Thread: four iranian brothers released after lengthy immigration det

By Paul Chavez
ASSOCIATED PRESS

7:58 p.m. March 16, 2005

LOS ANGELES – Four Iranian brothers who spent 3½ years in a federal detention center after being arrested in an FBI terrorism probe were freed Wednesday night after agreeing to eased restrictions on where they can travel.

The Mirmehdi brothers – Mohammed, Mostafa, Mohsen and Mojtaba – left the San Pedro detention facility in a van and were expected to return home to the San Fernando Valley, their lawyer said.

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"We're ecstatic that they are being released after 3½ years," their San Francisco attorney Stacy Tolchin said. "There are a couple of problems with the conditions, but overall we are happy with them."

The brothers can remain in the United States although two have been ordered deported and the other pair are appealing such orders.

The brothers had been held in detention since October 2001 after their arrest by the FBI. Federal authorities alleged they supported a Los Angeles-based cell of the Moujahedeen Khalk, or MEK, which opposes Iran's regime and is classified by the U.S. State Department as a terrorist organization.

The brothers acknowledged attending protest events against Iran's current regime but denied belonging to the MEK.

They never faced criminal charges but were sent into detention to await deportation for lying in the 1990s on their applications seeking political asylum and for their suspected ties to the MEK.

Last August, the U.S. Board of Immigration Appeals ruled that evidence tying the Mirmehdis to terrorism was inconclusive. The board also upheld the decision of two immigration judges who said the Mirmehdis would be tortured or persecuted if returned to Iran.

The board also agreed with the government that they did not qualify for political asylum.

"One thing is not in dispute. All four men are in this country illegally," said Virginia Kice, a spokeswoman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Final deportation orders have been issued for Mostafa, 45, and Mojtaba, 41, and they will be deported if a third country can be found that will accept them, Kice said.

Last month, the brothers rejected the government's offer to release them, claiming that limitations on their travel and other restrictions were unjust.

The brothers accepted a revised offer that reduce the travel restrictions, which they had protested because all four are involved in the real estate business, Kice said.

The brothers will be allowed to travel freely within Los Angeles, Orange and Ventura counties but will need permission in advance to travel outside that area, Kice said.

They also must report to immigration officials weekly, Kice said.

The brothers' release occurred less than two weeks after an altercation in which the Mirmehdis allege that a guard beat Mohammed Mirmehdi, 34, after he intervened in an argument between the guard and one of his brothers.

The allegation is under investigation, Kice said.


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WHAT IS WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE!!!!!!!!!!!!

The sooner they get kicked out the better.

We can pass the hat. In about ten seconds we will have enough
for plane fare.

dataman,

i think you missed the point,two of them were orderd deported!!!!and our corrupt politicians said oh, you promis not to leave these three counties and when we can find a country that will take you we will deport you!!!!!!!!


trying to be politicly correct has been, and will be again our down fall!!!!!!!!