Force-feeding order sought for detainee

Federal prosecutors in Phoenix are asking a judge to issue an unusual order to force feed a hunger-striking Middle Eastern pilot arrested on charges stemming from the investigation of the Sept. 11 terrorism attacks.

Malek Mohamed Seif, also known as Malek Mohamed Abdulah, is protesting what he contends is his improper detention as part of the global antiterrorism dragnet.

Taking only liquids, Seif has lost 30 pounds since his arrest in October and is rapidly deteriorating, officials said.

Seif, 36, believed to be a Djibouti national, has acknowledged a passing acquaintance with one of the suspected hijackers. He also trained at the same Phoenix area flight school as an Algerian pilot suspected of helping prepare some of the hijackers, according to federal investigative records.

But the only charges filed to date against Seif are for identity fraud. A federal judge recently stressed in a court order that no evidence has been presented linking him to terrorism.

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who is housing Seif for federal authorities, says he's getting worried about his high-profile inmate. "I don't want this guy to die in my jail," Arpaio said.

As a compromise, Arpaio said, he removed pork from Seif's meals. But he has declined to fill his special requests for dates and iced water. "I said, "We don't have room service.' "

Seif's attorney, Thomas Hoidal, reported to a federal judge Monday that his client was in the jail infirmary and too weak to attend a hearing.

Seif, who left the United States before the attacks, has complained that federal investigators duped him into returning to answer questions. After he landed in Phoenix on Oct. 25, he was arrested and accused of making false statements on federal forms to obtain dual identities.

"He doesn't understand, when he came back voluntarily, why he is being treated in this fashion," said Hoidal, who also is trying to convince Seif to eat.

Prosecutors expect to file additional bank and financial fraud charges against Seif and are worried he may be unfit to stand trial. They are seeking medical and psychiatric evaluations of Seif, as well as the forced feeding order.

It is not yet clear whether Seif intends to fight the forced feeding order, his attorney said. A hearing is scheduled for today.

Arpaio, the sheriff, doubts a judge's order will be effective, as long as Seif remains conscious. "If he's still coherent ... you can't force the guy to eat, if he says he doesn't want to."

Pakistan jails 23, suspects them of bin Laden links

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- Pakistani authorities arrested 23 Arabs, including two children, suspected of links to Osama bin Laden, officials said Wednesday. All of them sneaked into the country from Afghanistan in recent weeks.

The suspects include three women, identified as Aamni Ahmad, Hala Ahmad and Nooran Abdu, who are believed to be relatives of bin Laden. An interior ministry official who spoke on condition of anonymity said the arrests were made in Pakistan's southwestern Baluchistan province, which borders Afghanistan.

Most of the other suspects were identified as Yemenis and Saudis, the official said, adding that some of them could be related to one of bin Laden's four wives.

Abdullah Salem Al-Hanaki, a senior official at the Yemeni Embassy, said it's too early to say whether any of them were related to bin Laden, who is blamed for the Set. 11 terrorist attacks on the United States.

"We have also received this information and we are checking it," he told the Associated Press.

Pakistan has tightened security along its 1,344-mile-long border with Afghanistan in an attempt to prevent Islamic militants from entering the country in the wake of U.S.-led military action against bin Laden's terrorist bases.

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