Megahed freed after judge tosses deportation case

Youssef Megahed was freed this evening after a judge dismissed the deportation case against the former University of South Florida student.

Megahed was driven out of a detention facility by his father about 6:30 p.m. He is expected to return home to Tampa on Saturday.

"I'm very happy for this," Megahed said, smiling and surrounded by his family. "This was the only correct decision the judge could have given."

He said he wants to return to USF to take the remaining class he needs for his engineering degree.

Megahed said he holds no bitterness toward the government but described his ordeal as "not a very pleasant experience."

"The government's allegations were wrong and baseless," he said.

Megahed had been held in Glades County since he was arrested by immigration agents in April, three days after his acquittal on federal explosives charges.

The government could appeal the judge's ruling. As part of the conditions of his release pending appeal, Megahed can not associate with known terrorists and must report Monday to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Tampa, and then once a month after that.

Immigration officials will decide whether he should be placed on electronic monitoring.

Megahed was not required to post bail.

In tossing the case this morning, Judge Kenneth Hurewitz found that the government had not produced evidence to prove Megahed, 23, is likely to engage in terrorism. The judge ruled without the defense calling any witnesses.

"This is a really close case, but I don't believe the government has met its burden in this case," he said.

Megahed and his attorney, Charles Kuck, embraced after the judge announced his decision.

The government rested its case Thursday after four days of contentious testimony and spats between attorneys.

Kuck called the government's case "garbage."

But government attorneys pressed the connection between Megahed and Ahmed Mohamed, another former USF student.

The two friends were arrested Aug. 4, 2007, following a traffic stop in South Carolina. Deputies found what they thought were pipe bombs in the trunk of Mohamed's car; the FBI determined the items were PVC pipes stuffed with a "low explosives" mixture of potassium nitrate and sugar.

Mohamed later pleaded guilty to helping terrorists by posting a video on YouTube in which he showed how to use a remote-controlled toy to detonate a bomb. He is serving 15 years in federal prison.

There is no evidence Megahed, an Egyptian immigrant who is a permanent resident of the United States, participated in making the video or ever saw it.

In April, a federal jury in Tampa found Megahed not guilty of charges of illegally transporting explosives and possession of a destructive device.

Immigration agents arrested him three days later.

Samir Megahed said he thought the case was over when the federal jury acquitted his son of criminal charges.

"Now it is over again," he said. "They must stop targeting my son because he is innocent. He is innocent in two systems ... they must stop hunting my son."

He called the judge courageous and said "this win belongs to Charles Kuck. He's a great man and he's defending my son by telling the truth and fighting the government until the end, until he wins the case."

A week ago today, Youssef Megahed's parents and older brother took the oath to become American citizens.

"We came as a family to live in peace," Samir Megahed said today. "We hope they let us live in this beautiful country in peace."