BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — A government lawyer says the United States is ramping up efforts to deport a Jordanian-born Palestinian who’s been in immigration custody since finishing a prison sentence for putting a bomb on a plane in 1982.
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — A government lawyer says the United States is ramping up efforts to deport a Jordanian-born Palestinian who’s been in immigration custody since finishing a prison sentence for putting a bomb on a plane in 1982.
Justice Department lawyer Christopher Dempsey told a federal judge in Buffalo on Tuesday that authorities have “a concrete plan” for Mohammed Rashed , who’s been held for more than three years since the end of his prison term, most recently outside Buffalo.
Rashed pleaded guilty in 2002 to setting off a bomb on Hawaii-bound Pan Am Flight 830 after it took off from Tokyo. The plea agreement included a United States commitment to work to deport Rashed after prison, but efforts have stalled.
Rasheed’s attorney Robert Tucker argues Rasheed should be freed pending his removal.