled there was probable cause to hold Ahmed on federal charges of unlawful entry, making false statements and presenting an altered South African passport with four pages torn out.

She denied bail for Ahmed.

"She was on a watch list as far as I understand, and this is coming from very credible sources" in the federal government, Ortiz told the Houston Chronicle.

No knowledge of name on watch list

"This lady had travelled at least 250 times, all over the place, and, of course, this concerned officials."

Ahmed's court-appointed attorney, Kyle Welch, said he had no information about his client's name being on a government watch list.

"She has been accused only of the charges that are in the complaint, and if you're asking me anything about a watch list, I don't know anything about that," Welch said.

"It's not something that any evidence has been presented about."

Welch said, however, Ramos was "very concerned" that Ahmed was not brought before a magistrate until Thursday.

Welch said people arrested on immigration charges were normally brought before a judge within a day or two.

Not handled normally

In an affidavit filed with the federal charges, an FBI agent in McAllen assigned to the anti-terrorist task force said that on the second day of detention, Ahmed "without coercion, freely stated" she had lied to immigration agents and had been smuggled into the country.

"It is certainly true that this case has not been handled in the manner that normal immigration cases are handled," Welch said, adding he didn't know why.

Ortiz said Ahmed's arrest had increased his concerns that terrorists could enter the United States along the southern border.

He noted that many undocumented people who were not from Mexico were routinely released because of a lack of detention space.

The NewsChannel 5 TV network reported that Ahmed had visited the US before, but that her visa had expired in 1996.

It added that she had, however, remained in the country for three more years.

- News24