New arrival sees US after 8 years in jail

WASHINGTON - An Egyptian who spent almost eight years in American jails without ever being convicted of a crime walked free yesterday after a federal judge ordered his release over the objections of the United States Government.

Sameh Khouzam boarded a plane in Cairo to seek political asylum in the United States on February 11, 1998. He was arrested at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York and was held for seven years and 361 days. He was released from the Bergen County Jail in New Jersey on the order of Judge Harry Cavanaugh.

Asylum-seekers arriving without proper papers are routinely jailed while their cases are heard and they lack many of the rights afforded US citizens, including access to a lawyer. At least one other detainee, Peter Ali, who came from Guyana, has been held in jail for more than five years. Detention that lasts for months or years is not uncommon.

The US Government still wants to deport Khouzam. He once worked as an accountant at the US Embassy in Cairo. In 1997, he fled with his wife to escape religious persecution against Coptic Christians.

He returned to Cairo in 1998 to bring his mother to the US, but his visa was revoked while his plane was in the air when Egyptian authorities told the US he was charged with a murder in Egypt. Khouzam denied the charges. His mother was eventually granted political asylum.

- REUTERS