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CNN Live At Daybreak
Story of Two Men From Southern India
Aired May 27, 2003 - 05:09 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: In the mid-1990s, two men from southern India moved to the United States in search of a better life. But after September 11, they became political prisoners and were later deported.
They spoke with CNN's Jamie Colby about the bitterness they now feel for a country they once considered home.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JAMIE COLBY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They are just two among hundreds of men rounded up after 9/11. But word of their arrest was everywhere.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Two men were detained under INS violations in Texas and have been taken to New York City for questioning.
COLBY: Mohammed Azmath and Syed Shah were flying on September 11 from New Jersey to Texas. Their flight was grounded when the nation's air space was closed. They tried to finish the trip by train, but were pulled off because their one way tickets, paid with cash, met the profile of drug runners. Police found Azmath and Shah carrying a total of more than $5,000 cash, numerous passport photos, hair dye and box cutters like those used by the 9/11 hijackers.
The Indian immigrants, in their mid-30s, also had expired visas, but they quickly learned that wasn't the problem.
SYED SHAH, FORMER 9/11 DETAINEE: They started questioning about 9/11 event incident. So not mere immigration or passport or visa inquiry.
MOHAMMED AZMATH, FORMER 9/11 DETAINEE: I told them we don't know nothing about the World Trade Center.
SHAH: The Pentagon cries do you know everything about that? Do you have any prior knowledge?
COLBY: They told investigators they didn't, but they were turned over to the FBI and remained in custody more than a year. Azmath and Shah are Muslims from Hyderabad in southern India, a city with many Muslims in a largely Hindu country. They came to America in the early '90s looking for a better life. They lived and worked together in New Jersey, sending money home.
STEVEN LEGON, AZMATH DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Mr. Azmath worked at a newsstand in New Jersey for many years and basically he was, he had lost his job and he was moving to another job and the box cutters were the tools of the trade. And because of what happened, they were singled out, they were profiled, they were pulled aside.
COLBY: Both were held in solitary confinement in this Brooklyn jail. James Comey, the U.S. attorney whose office prosecuted their case, told CNN: "I don't think anyone would say the government acted unreasonably. It could be that they were victims of extraordinarily bad fortune that they were flying in the air during the time of the 9/11 attacks, had one way tickets and were carrying their devices. There were a lot of circumstances that warranted the government taking a very, very close look at them."
Azmath and Shah were cleared of any connection to terrorism. But they were not completely clean. Both pled guilty to credit card fraud, served their time and were later deported. Both men say their feelings about America as a land of opportunity have changed.
SHAH: I don't want to go back again. I'm trying to heal myself what they did to me, actually. I will never forget those days when I was in solitary confinement.
AZMATH: Naturally, it made me angry because they caught the wrong guy and they just give a hard time because of the religious background or this, the ethnic look.
COLBY (on camera): Like Azmath and Shah, hundreds of men were detained after the 9/11 attacks, as the U.S. tried to regain its homeland security. Many of their cases raise questions of civil rights and due process that remain unanswered.
Jamie Colby, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: And for more on the former 9/11 suspects and the rest of the day's big stories, click onto our Web site. The address, cnn.com, AOL keyword: CNN.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired May 27, 2003 - 05:09 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: In the mid-1990s, two men from southern India moved to the United States in search of a better life. But after September 11, they became political prisoners and were later deported.
They spoke with CNN's Jamie Colby about the bitterness they now feel for a country they once considered home.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JAMIE COLBY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They are just two among hundreds of men rounded up after 9/11. But word of their arrest was everywhere.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Two men were detained under INS violations in Texas and have been taken to New York City for questioning.
COLBY: Mohammed Azmath and Syed Shah were flying on September 11 from New Jersey to Texas. Their flight was grounded when the nation's air space was closed. They tried to finish the trip by train, but were pulled off because their one way tickets, paid with cash, met the profile of drug runners. Police found Azmath and Shah carrying a total of more than $5,000 cash, numerous passport photos, hair dye and box cutters like those used by the 9/11 hijackers.
The Indian immigrants, in their mid-30s, also had expired visas, but they quickly learned that wasn't the problem.
SYED SHAH, FORMER 9/11 DETAINEE: They started questioning about 9/11 event incident. So not mere immigration or passport or visa inquiry.
MOHAMMED AZMATH, FORMER 9/11 DETAINEE: I told them we don't know nothing about the World Trade Center.
SHAH: The Pentagon cries do you know everything about that? Do you have any prior knowledge?
COLBY: They told investigators they didn't, but they were turned over to the FBI and remained in custody more than a year. Azmath and Shah are Muslims from Hyderabad in southern India, a city with many Muslims in a largely Hindu country. They came to America in the early '90s looking for a better life. They lived and worked together in New Jersey, sending money home.
STEVEN LEGON, AZMATH DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Mr. Azmath worked at a newsstand in New Jersey for many years and basically he was, he had lost his job and he was moving to another job and the box cutters were the tools of the trade. And because of what happened, they were singled out, they were profiled, they were pulled aside.
COLBY: Both were held in solitary confinement in this Brooklyn jail. James Comey, the U.S. attorney whose office prosecuted their case, told CNN: "I don't think anyone would say the government acted unreasonably. It could be that they were victims of extraordinarily bad fortune that they were flying in the air during the time of the 9/11 attacks, had one way tickets and were carrying their devices. There were a lot of circumstances that warranted the government taking a very, very close look at them."
Azmath and Shah were cleared of any connection to terrorism. But they were not completely clean. Both pled guilty to credit card fraud, served their time and were later deported. Both men say their feelings about America as a land of opportunity have changed.
SHAH: I don't want to go back again. I'm trying to heal myself what they did to me, actually. I will never forget those days when I was in solitary confinement.
AZMATH: Naturally, it made me angry because they caught the wrong guy and they just give a hard time because of the religious background or this, the ethnic look.
COLBY (on camera): Like Azmath and Shah, hundreds of men were detained after the 9/11 attacks, as the U.S. tried to regain its homeland security. Many of their cases raise questions of civil rights and due process that remain unanswered.
Jamie Colby, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: And for more on the former 9/11 suspects and the rest of the day's big stories, click onto our Web site. The address, cnn.com, AOL keyword: CNN.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
