Hearing delayed for Ramadan prayers
Bail proceedings will start two hours later for two Muslim students facing weapons charges.
By KEVIN GRAHAM, Times Staff Writer
Published September 14, 2007
TAMPA - A federal bond hearing today for two University of South Florida students will start two hours later than initially set, so supporters of the men can attend a mandatory Muslim prayer service and the hearing if they wish.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Elizabeth A. Jenkins, who will preside over the hearing, agreed Thursday to push back the time from 2 to 4 p.m. Assistant federal public defender Dionja L. Dyer had filed a motion asking for the time change on behalf of one of the students, Youssef Megahed, 21.
Megahed's brother, Yahia, told the Times this week that many people wanted to testify for Megahed. But the hearing conflicted with a prayer service for the holy month of Ramadan, which will take place at mosques today from about 1:30 to 2:30 p.m.
Yahia Megahed did not return a call for comment.
Ahmed Bedier, executive director for Tampa's chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations, said he was still unsure whether he'd attend the hearing now that it had been changed. Others in the Muslim community had expressed their interest in going, he said.
"It shows that the judge's decision sends a message that the court respects religious accommodation and takes those matters serious," Bedier said. "I think that was the right move."
In granting Dyer's motion, Jenkins also appointed her as Megahed's attorney at his request.
Lionel Lofton, the Charleston, S.C., attorney hired by the Egyptian Embassy to represent the other student, Ahmed Mohamed, 26, arrived in Thursday to Tampa to prepare for today's hearing.
Court documents show that Assistant U.S. Attorney Jay Hoffer plans to use a laptop computer in court today to present evidence. Federal prosecutors won't say what he has planned.
"We're not going to comment outside of the courtroom proceedings or what's in the findings," said Jay Trezevant, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Tampa.
A grand jury issued an indictment Aug. 29, charging Megahed and Mohamed with illegally transporting explosives. Mohamed also faces a charge of demonstrating or teaching the making of explosives.
A Berkeley County sheriff's deputy arrested the pair on Aug. 4 in Goose Creek, S.C., after they were stopped for speeding. Investigators have released little information since then, except to say the students had pipe bombs in their trunk and a box of .22-caliber bullets inside the car.
Megahed and Mohamed were transferred from a Moncks Corner, S.C., jail last week to the Falkenburg Road Jail in Hillsborough County. They have been kept in solitary confinement.
Andy Savage, Megahed's Charleston attorney before Megahed received a public defender, has said authorities did not find a weapon in the car. Savage has called the arrests an incident of racial profiling.
Reached by phone in Cairo, Egypt, Mohamed's father, Abdellatif Mohamed, asked not to be disturbed for Ramadan. He has said he plans come to Tampa soon to visit his son.
Staff writer Abbie Vansickle contributed to this story. Kevin Graham can be reached at 813 226-3433 or kgraham@sptimes.com