Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Arrested filmmaker has left U.S.
From The Hindu
Vijay Kumar, the Indian filmmaker arrested in the United States and jailed for 20 days for carrying brass knuckles and “Jihadi literature” in his baggage, has left the U.S. for India, his lawyer has confirmed.
Speaking to The Hindu on Tuesday evening Mr. Kumar’s attorney, Grant Scheiner, said “Mr. Kumar is safely out of Houston.” He hoped that appropriate action would be taken to ensure that such an event did not occur again in the future.
Mr. Kumar’s departure from Houston marks the culmination of a difficult few weeks for him. Trapped in the U.S., initially under suspicion of terror related activities although his intentions were entirely benign, Mr. Kumar faced an ordeal in a Texas jail, where he had to subsist on only bread and water. He also had no certainty as to when he would be released.
Mr. Scheiner had earlier said that Mr. Kumar’s arrest was a mistake of law combined with excessive caution in a post-9/11 era, and as a result he had been slapped with both a criminal case, for possessing the brass knuckles, and an immigration case, after his visa revoked by the immigration authorities.
While Mr. Kumar had unwittingly violated a Texas law forbidding persons from carrying brass knuckles at airports, he had entirely abided by federal law on this matter. The real problem, his attorney earlier said, was that federal law was not consistent with the state law.
The suspicions of terror-related activities also turned out to be entirely unfounded, with the ironic twist that Mr. Kumar’s so-called “Jihadi literature” was material that Mr. Kumar was carrying for use during a lecture he was set to deliver to the Hindu Congress of America on interfaith discussion between Hindus and Muslims and the harms of terrorism.
Vijay Kumar, the Indian filmmaker arrested in the United States and jailed for 20 days for carrying brass knuckles and “Jihadi literature” in his baggage, has left the U.S. for India, his lawyer has confirmed.
Speaking to The Hindu on Tuesday evening Mr. Kumar’s attorney, Grant Scheiner, said “Mr. Kumar is safely out of Houston.” He hoped that appropriate action would be taken to ensure that such an event did not occur again in the future.
Mr. Kumar’s departure from Houston marks the culmination of a difficult few weeks for him. Trapped in the U.S., initially under suspicion of terror related activities although his intentions were entirely benign, Mr. Kumar faced an ordeal in a Texas jail, where he had to subsist on only bread and water. He also had no certainty as to when he would be released.
Mr. Scheiner had earlier said that Mr. Kumar’s arrest was a mistake of law combined with excessive caution in a post-9/11 era, and as a result he had been slapped with both a criminal case, for possessing the brass knuckles, and an immigration case, after his visa revoked by the immigration authorities.
While Mr. Kumar had unwittingly violated a Texas law forbidding persons from carrying brass knuckles at airports, he had entirely abided by federal law on this matter. The real problem, his attorney earlier said, was that federal law was not consistent with the state law.
The suspicions of terror-related activities also turned out to be entirely unfounded, with the ironic twist that Mr. Kumar’s so-called “Jihadi literature” was material that Mr. Kumar was carrying for use during a lecture he was set to deliver to the Hindu Congress of America on interfaith discussion between Hindus and Muslims and the harms of terrorism.
Labels: Indian filmmaker, judiciary, Vijay Kumar
Thursday, September 09, 2010
Indian filmmaker pleads guilty, subsisted on “bread and water”
From The Hindu
Indian filmmaker Vijay Kumar, who was arrested at an airport in Houston for carrying brass knuckles, may be able to leave the United States within “five to seven days”, according to his lawyer. His lawyer also said that Mr. Kumar was forced to survive on bread and water for the last 20 days he spent in jail.
Speaking to The Hindu, Mr. Kumar’s attorney Grant Scheiner said that at a hearing for his client, Mr. Kumar pled no contest to the lesser charge of a misdemeanour and agreed to voluntarily leave the U.S. He was awarded “credit for time served”, which meant that the 20 days he spent in jail would constitute his sentence.
Regarding Mr. Kumar’s condition, Mr. Scheiner said that he was “pretty upbeat” now that there was light at the end of tunnel, although he was disappointed that the authorities had not realised earlier that he posed no terror threat.
Also Mr. Scheiner said that Mr. Kumar had to subsist on bread and water for all 20 days of his imprisonment because he was vegetarian and the jail authorities only supplied him with meals consisting of meat and bread.
Mr. Kumar had earlier faced a more serious felony charge when he was discovered to be carrying brass knuckles packed within his checked-in baggage. While this was completely legal under federallaw, federal law is not consistent with Texas law — which forbids carrying brass knuckles in any baggage or on one’s person — and thus Mr. Kumar had fallen afoul of the latter.
His case was further complicated when what was described as “Jihadi literature” was found in his luggage too. Yet in an ironical twist to the tale, it emerged that the material related to Mr. Kumar’s plans to deliver a lecture to the Hindu Congress of America on interfaith discussion between Hindus and Muslims and the harms of terrorism.
Harder to obtain visa in future
Mr. Scheiner said that despite there being little doubt that Mr. Kumar was not in any way linked to terrorism — even the judge in the criminal case had reduced his bail from $50,000 to $5,000 for that reason — his incarceration for 20 days in a Houston jail reflected “heightened suspicion after 9/11”.
While Mr. Kumar’s voluntary departure from the U.S. still leaves him with the possibility of getting a U.S. visa in the future, Mr. Scheiner said that as a result of his misdemeanour conviction and visa revocation, it would definitely be harder to obtain any U.S. visa.
Providing a rare glimpse at the excessively cautious nature of the U.S. homeland security legal apparatus, Mr. Scheiner said that at Mr. Kumar’s immigration hearing, the government attorney “opposed voluntary departure, citing threat to national security”.
The prosecutor did so on the grounds that the investigation of Mr. Kumar’s luggage left doubt as to whether there might have been explosive residues. However, Mr. Scheiner said, the judge in the case had pointed out that the investigation of the luggage had clearly yielded a false positive test and there was no suggestion that Mr. Kumar had carried any explosives.
At the end of the case, Mr. Scheiner said, it was clear that Mr. Kumar’s arrest was a mistake of law, and he could have been acquitted earlier. His incarceration on the immigration charges also made him lose the will to fight on in the criminal case, and so he was left with a misdemeanour conviction.
Labels: Indian filmmaket, judiciary, pleads guilty, Vijay Kumar
Saturday, September 04, 2010
Arrested filmmaker "tied into procedural knot" by U.S. law
From The Hindu
In a turn of events that would appear baffling to most non-lawyers Vijay Kumar, the Indian filmmaker arrested at an airport in Houston for carrying brass knuckles, had his visa revoked by the immigration authorities and then was deposited in jail for not having a valid U.S. visa.
In his second interview with The Hindu Mr. Kumar’s lawyer, Grant Scheiner, said that U.S. legal rules had literally “tied him into a procedural knot, we are trying to untie that knot.” Mr.Scheiner said that while the U.S. government reserves the right to revoke visas at any time for any reason or no reason at all, the result for Mr. Kumar is that he not only has a criminal case to contend with, but an immigration case as well.
The criminal case against Mr. Kumar relates to his possession of a set of brass knuckles while in a secured premises, namely George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston. Under Texas law, such possession is tantamount to a third-degree felony with a prison sentence anywhere between two and ten years.
However Mr. Scheiner said that in Mr. Kumar’s case such a sentence may be unlikely because it was usually not applied when the defendant could show that he had made a mistake in interpreting the law as a result of misreading another official guideline.
In this case Mr. Kumar was carrying the brass knuckles packed within his checked-in baggage, and under federal law that is completely legal. Yet because federal law is not consistent with Texas law – which forbids carrying brass knuckles in any baggage or on one’s person – Mr.Kumar fell afoul of the latter.
Thus Mr. Kumar remains in jail awaiting his September 8 criminal hearing, Mr. Scheiner said, and on that day the legal team will attempt to have the third-degree felony charge reduced to a misdemeanour.
If the court agrees to this lesser charge, the sentence may be no more than “taking credit for time served,” which, according to Mr. Scheiner, implies that Mr. Kumar would simply have to remain in custody for as long as it takes for the authorities to put him on a flight back to his home in Mumbai.
Also, Mr. Scheiner emphasised, under this scenario Mr. Kumar would be departing voluntarily, an important step if Mr. Kumar was to have the right to ever reapply for a U.S. visa.
While an alternative scenario was not likely, Mr. Scheiner said that if the court decided not to reduce the charge to a misdemeanour or for some reason Mr. Kumar decided not to plead guilty and fight the case instead, it could go on for months and Mr. Kumar may face a much longer time in jail.
In any event if Mr. Kumar decided to fight the case, and it dragged on for more than 90 days, then Mr. Kumar would face involuntary, not voluntary departure – and in that case would never be able to obtain a U.S. visa again.
A further update is expected on or after September 8.
In a turn of events that would appear baffling to most non-lawyers Vijay Kumar, the Indian filmmaker arrested at an airport in Houston for carrying brass knuckles, had his visa revoked by the immigration authorities and then was deposited in jail for not having a valid U.S. visa.
In his second interview with The Hindu Mr. Kumar’s lawyer, Grant Scheiner, said that U.S. legal rules had literally “tied him into a procedural knot, we are trying to untie that knot.” Mr.Scheiner said that while the U.S. government reserves the right to revoke visas at any time for any reason or no reason at all, the result for Mr. Kumar is that he not only has a criminal case to contend with, but an immigration case as well.
The criminal case against Mr. Kumar relates to his possession of a set of brass knuckles while in a secured premises, namely George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston. Under Texas law, such possession is tantamount to a third-degree felony with a prison sentence anywhere between two and ten years.
However Mr. Scheiner said that in Mr. Kumar’s case such a sentence may be unlikely because it was usually not applied when the defendant could show that he had made a mistake in interpreting the law as a result of misreading another official guideline.
In this case Mr. Kumar was carrying the brass knuckles packed within his checked-in baggage, and under federal law that is completely legal. Yet because federal law is not consistent with Texas law – which forbids carrying brass knuckles in any baggage or on one’s person – Mr.Kumar fell afoul of the latter.
Thus Mr. Kumar remains in jail awaiting his September 8 criminal hearing, Mr. Scheiner said, and on that day the legal team will attempt to have the third-degree felony charge reduced to a misdemeanour.
If the court agrees to this lesser charge, the sentence may be no more than “taking credit for time served,” which, according to Mr. Scheiner, implies that Mr. Kumar would simply have to remain in custody for as long as it takes for the authorities to put him on a flight back to his home in Mumbai.
Also, Mr. Scheiner emphasised, under this scenario Mr. Kumar would be departing voluntarily, an important step if Mr. Kumar was to have the right to ever reapply for a U.S. visa.
While an alternative scenario was not likely, Mr. Scheiner said that if the court decided not to reduce the charge to a misdemeanour or for some reason Mr. Kumar decided not to plead guilty and fight the case instead, it could go on for months and Mr. Kumar may face a much longer time in jail.
In any event if Mr. Kumar decided to fight the case, and it dragged on for more than 90 days, then Mr. Kumar would face involuntary, not voluntary departure – and in that case would never be able to obtain a U.S. visa again.
A further update is expected on or after September 8.
Labels: Documentary filmmaker, U.S. immigration laws, Vijay Kumar
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Detention of Indian in Houston “quite disturbing”
From The Hindu
The continued detention of Vijay Kumar, the Indian arrested in Houston, Texas, last week, for possessing Jihadi literature and a set of brass knuckles, is "quite disturbing", his lawyer said, worrying in particular that he may remain in immigration custody for months on end awaiting a formal trial.
In an interview with The Hindu, Mr. Kumar’s attorney, Grant Scheiner, said that while he did not want to accuse the Federal Bureau of Investigation of overreacting, he wanted them to "connect the dots" in Mr. Kumar’s case.
Mr. Kumar, a documentary film-maker stopping in the United States en route to Canada, was arrested at George Bush Intercontinental Airport last Friday after officials were said to have noticed him "fidgeting" and "sweating" in the line for a security check. Regarding even these circumstances Mr. Scheiner pointed out that Houston had seen a spell of unusually hot weather in recent days and it was hardly surprising that Mr. Kumar was sweating.
However, according to Mr. Scheiner the more worrying developments in Mr. Kumar's case occurred this week when although Mr. Kumar posted the bond and was about to leave, the authorities "took him into immigration custody". Mr. Scheiner said that the federal authorities had stepped in and he did not know why, especially as Mr. Kumar was definitely not on any FBI list or the no-fly list.
No clarity or guarantees
Further, there appears no clarity on the length of the immigration custody that Mr. Kumar would face, there are "no guarantees that the immigration judge would free him" after his bail hearing which is scheduled to be held by Thursday. Even if he were freed at that point, Mr. Kumar would be unable to travel, as he had been asked to surrender his passport. Given that it often takes months to set a trial date, Mr. Kumar faces the possibility of remaining in the United States for much longer, though he knows no one in this country, Mr. Scheiner said.
On the question of Mr. Kumar’s arrest and the subsequent posting of bail, his attorney said the very fact that the "extremely high bond for a third degree felony offence" — set at $50,000 initially — was reduced on Monday to a much lower $5,000, suggested that the judge believed that Mr. Kumar meant no harm. He said, "The judge would not have reduced bail if he’d thought Mr. Kumar was a terrorist."
Regarding Mr. Kumar’s behaviour at the airport prior to his arrest, Mr. Scheiner pointed out that when taken away and interrogated by authorities Mr. Kumar’s reaction was confusion and concern because "he does not speak English very well, he speaks Hindi. Therefore he was confused when questioned".
The continued detention of Vijay Kumar, the Indian arrested in Houston, Texas, last week, for possessing Jihadi literature and a set of brass knuckles, is "quite disturbing", his lawyer said, worrying in particular that he may remain in immigration custody for months on end awaiting a formal trial.
In an interview with The Hindu, Mr. Kumar’s attorney, Grant Scheiner, said that while he did not want to accuse the Federal Bureau of Investigation of overreacting, he wanted them to "connect the dots" in Mr. Kumar’s case.
Mr. Kumar, a documentary film-maker stopping in the United States en route to Canada, was arrested at George Bush Intercontinental Airport last Friday after officials were said to have noticed him "fidgeting" and "sweating" in the line for a security check. Regarding even these circumstances Mr. Scheiner pointed out that Houston had seen a spell of unusually hot weather in recent days and it was hardly surprising that Mr. Kumar was sweating.
However, according to Mr. Scheiner the more worrying developments in Mr. Kumar's case occurred this week when although Mr. Kumar posted the bond and was about to leave, the authorities "took him into immigration custody". Mr. Scheiner said that the federal authorities had stepped in and he did not know why, especially as Mr. Kumar was definitely not on any FBI list or the no-fly list.
No clarity or guarantees
Further, there appears no clarity on the length of the immigration custody that Mr. Kumar would face, there are "no guarantees that the immigration judge would free him" after his bail hearing which is scheduled to be held by Thursday. Even if he were freed at that point, Mr. Kumar would be unable to travel, as he had been asked to surrender his passport. Given that it often takes months to set a trial date, Mr. Kumar faces the possibility of remaining in the United States for much longer, though he knows no one in this country, Mr. Scheiner said.
On the question of Mr. Kumar’s arrest and the subsequent posting of bail, his attorney said the very fact that the "extremely high bond for a third degree felony offence" — set at $50,000 initially — was reduced on Monday to a much lower $5,000, suggested that the judge believed that Mr. Kumar meant no harm. He said, "The judge would not have reduced bail if he’d thought Mr. Kumar was a terrorist."
Regarding Mr. Kumar’s behaviour at the airport prior to his arrest, Mr. Scheiner pointed out that when taken away and interrogated by authorities Mr. Kumar’s reaction was confusion and concern because "he does not speak English very well, he speaks Hindi. Therefore he was confused when questioned".
Labels: FBI, Indian arrested, Jihad, Vijay Kumar
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