Terrorist suspect’s brother will not be deported, judge in Dallas rules
Posted Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2009
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By MELODY MCDONALD

mjmcdonald@star-telegram.com

The brother of Hosam "Sam" Smadi, the Jordanian national accused of trying to blow up a Dallas skyscraper, will not be immediately deported, a federal judge has ruled.

U.S. District Judge Barbara Lynn has ordered that Smadi’s brother, Husein Smadi, 18, who is in the country illegally, be temporarily detained as a material witness in his brother’s terrorist case.

Lynn issued the order on Friday at the request of Hosam Smadi’s federal public defenders, who feared that Husein Smadi would be deported and unavailable to their client at his trial.

"Husein Smadi is a necessary, favorable, and material witness for Hosam Smadi in this case," according to an affidavit written by Dan James, chief investigator for Public Defender’s Office for the Northern District of Texas.

Although the defense team requested that Husein Smadi be held until his brother’s case ends, the judge ruled that he be detained by the U.S. marshal’s office only through Oct. 27, giving the defense team time to depose him.

Federal Public Defender Richard Anderson, who is handling the case with Peter Fleury, said Tuesday that they were satisfied with the judge’s ruling. He said that after the deposition takes place, he hopes immigration officials will send Husein Smadi home.

"He is an 18-year-old kid that needs to be with his family in Jordan," Anderson said.

Husein Smadi was arrested in California by Immigration and Customs Enforcement for overstaying his visa on Sept. 24, the same day his older brother was accused of trying to blow up Fountain Place in downtown Dallas.

Husein Smadi has been in the custody of immigration officials since his arrest, but has requested expedited removal from the United States. Federal authorities have said that Husein Smadi was not involved in the alleged terrorist plot and that his brother acted alone.

Last week, Hosam Smadi, 19, was indicted on one count of attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction and one count of bombing a place of public use, stemming from allegations that he detonated what he thought was a car bomb under Fountain Place.

Smadi, who was also in the country illegally, remains in the federal detention center in Seagoville.

No trial date has been set.

http://www.star-telegram.com/local/story/1682330.html