Racial profiling?

"I know we are living in tense times and the politicians can't be politically correct about everything that comes out of their mouths," said Jabril Hough, the Charlotte-based chairman of the Islamic Political Party of America. "But I thought they could have dealt with the Kamran Akhtar situation a lot better." Akhtar has been charged on six counts. Four relate to allegedly making false statements to police officers and two to alleged immigration violations.

According to Akhtar's lawyer, George N. Miller of the Charlotte law firm of Dozier, Miller, Pollard and Murphy, Akhtar is currently facing a maximum of 35 years in prison. "If espionage and terrorism charges are added, Mr. Akhtar could potentially spend 55 years in prison," Miller said. "But the government has never mentioned terrorism and espionage, so I don't expect my

Tap here to add The Daily Star as a trusted source

client to be charged with any terrorism offences."

According to Charlotte press reports, Akhtar caught the attention of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officer Danny Maglione who noticed Akhtar standing on the corner of Stonewall and South Tryon streets acting in a manner he thought to be suspicious. "When I slowed down, he (Akhtar) would turn quickly and not try to make eye contact with me," Maglione told News 14 Carolina, a Charlotte TV channel. The officer told the media that he had seen at least a dozen people videotaping buildings in uptown Charlotte. Akhtar was suspicious, Maglione explained, because "Normal people don't just take pictures of buildings, see a police officers

and turn away quickly."

Miller said his client's problems with the law began when he responded to the police officer's questions. He explained: " If a police officer comes up to you while you're videotaping a building and he asks you, 'What's your name?' You can say, 'I don't want to tell you' and that would be the end of it. If the officer says, 'I want to see your video tape and you say, 'No

way!' That's the end of it. But if you talk to them and allow them to take a look at what you're carrying, you have a problem."

Akhtar went voluntarily to local FBI office where federal agents looked at the videotapes and found footage of the Bank of America building, the Texas governor's mansion and the public transit systems in Atlanta Houston, Dallas and New Orleans.

According to Miller, Akhtar, aged 35 and a resident of Elmhurst, New York, is a video buff who enjoyed taking photos of tourist sites and buildings. Until his arrest, he had been traveling the country after he lost his job at a New York photo shop that closed. Miller said the Akhtar's case is a graphic example of how the Patriot Act is being used today. "Mr. Akhtar was detained for two weeks without being charged criminally," Miller explained. "There was a time you couldn't do that in the U.S. That changed when the Bush administration jammed the Patriot Act legislation through Congress."

Chris Hansen, a lawyer with the ACLU in New York, said he didn't know under what authority Kamran Akhter was held for such a long period. But he added, that since 9-11, "the Bush administration has expanded the number of judicial ways it's used to justify detaining people without due process." The charges against Akhtar were brought after the FBI did a background check on him, Miller revealed. "They found that my client held passports in two different names-- his own and another in the name of Kamran Shaikh," he said.

Soon after his arrest, Kamran's brother Irfan Akhtar, who is a doctor living legally in the U.S., told the press that his brother was innocent. Irfan said Kamran has three children, age one to five, and that his brother's wife is a permanent U.S, resident working to become a US citizen. "Kamran's brother was talking too much to the press," Miller said "I was worried he would say something that would hurt my client's case, so I told him to stop it."

The authorities allege that Akhtar, using the name of Kamran Shaikh, filed an application in New York for political asylum. Miller explained: "They believe Akhtar went to hearing on Long Island in 1998, where he was denied political asylum. My client never filed the paper work that would have allowed him to remain in the country." According to Miller, Akhtar entered

into an agreement with the immigration judge to voluntarily leave the U.S., but the authorities are alleging that he remained in the country illegally after the voluntary departure date. "That's a felony offense," Miller said. Given the publicity surrounding the case, Miller is considering whether to ask the judge for a change of venue. " The story was splashed all over the media and the press labeled him a terrorist," Miller said. "I don't know if we can get a fair jury."

Meanwhile, the local Islamic community has been critical of Charlotte political leaders, particularly Charlotte mayor Pat McCrory, whose recent political statements, they say, is helping to create a hostile environment for local Muslims. McCrory has asked the public to call police if they see someone wearing suspicious clothing, such as winter clothing in the summer, which, McCrory claims, could be a potential cover for weapons. "The mayor and the media has helped foster an atmosphere in which it's easy for Akhtar to be profiled as a terrorist," Hough said. "The mayor tried to say he didn't mean to send a profiling message, but I listened to the local

talk radio shows after Kamran's arrest and they ran with what the mayor said."

To clear the air, the Islamic Party of America sponsored a community meeting at a local mosque, which was attended by Mayor McCrory and the Charlotte Mecklenburg police chief Darrel Stephens. Participants stressed that local residents shouldn't rush to judgement about Akhtar's guilt or innocence.

"The media jumped to some conclusions," Malik Rahman, a member of the Charlotte Islamic community, told the meeting. "They declared him guilty before law enforcement had a chance to investigate." Miller doesn't expect Akhtar's trial to begin until the end of this year. He concedes it's a tough case to win. "I don't expect my client to go to jail on a terrorism conviction, but the immigration charges he faces are going to make it difficult for him to stay in the country," Miller conceded.

Ron Chepesiuk is a Rock Hill, South Carolina journalist, a Visiting Professor at Chittagong University, and a Research Associate with National Defence College, Dhaka.