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Gulf News March 21, 2002
Copyright 2002 Financial Times Information
A young UAE national, who spent two months in jail after
the FBI suspected he was involved in the September 11 attacks, is looking for a
local university where he can resume his studies.
Saif Salem Al Mehairbi, 26, was released from custody on
the first day of Ramadan, and returned home a week before the Eid Al Adha
holidays.
Al Mehairbi's ordeal began shortly after the collapse of
the Twin Towers, when a series of circumstantial evidence and false accusations
put the FBI on his trail.
The young UAE national was studying at Suffolk University
in Boston. He had closed his bank account a few days after the attacks.
"It was a coincidence," he explained. "I used to receive
money transfers from my family in Abu Dhabi - sometimes through my bank account,
sometimes through Western Union. But the people who were involved in the attacks
were also found to be receiving money transfers..."
Al Mehairbi's move to close his account prompted the bank
manager to contact the FBI and indicate that something was amiss. According to
Al Mehairbi the bank manager went a step further.
"This guy called the FBI and claimed I had told him the
reason I was closing my account was because 'it had served its purpose on
September 11'. I never said that. He also claimed I threatened to do the same
thing to the bank as I had done to the Twin Towers. I never said that either.
These are all groundless allegations," he maintained.
The bank manager's 'tip-off' was enough to classify the
young Arab student as a terrorist suspect.
At around this time, Al Mehairbi received a call from his
father urging him to stop attending classes and to come home.
"He had heard of many incidents of Arabs being attacked by
Americans, " he said.
Al Mehairbi had only six courses left to graduate. He
decided to heed his father's advice. He would return to the U.S. and complete
his degree once the clamour had subsided.
He packed up his belongings and drove to Washington, DC,
where he had many friends.
"I left Boston on September 16. The following day, I got a
message from a friend telling me that a team of 15 or 16 FBI agents had come to
our building looking for me," he said. "There are many UAE nationals who live in
that building. They questioned everybody for seven hours."
Al Mehairbi had already shipped his belongings back to the
UAE, and he had booked a flight home on September 20. But on the day of his
scheduled departure, he was contacted by an agent in Washington DC who asked him
to come to the FBI headquarters.
What ensued was an interrogation that lasted nearly 14
hours.
"They asked me all kinds of questions. They asked whether I
had ever received training in Afghan-istan, Pakistan or Sudan. I told them 'no'.
They asked me my opinion of Osama bin Laden. I told them 'I don't know the guy
to judge him'. They asked me what I did in the United States from the first day
I arrived, up to that moment."
Al Mehairbi was ordered to cancel his flight, and to stay
in the U.S. for an additional three days. He was going to be detained at the
Arlington County Jail.
A few hours later, he was transferred to another jail where
he was detained in a solitary cell.
During this time, Al Mehairbi claims he was mistreated. He
was not given any food for the first three days. He was denied the right to take
a shower for the first month - 'no toothbrush, nothing!'
When he prayed, Al Mehairbi said he was taunted by the
guards.
Finally, on October 10, the UAE Ambassador to the U.S. paid
him a visit.
"He told me that I was cleared of suspicion over
involvement in the September 11 attacks. He told me not to worry, and that I
would be out soon. But I had to stay a little while longer because I had
overstayed my tourist visa."
On November 15, Al Mehairbi, who had lost 15 kilos by the
end of his detention period, was released. The UAE embassy posted the $ 100,000
bail.
The conditions of his release forbade him from leaving the
country until the case against the guard had been resolved. These conditions
were guaranteed by two representatives of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority,
Mohammed Al Hamlie and Saif Al Shamsi.
On February 14, Al Mehairbi was free to return to his
country. Despite the traumatising experience, he holds no grudges, and would
have no qualms returning to America for study, business or leisure.
"Everywhere, you have good people and you have bad people.
My lawyer was an American lady, and she was very good to me," he said.
Al Mehairbi is especially grateful to President His
Highness Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan.
"I would never have left jail if it were not for him. He is
a true leader who takes care of his people wherever in the world they may be.
May God bless him and keep him in good health."
He is also appreciative of Lt. Gen. Sheikh Mohammed bin
Zayed Al Nahyan, Chief of Staff of the UAE Armed Forces, who took a personal
interest in the case. "He supported me throughout, step by step."
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