By Kate Reardon
Herald Writer
Most arrows are pointing to deportation for a local Syrian family detained by immigration officials since February, but supporters hope a district judge in Seattle will give them more time to make a case to stay.
Safouh Hamoui, who has been held with his wife, Hanan Ismail, and 20-year-old daughter, Nadin, formerly was a military pilot who flew planes carrying top Syrian officials.
The family fears Hamoui would be tortured or killed if sent back to Syria, said Rita Zawaideh, spokeswoman for the Arab American Community Coalition.
Supporters plan to demonstrate again at 4 p.m. today in front of Immigration and Naturalization Service’s detention building in Seattle, where the family is being held.
Attorney Bernice Funk of Seattle, who represents the family, said she’s awaiting a ruling from U.S. District Court Judge Barbara Rothstein that could come as early as today on a request to allow the Lynnwood family to stay 60 days longer while issues are worked out in the courts. Otherwise, the family’s stay ends at 4:30 p.m. Friday.
The family has travel papers and could be deported within a week if the stay is not granted, said Garrison Courtney, an immigration spokesman.
The family was taken from their south Snohomish County home by immigration officers at 6 a.m. Feb. 22 and are being detained because they ignored a 2000 court order to show up for deportation upon the advice of their previous attorney.
The Hamoui family has lived in Snohomish County for about 10 years and operates a Middle Eastern market on Highway 99 in Edmonds. Two younger children, one of whom is a U.S. citizen, are staying with relatives in the area.
The family needs to be reunited, Zawaideh said.
The family came to this country in the early 1990s on a tourist visa and in 1993 applied for political asylum. The request was denied, and the family went through several appeals before being given a final deportation order in 2000, Courtney said.
Court records from Hamoui’s 2000 case in the 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals show that Hamoui testified that he feared he would be imprisoned or executed upon his return to Syria.
The Syrian government temporarily removed Hamoui from his pilot duties in 1991 because his competency was brought into question, court records show.Hamoui was a colonel who flew planes carrying high-ranking political officials.
He voluntarily left his military career and continued to receive a monthly pension until he left Syria, court records show. But supporters said Hamoui left the country after Syrian officials claimed Hamoui tried to crash the plane when it hit turbulence.
You can call Herald Writer Kate Reardon at 425-339-3455 or send e-mail to reardon@heraldnet.com.
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