Palestinian Informer Says U.S. Treats Him as Hostage : Mideast: Former terrorist provided valuable data but contends that promised rewards did not materialize.

A Palestinian who defected from an Iraqi terrorist network complained Tuesday that the U.S. government lured him to America in 1984 with promises that he would be rewarded but instead has kept him a virtual hostage for eight years.

Protected by a ring of U.S. marshals, Adnan Awad said during a hearing by the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee that after almost a decade in the Justice Department’s witness protection program, he still has no job, no credit, no passport and no freedom to travel.

“I don’t exist in this country,” Awad said, waving his hands for emphasis. “Nobody wants me to be an American. Nobody gives me paper (documentation).” Asked at one point if he feels like a hostage here, he replied, in broken English: “I no feel like hostage--I am. “

The hearing was called to underscore some of the shortcomings in American procedures for handling such defectors in the United States. Although only a handful of foreign nationals are involved in the program, critics say that they often are given short shrift.

Committee officials said Awad’s case was exceptionally egregious because the Palestinian had helped to convict Mohammed Rashid, one of the world’s most sought-after terrorists, who was tried in Greece for masterminding the 1982 bombing of a Pan American World Airways plane over Hawaii, killing a Japanese schoolboy. He also explained the technology used in the bombing of a French plane over Chad in 1989, killing the U.S. ambassador and 170 other passengers.

Justice Department officials, who testified later, agreed that the witness protection program needs improvement. Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (D-Conn.), who chaired the ad hoc hearing, said Awad’s case demonstrates that America must do more for defectors who agree to help prosecute terrorists; he promised to try to provide some relief for Awad.

“We really do think you are a hero for the American people, and we want to stick with you,” he told the Palestinian. “Hopefully, it’s not too late and we can move to help you establish a new life that is more satisfying. We owe it to you.”

The 50-year-old former terrorist--who once was ordered to blow up a Jewish-owned hotel in Geneva but declined--had been scheduled to testify with a black hood over his head to conceal his identity but changed his mind at the last minute and opted to show his face.

Awad said that his decision to defect came in 1982, when, beset by second thoughts about killing dozens of innocent bystanders, he reneged on the assignment to blow up the Geneva hotel and helped U.S. and Swiss authorities find the bomb. Asked by American agents to come to the United States to help prosecute Rashid, Awad left Geneva for Miami on five minutes’ notice and joined the witness protection program with high hopes. “I was so happy to go to America,” he told the committee.

But, he said, he was moved from city to city for two years while authorities argued with Greece--and lost--over a U.S. request that Rashid be extradited to the United States for trial. And Awad was forbidden to travel abroad.

Unable to read and write English, his attempt to start a small business quickly failed. He asked federal authorities to send him to language school but, because of budget limits, he got only a two-week course at Berlitz.

Almost everywhere, Awad said, he encountered prejudice: “My language, my color--they look at me like I was a bad person.” And he has been unable to see members of his family who are still in the Middle East. “They can’t come here, I can’t go there,” he said.

As a result, Awad said, he is disillusioned and would like to go elsewhere--if he could only obtain a passport.