LOS ANGELES (AP) An immigration appeals board ruled that four
Iranian brothers who were jailed for nearly three years for
supporting an alleged terrorist organization are not a danger to
national security and cannot be deported to their home country.
The Mirmehdi brothers Mohammed, Mostafa, Mohsen and Mojtaba
were arrested in October 2001 following an FBI investigation into a
Los Angeles-based cell of the Moujahedeen Khalq, or MEK, which
opposes Iran's regime.
The FBI claimed informants indicated the Mirmehdi brothers
associated with the MEK. Although the four admitted attending
protests against the Iranian government that were allegedly
sponsored by the MEK, they denied ever belonging to the group.
Evidence tying the Mirmehdis to terrorism was inconclusive, the
U.S. Board of Immigration Appeals ruled Tuesday.
``Collectively, 12 years of their lives have been wasted because
they've been locked up,'' said their attorney, Stacy Tolchin.
``Their lives have been ruined over nothing. This shows that the
government's war on terrorism has been transformed into a war
against civil liberties and free speech.''
The board upheld the decisions of two immigration judges who
said the Mirmehdis would be persecuted if returned to Iran, but at
the same time the panel agreed with the government that they did
not qualify for political asylum, because they lied on their
applications for asylum in 1999.
The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals is considering whether the
Mirmehdis should be released on bail while their immigration case
is being argued.
Tolchin said the ruling means the Mirmehdis could legally be
freed from custody within 90 days. She said she will attempt to
negotiate an agreement with Homeland Security Department officials
for their release.
A spokesman for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in
Washington, said the agency, part of the Homeland Security
Department, will instead try to find a third country that will
accept the Mirmehdis.
``The ruling doesn't mean that they will be released; only that
we cannot return them to Iran. We have a 90-day removal period to
find an alternate country that will accept them,'' Van Pelt said.
The Mirmehdis attended MEK political rallies before it was
identified as a terrorist group. The government has been trying to
deport them since 1999, when they falsely stated they had entered
the country legally. But immigration judges blocked their
deportations on grounds that they would be tortured if forced to
return to Iran.
The four brothers, who previously worked as real estate agents
in the San Fernando Valley, requested their release on bond but
were turned down in January 2002.
An appeal to the Board of Immigration Appeals in June 2002 was
also rejected because the brothers allegedly ``associated with a
terrorist organization and pose a danger to persons or property.''
(Copyright 2004 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)