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U.S.
Deports Saddam's Stepson
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Saffi's house in Auckland's north shore suburb of Glenfield in New Zealand. |
MIAMI,
July 9 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - U.S. authorities deported a
stepson of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, detained for failing to
obtain a student visa to take a course at a flight school, a spokesman
of the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) said Tuesday.
Mohammad
Saffi, 36, escorted by federal agents, was sent back to New Zealand
Monday evening after he entered the United States via Los Angeles as a
tourist, the spokesman said.
As
a citizen of New Zealand, Saffi was covered by the U.S. visa waiver
program, not requiring a special entrance visa for entry to the United
States, but immigration officials said he failed to obtain the student
visa he needed since he planned to take a three-day course.
While
he did not have the required visa, Saffi did obtain Justice Department
clearance to train on Boeing 727 simulators. In the wake of September
11, any foreign-born student wishing to enroll in a flight school
program must get such clearance.
Saffi
is employed as a ground engineer for Air New Zealand and holds a
flight-engineering license.
The
flight school, Aeroservice Aviation Center, was the same that trained
Ziad Jarrah, one of the men believed to have commandeered Flight 93,
which crashed over Pennsylvania on September 11
Saffi
was not criminally charged. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
said earlier there was no evidence Saffi had any terror links.
Saffi
was detained on July 3 in Miami, after flying in from New Zealand via
Los Angeles.
CNN
reports intelligence agents in New Zealand had alerted the FBI in Los
Angeles that Saffi was planning to travel to Los Angeles.
Upon
arrival, authorities interviewed him at a Doubletree Hotel in Los
Angeles, where he said he planned to travel to the Miami flight school
to get re-certification as a flight engineer, reports the cable news
network.
The
INS stated that Saffi was monitored throughout his travels in the
U.S., contradicting other law enforcement agency statements that he
was not monitored, reports CNN.
The
New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said Friday Saffi
admitted he made a mistake trying to enter the United States on a
tourist visa.
Saffi
is the son of Samira Shabandar, believed to be a former flight
attendant, and one of the Iraqi leader's two wives.
Saddam
Hussein had an affair with Shabandar in the 1980s and Hussein
persuaded her husband at the time, Iraqi airline executive Nour al-Din
al-Saffi, to divorce her so they could marry. Nour al-Din al-Saffi was
then promoted to the head of the airline, reports CNN.
The
younger Saffi left Iraq after the Persian Gulf War, traveling first to
Jordan, then to New Zealand, following an argument with his mother.
The reason for the argument was not clear, but according to rumors in
Baghdad, he and his father were afraid of Saddam's wrath. The father
is believed to be living in exile in Jordan after Saddam fired him
from his airline post, reports news agencies.
Saffi
has been living in Auckland with his family for several years and is a
naturalized citizen of New Zealand.
The
U.S. administration accuses Saddam of supporting terrorism, and The
Washington Post reported last month that U.S. President George W. Bush
had ordered the Central Intelligence Agency to draft plans for
toppling him.
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