Three Detained Muslim Students Have No Hard Feelings, One Insists

New York Times ^ | 9/15/02 | AP

[kattracks]

AVIE, Fla., Sept. 15 (AP) — Insisting that he and his friends harbored no resentment, one of the three Muslim medical students detained in a terror scare on a Florida highway said today that the situation had been a misunderstanding.

The student, Kambiz Butt, 25, said the men simply wanted to clear their names and be allowed to continue their education in the United States.

"We're medical students; we are not terrorists," said Mr. Butt, flanked at a news conference by the other students, Ayman Gheith, 27, and Omar Choudhary, 23. "Our concern in life is to become doctors. We want to help people. We do not want to hurt."

Mr. Butt, the only one of the students to speak at the news conference, said that all were worried but that they harbored no resentment toward the woman who told the authorities she overheard them discussing terrorist plans on Thursday at a restaurant in Calhoun, Ga.

"We're in a state of shock and we are scared," Mr. Butt said. "But I'd like to tell the American people that we are not a threat."

Larkin Community Hospital, the Miami hospital where the three were headed before they were detained for 17 hours on Friday, said the students were not welcome anymore. The chief executive and president of Larkin, Dr. Jack Michel, said he had received more than 200 e-mail messages, some of them threatening.

"Our primary objective is to take care of patients," Dr. Michel said. "I don't know how that could be done with all this media coverage."

He said the men's medical school, Ross University, had agreed to transfer them to a different training program.

The woman who called the authorities, Eunice Stone of Cartersville, Ga., said she had heard the students talking about blowing up buildings and laughing about the Sept. 11 attacks. She also said she had heard the students saying that a terrorist event was looming for Sept. 13.

"Not once did we mention 9/11," Mr. Butt said. "Not once did we mention anything about 9/13, nor did we joke about anything of that sort. She was probably just eavesdropping on our conversation and might have heard a few key words that she misconstrued."

[johnny7]

Doctor Howard, doctor Fine, doctor Howard... calling Doctor Howard, doctor Fine, doctor Howard!

SPREAD OUT!!

[McBuff]

The thing that noone is thinking about: Could this be an operation geared toward thwarting the efforts of citizen "eyes and ears" like Eunice Stone? By making her life a living hell and holding her up to public ridicule and legal hassle, will this not have a chilling effect on the next potential eye-witness? Will this not give pause to the next person who may have seen or overheard something?

[Big Guy and Rusty 99]

"Not once did we mention 9/11," Mr. Butt said. "Not once did we mention anything about 9/13, nor did we joke about anything of that sort. She was probably just eavesdropping on our conversation and might have heard a few key words that she misconstrued."

How can someone mishear something like this, even in eavesdropping?

[bootless]

SCRREEEECHHH!!

Finger in the wind ... ear to the internet ...Smoke and dust, tire tracks in the road.

Cap'm, I believe we've got ourselves a gen-u-INE 180!

Between the lines: the test didn't work. NEXT!

[cicero's_son]

How generous of them, now that they have smeared the name of the poor woman up in Georgia who had the misfortune of sitting next to them.

But of course, we all know that she is just an ig'nant, uneducated, racist, Southern white woman...the real enemy. What more evidence do we need, since she had the audacity to call the local police after hearing these sweet young Arab doctors joking about 9-11 and snickering about taking down a building in Miami?

[bootless]

Just in time for the Monday morning news cycle.

Let's see ... if my addled American brain can crank back as far as Saturday night: "flat-out lying", "Maybe she added some salt and pepper to it," and the piece de resistance by the sister: "ignorant, bigoted South."

Oh, yes. I remember.

[bootless]

Definitely a possibility.

Check back to the Saturday night threads ... what happened to the sister saying she saw them being roughed up on live TV on Alligator Alley, which was impossible? What about calling her a "flat-out" liar?

Messrs. Doctor: We do not have six-hour memories. Nice try.

[CIBvet]

I heard her remark that her son had told her while it was going on, "Momma, they're just messin' with your head."

That's probably exactly what happened, and their little joke on this stupid white woman kind of spun out of control for these 3 arrogant Islamic jerks.

For the most part we're stupid white gringo's in their eyes. They understand clearly that the virtual FLOOD of illegals who are in our country and ripping off the system, would NEVER be tolerated by them in their own country.

For that alone they have NO respect for us, and I kinda understand where they're comin from.

I'm glad they were taken down hard on the highway.

[brat]

No hard feelings? Think again swine. Why aren't they being prosecuted for hate crimes? If I yelled FIRE in a crowded theatre, I'd be doing time right now.

[MinuteGal]

We can tell almost the exact moment the four smooth-talkin' Johnny Cochranes took over the PR from their client perps , can't we?

Leni

[Ann Archy]

YES!!

[weegee]

Such comments were why email writers appealed to the school to reconsider them as students; there may have been some "threats" but so far the nature of those threats has not been revealed. The school was faced with a PR nightmare.

These men are arrogant.

[weegee]

A woman just got sentenced to 6 months in federal prison for sending an "anthrax" letter to a woman she had a tiff with:

Woman sentenced in anthrax hoax (Chicago - Houston)

[Bernard]

Arrogant, or just stupid, or actual terrorists. Either way, it's about time they learn that actions have consequences.

They could always go to medical school in Yemen. I hear it's lovely there this time of year.

[Oreo Kookey]

Let me see now, The 3 Musliteers know what they said, but Mrs. Stone, an obvious patriot, doesn't know what she heard. Or, could it be, just maybe, perhaps, by chance, the other way around?

I praise you, Mrs Stone, for the action you took. I pray we all will have the same intestional fortitude if or when we are ever faced with similar circumstances. Anything else would be a crime against this country. As citizens do we not each carry responsibility to all other citizens! Of course we do.

[Caipirabob]

Stone did the right thing. I just wish there were some way to nail these guys down and get them to take a lie detector test or something with both sides lawyers present and a nuetral administrator. Then we could justify the fact that these men to never find a safe haven in this country.

Still, I believe Ms. Stone. These guys will reap what they sowed. Yep, I'm ready to hang them based on her word alone. Anyone who jokes about 911 deserve the worst.

[FryingPan101]

I think this would be a good time to put Hillary on the spot. Some inquiring mind with a mike should ask her how we're supposed to feel about this. Eunice did the right thing IMHO.

[Eowyn-of-Rohan]

Something has troubled me that I haven't heard much about in this case...THese guys were about 8 hours from Miami when they made these comments in Georgia. They said they were about 5 hours behind schedule, and then left Shoneys at 11:00am. They were picked up on Gator Alley at about 2:00am--15 hours after they left Shoneys. Why did it take them so long? What did they do during that time? Why did they drive through the night rather than get a motel room?

[EnquiringMind]

From the beginning I have questioned their route...a much more direct and faster road from Georgia to Miami is I-75 to the FLORIDA TURNPIKE. They chose the longer, out of the way route down the west coast of Florida. Wonder what they did along the way??