Muslim Cleric Appeals Asylum Denial
The Islamic cleric whose followers have been linked to two bombing conspiracies in New York City on Monday appealed a decision denying him political asylum.
The petition filed by Sheik Omar Abdul Rahman asks that a federal court review last week’s ruling by the Board of Immigration Appeals in Washington upholding an order that he be expelled from the United States.
The petition, which asks for the review based on technical grounds, was filed in Manhattan federal court. Last week Abdul Rahman’s lawyers also asked the court to free him from federal prison, where he is being held as an illegal alien.
Abdul Rahman, 55, surrendered to authorities July 2 and was taken to a prison in Otisville, N.Y., in the foothills of the Catskill Mountains.
The Justice Department has said it would charge the sheik only with violating U.S. immigration laws. Officials said he has been in the country without a proper visa.
Abdul Rahman entered the United States in July, 1990, despite his name being on a list of undesirable aliens. The immigration case to deport Abdul Rahman began July 31, 1991.
Some of his followers have been charged in the fatal Feb. 26 World Trade Center blast and in an alleged plot to bomb the United Nations and other New York City landmarks in June. However, the cleric has not been charged in those crimes.
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