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Friends of Arab-American protest his detention

Software engineer held as 'material witness'

From Kelli Arena and Carol Cratty
CNN Washington Bureau

Maher Hawash, pictured with daughter Sarrah, is being held as a
Maher Hawash, pictured with daughter Sarrah, is being held as a "material witness" under the Patriot Act.

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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Friends and family of an Arab-American software engineer arrested in Oregon by the FBI have launched a high-profile campaign for his release.

Maher (Mike) Hawash has been in federal custody for two weeks without the filing of any formal charges, according to friends. He was arrested by the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force March 20 at work at Intel Corporation in Hillsboro, Oregon, outside Portland. Sources say he is being held as a material witness.

The FBI officially would not comment when asked about Hawash's arrest. But a spokeswoman for the Portland, Oregon, field office referred CNN to an FBI press release, which confirmed the Joint Terrorism Task Force carried out four federal search warrants March 20 as part of an ongoing investigation. The press release said the warrants are sealed and that the FBI and the U.S. Attorney's Office would have no further comment.

A federal law lets the government detain as material witnesses people expected to testify before a grand jury.

Friends of Hawash have set up a Web page advocating his release. One of those friends, Steve McGeady, and Hawash's former boss at Intel, said, "We are focused on Mike's detention and the secrecy surrounding it. If the U.S. Attorney has charges to bring, we think they should bring them so that Mike can defend himself."

According to material printed on the Web site, Hawash is being held at Sheridan Federal Correctional Institution, a medium-security prison about 50 miles southwest of Portland. The Web page also says he is being held as a material witness and has been given little explanation for his arrest.

"No one, not even Hawash himself, knows why he is being held. In the two weeks of his detention, he hasn't been asked any questions," the Web site says.

Hawash has been able to see his wife and a lawyer while in detention, and sources said he may have a court appearance next week, sources said.

Hawash's friends have established a legal defense fund for him.

Friends say Hawash has made contributions totaling about $10,000 to the Islamic charity, Global Relief Foundation. The U.S. government claims that charity has links to terrorist groups and has frozen its assets. Hawash's friends say the family initially thought his contributions might be the reason for the arrest but later discounted that theory.

Hawash's home state U.S. Senator Ron Wyden has written a letter to the U.S. Attorney for Oregon Michael Mosman asking for an explanation of Hawash's detention.

The American Civil Liberties Union issued a release criticizing Hawash's detention. "The use of material witness warrants and attorney gag orders has been part of the Justice Department's campaign of detention and secrecy targeting Muslim and Arab Americans during the past 18 months," the ACLU said.

Hawash, 38, was born in Nablus on the West Bank and grew up in Kuwait. He came to the United States in 1984 and attended the University of Texas at Arlington where he received both a bachelor's and a master's degree in electrical engineering.

Friends say Hawash became an American citizen 15 years ago and married an

Oregon native, Lisa Ryan, in 1995. The couple has three children.

Hawash worked for Intel Corporation as a software engineer from 1992 until 2001. Most recently he's been working for the company as a contract engineer.


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