|
Lawyer trying to negotiate release of Kurdish
immigrant in terrorism case
DETROIT -- A hearing on an appeal over the
detention of a Kurdish immigrant whom the government
accuses of terrorism was postponed Friday amid
negotiations over his possible release.
U.S. District Judge Avern Cohn said the hearing that
was to have taken place Friday on Ibrahim Parlak's
petition instead would be held Wednesday by
telephone.
Parlak, 43, has been in jail since his July 29
arrest and is appealing a judge's December order to
deport him to Turkey. His case has inspired strong
support in and around Harbert, the Lake Michigan
resort town where he runs his own restaurant.
"At this point, the government and Parlak's
attorneys are trying to work out a resolution (on
his detention) without taking this to trial," said
Jay Marhoefer, a Chicago attorney for Parlak said
after Friday's brief court session. "We will know by
Wednesday whether or not a resolution can be
reached."
Assistant U.S. Attorney L. Michael Wicks confirmed
that the parties were talking.
The government wants to deport Parlak because of his
past ties to the group PKK, the Kurdistan Workers'
Party, now known as KONGRA-GEL, in Turkey. The U.S.
State Department classified the PKK as a terrorist
group in 1997.
In their petition for his release filed with the
U.S. District Court in March, Parlak's lawyers
argued that his incarceration lacks any legal or
factual basis. They say the government has failed to
show that he is either a danger to anyone or a
flight risk.
Parlak himself was not in court Friday. His friends
were cautiously optimistic.
"This is the one event I did not expect," said
Martin Dzuris, a spokesman for supporters. "It's the
first time where we don't have bad news right flat
out."
Parlak attorney David Nacht said a negotiated
release might be in everyone's best interest. Even
if Cohn rules in Parlak's favor, the government
likely would appeal, and Parlak would be released
only if a higher court agrees. At the same time, the
government might prefer to release Parlak on its
own, rather than risk a precedent-setting ruling in
Parlak's favor, Nacht said.
Parlak, who was granted asylum in 1992, owns a
Kurdish restaurant, Cafe Gulistan, in Harbert. His
many vocal friends and supporters, who so far have
raised $106,000 for his defense and include film
critic Roger Ebert, say he is a victim of post-Sept.
11 hysteria on the part of the government and never
was involved in violence. They say he is being
punished simply for resisting oppression of Kurds in
Turkey and could face reprisals if he is sent back
there.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security says Parlak
did not disclose important details about his
separatist activities in his original asylum
application and also omitted his conviction in
Turkey from subsequent immigration forms.
Parlak was convicted in Turkey in 1988 of engaging
in separatist activities. The Turkish government
said he was involved in a fire-fight on the
Syrian-Turkish border in which two Turkish soldiers
were killed. Parlak maintains he played no role in
the shootings.
Parlak's lawyers point out that the Turkish security
court system that convicted him has since been
abolished because of international pressure. Human
rights groups say the courts relied on confessions
extracted by torture, and the U.S. government has
called them unfair.
In December, following a two-day hearing in U.S.
Immigration Court in Detroit, Judge Elizabeth Hacker
ruled that the government had sufficiently proved
its case and ordered Parlak deported. His case now
is pending before the Board of Immigration Appeals.
On the Net:
Web site of Parlak's supporters:
http://www.freeibrahim.com
Top |
® 