Court orders Agus Budiman held without bail<\/p>\n
Mathew Barakat, Associated Press<\/p>\n
A U.S. federal magistrate ordered Agus Budiman held without bail
\nafter an FBI agent testified Thursday that one of the Sept. 11
\nhijackers had used his Virginia address to gain entry into the
\nUnited States.<\/p>\n
U.S. Magistrate Theresa Carroll Buchanan said she could not
\nignore the "close ties" between Agus and the hijackers. Agus, 31,
\nis awaiting trial on document-fraud charges.<\/p>\n
Those ties "lift these events out of the realm of the
\nordinary," Buchanan said in denying bail. She also found probable
\ncause to forward the case to a grand jury.<\/p>\n
FBI special agent Jesus Gomez linked Agus to three of the
\nhijackers, including suspected ringleader Mohammed Atta, and two
\nothers believed to have close ties to the terrorists.<\/p>\n
Agus' defense attorney, Mark Thrash, characterized the
\ngovernment's case as "smoke and mirrors," saying Agus had only a
\npassing acquaintance with the hijackers through a Hamburg mosque.<\/p>\n
He said there was no evidence that Agus had shared the
\nhijackers' views about the United States or known of their plot.<\/p>\n
Gomez testified that hijacker Ziad Samir Jarrah used Agus'
\nname to get into the United States, and Ramsi Binalshibh, a
\nMuslim cleric from Hamburg, twice unsuccessfully tried to use
\nAgus' name to get into the country. The FBI says Binalshibh was
\nsupposed to be the 20th hijacker on Sept. 11.<\/p>\n
Thrash said the two men used Agus' address without his
\npermission and suggested that an acquaintance of Agus, Mohammed
\nBin Nasser Belfas, may have given Agus' address to the men.<\/p>\n
"If you were going to be around after Sept. 11, would you
\nvoluntarily give your address out?" Thrash asked.<\/p>\n
Agus, a driver for a food delivery service, is charged with
\nhelping Belfas, a fellow Indonesian, fraudulently obtain a
\nVirginia driver's license. Belfas is believed by authorities to
\nbe a U.S.-based contact for Osama bin Laden. Belfas' whereabouts
\nare unknown.<\/p>\n
Prosecutor Steven Mellin acknowledged that the government
\ndidn't know the details of Agus' relationships with the
\nhijackers. However, he called the connections "extensive.<\/p>\n
"They're suspicious and they're troubling," he said.<\/p>\n
More than 600 men from Arab and Muslim countries are in
\ncustody for immigration violations and other non-terrorism
\nallegations, and authorities want to question 5,000 other Middle
\nEastern men in connection with the investigation.<\/p>\n
Investigators have been told to check their immigration status
\nand hold those with problems.<\/p>\n
Attorney General John Ashcroft, the nation's top law
\nenforcement official, has enticed foreigners to come forward with
\ninformation about terrorists by offering them the prospect of
\nAmerizan citizenship, including a promise to ignore visa
\nproblems.<\/p>\n
"The people who have the courage to make the right choice
\ndeserve to be welcomed as guests into our country and perhaps to
\none day become fellow citizens," he said.<\/p>\n
The citizenship-for-information program was the latest appeal
\nby the Justice Department to elicit help from the public in
\ntracking down terrorists. Hundreds of people from Middle Eastern
\ncountries have been swept up in the terrorism investigation,
\ndrawing complaints from civil rights and Muslim-American groups.<\/p>\n
Ashcroft said foreigners who report to the FBI or U.S.
\nembassies overseas with information about terrorists will not be
\nquestioned about their immigration status.<\/p>\n
The new program could provide an incentive to get those in
\ncustody to cooperate and to encourage those wanted for voluntary
\nquestioning who have immigration problems.<\/p>\n
"Some visitors may be hesitant to come forward with their
\ninformation because of their immigration status," Ashcroft said.<\/p>\n
"They may rest assured that the United States welcomes any
\nreliable and useful information that they can provide. In return,
\nwe will help them make America their home."<\/p>\n
A program started after the 1993 World Trade Center attack
\noffers foreigners a special visa if they provide critical
\ninformation about criminal activities or terrorists that could
\nendanger their lives. The "S" visas are nicknamed "snitch visas."<\/p>\n
As many as 250 such visas can be offered annually; last year
\n106 people and 122 of their family members received the visas.
\nThere is no limit on the number of people who can apply for the
\nnew program.<\/p>",
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