Former UW employee deported to Saudi Arabia

The Department of Homeland Security this week deported a former employee of the University of Washington's School of Nursing, a Saudi Arabian man who the government said had links to an al-Qaida front group.

Supporters of the man say he is sure to be tortured back home.

Majid Al-Massari was arrested in July 2004 for overstaying his visa. The then-34-year-old also had a nearly two-year-old misdemeanor drug conviction, itself grounds for deportation.

Officials with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said Al-Massari is a member of the Committee for the Defense of Legitimate Rights, an Islamist organization based in London that seeks to overthrow the Saudi government. Al-Massari's father heads the group. The U.S. government considers it a front for al-Qaida and said Al-Massari had solicited funds and helped administer the group's Web site.

In December, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that nothing prevented authorities from deporting Al-Massari. At the same time, the court acknowledged serious unanswered questions about whether he might be tortured in Saudi Arabia and set a May date to consider that portion of his case — while allowing his deportation to proceed.

Earlier this month, the U.S. Supreme Court also denied Al-Massari's request for a stay.

Meanwhile, the local Muslim community has rallied around him, appealing to immigration officials and pointing out that his father in London was repeatedly arrested and tortured in the early-1990s by the Saudi government.

Paul Soreff, Al-Massari's attorney, points out that under the Convention Against Torture, a country is not permitted to remove a person to another country where he is likely to be tortured. "The actions of our government in deporting Majid before the legal review of his case was complete is a gross violation of the standards of justice that our country stands for," he said.

ICE officials say Al-Massari's deportation order was upheld by the Board of Immigration Appeals, twice by the 9th Circuit and by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Dorothy Stefan, chief counsel for ICE in Seattle, said, "ICE will use all of the tools at its disposal to prevent foreign nationals from using this country as a haven to advance the aims of terrorist organizations like al-Qaida."

Lornet Turnbull: 206-464-2420 or lturnbull@seattletimes.com