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Judge Grants Delay In USF Student's Bail Hearing

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By ELAINE SILVESTRINI | The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 13, 2007

Updated: 09/13/2007 04:27 pm

Youssef Megahed / Ahmed Mohamed

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TAMPA Accommodating religious concerns, a judge granted a defense request and moved by two hours a Friday bail hearing for one of two University of South Florida students recently indicted on federal explosives charges.

The judge also granted a request from Youssef Megahed and appointed Dionja L. Dyer, a federal public defender, to represent him.

Dyer asked for a delay in Megahed's bond hearing because several of the defendant's family members and others who may want to appear on his behalf "have religious obligations that would prevent them from appearing at 2 p.m."

Local Friday afternoon prayer services for Muslims are from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m., according to Ahmed Bedier, director of the Tampa chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations.

"It's a required service for practicing or observant Muslims," Bedier said, particularly during the holy month of Ramadan, which began today.

Federal Magistrate Elizabeth Jenkins ordered that the bail hearing for the other student, Ahmed Mohamed, begin as scheduled at 2 p.m. Friday.

Federal prosecutors plan to use a laptop computer to present evidence at the hearing.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jay Hoffer filed a motion this morning asking for court permission to bring a portable computer into the federal courthouse, where most electronic devices are allowed only with a court order.

Jenkins granted that motion as well.

"The United States is planning to present evidence at that hearing through the use of a laptop computer," the motion says.

Mohamed is charged with trying to help terrorists by aiding, teaching and demonstrating the use of an explosive device. Agents think civil engineering student Ahmed Mohamed exchanged information over the Internet about how to miniaturize bombs, said a federal law enforcement official speaking anonymously because the investigation remains secret.

Both Mohamed and Megahed are charged with transporting explosives without a permit.

Mohamed has refused to wear his jail identification wristband, telling a jail official it's a violation of his rights under the Geneva Conventions.

Ahmed Mohamed, who has been denied privileges, hasn't been acting up, but he has refused to wear the bracelet that all inmates are required to wear, Lt. Chris Allen said.

Capt. Tom Bliss, facility commander at the Falkenburg Road Jail, said he paid a visit to Mohamed on Wednesday to explain the ramifications of his continued refusal to wear the wristband.

"He said, 'I don't like being banded,' " Bliss said.

Bliss said Mohamed said he fully understood the ramifications for his behavior.

"He's standing by whatever his principles are," Bliss added.

When offered a copy of the Quran, Mohamed initially turned it down because it was in English, Bliss said. But when offered the book a second time, he accepted it.

Until Mohamed puts the wristband on, he will not be allowed privileges such as seeing personal visitors or buying items from the jail canteen, Allen said.

However, Bliss said Mohamed will be allowed to see his attorney, who is expected to arrive this afternoon from South Carolina.

Abdellatif Mohamed, vice chairman of the National Authority for Tunnels in Egypt, said he will complain about his son's treatment to the Egyptian government.

"I am going to contact the Egyptian embassy to look into the situation," he said.

The elder Mohamed said Wednesday that the embassy will announce which lawyer it hired to represent his son.

His son's refusal to wear the wristband is a sign of his unhappiness, he said.

"If you are in jail, you will be angry," he said in a telephone conversation from Cairo. "He is in a small room, he is unhappy. Of course, anyone would be unhappy."

Abdellatif Mohamed has not spoken to his son in two weeks and will not be able to do so until Ahmed is wearing the wristband, according to jail officials.

If he could speak to him, the father said he has a message.

"I would tell him to wear it, because it is nothing," he said. "He is refusing to wear it because he is not a criminal."

Ahmed Mohamed, 26, is in solitary confinement at Falkenburg Road Jail. He and Youssef Megahed, 21, were arrested in August in South Carolina after, authorities say, explosives were found in the trunk of their car. They had been stopped for speeding.

Mohamed's attorney in South Carolina, Lionel Lofton, said he planned to come to Tampa today to visit his client and to meet with the assistant U.S. attorney handling the case. Lofton said he will represent Mohamed at Friday's bail hearing, making a limited appearance for the purpose of that hearing.

In federal court, attorneys who notify the court that they are representing a defendant usually have a difficult time getting out of the case, even if the defendant is not paying for their services. So it's not unusual for an attorney, with permission from a judge, to enter what is known as a limited appearance until financial arrangements are finalized. That enables the lawyer to represent the defendant temporarily without committing to staying until the case is resolved.

Lofton, who was hired by the Egyptian embassy to represent Mohamed in South Carolina, said the embassy still has not decided whether to retain him for the federal case or whether it will hire a local lawyer instead.

Lofton didn't know anything about problems Mohamed is having in the jail.

"I've had absolutely no communication with him since he left [South Carolina on] Thursday," Lofton said.

Reporter Mike Wells and Editor Howard Altman contributed to this report. Reporter Elaine Silvestrini can be reached at (813) 259-7839 or esilvestrini@tampatrib.com.

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