  
| 
| ||||||||||||
California Muslim cleric, son deported
SAN FRANCISCO, California (CNN) -- A Muslim cleric and his son, both of whom agreed to deportation after their June arrest on visa violations during a federal terrorism investigation, have been returned to Pakistan, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency said Wednesday. "ICE officials say the removal of Mohammad Adil Khan, 47, and his son Mohammad Hassan Adil, 19, was completed late yesterday with their arrival in Pakistan on board a commercial flight escorted by ICE officers," the agency said in a written statement. "The removal of the cleric and his son follows an immigration hearing July 15 where the pair announced they were abandoning their legal fight to remain in the United States and would return to their native country." Khan was imam of a mosque in Lodi, California. Federal immigration officials said Khan and his successor, Shabbir Ahmed, planned to establish a madrassa or Islamic school similar to one in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, where both taught before coming to the United States. "Evidence presented at last week's proceeding showed that this madrassa has been used to recruit individuals to engage in jihad," or Muslim holy war, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said in a statement Monday. Ahmed, 39, who was arrested in June for overstaying his visa, said Monday he would not fight deportation. He is likely to be sent back to his home country within two weeks, according to his lawyer, Saad Ahmad. (Full story) Another father-son pair in Lodi was also caught up in the investigation. U.S. citizens Umer Hayat, 47, and Hamid Hayat, 22, were accused of lying to FBI agents. 
|
| ||||||||||||
| © 2007 Cable News Network. A Time Warner Company. All Rights Reserved. Terms under which this service is provided to you. Read our privacy guidelines. Contact us. Site Map. |
 |
|
External sites open in new window; not endorsed by CNN.com
Pay service with live and archived video. 
