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Language Barrier Keeps Megahed's Parents Off Stand

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By HOWARD ALTMAN, The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 23, 2007

TAMPA - The parents of Youssef Megahed, one of two University of South Florida students indicted on a federal explosives charge, were called before the federal grand jury Wednesday, said Megahed's brother, Yahia.

Samir and Ahlam Megahed were subpoenaed to appear before the grand jury investigating the case, but there was no translator for the couple, who speak Arabic, so they did not testify, Yahia Megahed said. He added that he does not know when or whether they are going to testify again.

In a hearing this month to determine whether Youssef Megahed, 21, should be released on bail, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jay Hoffer argued that Megahed, an Egyptian citizen, is a danger to the community and poses a flight risk.

Public defender Adam Allen said his client has led a law-abiding life. Three credits away from his college degree, he comes from a close-knit family willing to risk everything for him, Allen said.

U.S. District Judge Steven Merryday has yet to decide whether Megahed should be released on bail.

Megahed and fellow student Ahmed Mohamed were arrested Aug. 4 in South Carolina after deputies found explosives in the trunk of the car in which the students were riding, authorities said.

Mohamed, 26, who is in the United States on a student visa, has waived his right to a bail hearing and is being held without bail. Mohamed also is accused of trying to help terrorists by teaching or demonstrating the use of explosives by posting a video on the Web site YouTube about how to turn a remote-controlled toy into a bomb detonator.

Megahed, a legal permanent resident of the United States, has been in the country since he was a child. He faces only the explosives charge, which carries a maximum of 10 years in prison but likely would be far less under federal sentencing guidelines.

Both are being held on immigration detainers, meaning if they were released on bail, they still would be held unless an immigration judge removed the holds or the government lifted them.

Hoffer told Merryday there is a good chance the detainer will be lifted, at least for Megahed, because there are no grounds to conclude Megahed is in this country illegally.

In presenting his case to keep Megahed behind bars, Hoffer said agents have found a witness who saw the two Megahed brothers and Mohamed together before Aug. 4 making anti-American statements. Hoffer didn't give any more information about those statements.

Editor Howard Altman can be reached at (813) 259-7629 or haltman@tampatrib.com.

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