Mass. Man Arrested In Bombing Probe To Remain Free (WBZtv.com)

Mass. Man Arrested In Bombing Probe To Remain Free
Aug 10, 2010 8:37 pm US/Eastern

Federal authorities don't believe a Boston-area man arrested in an investigation of the botched Times Square car bombing is tied to the case, his lawyer said Tuesday.

Attorney Saher Macarius spoke after a Boston immigration court judge allowed his client, Pir D. Khan, to remain free as he fights deportation. Macarius said it's obvious that the government wouldn't release Khan if it thought he had a role in the May 1 bombing attempt in New York.

"If he has any connection to the Times Square bombing, and they released him, I will sue the government," Macarius said.

Khan, of Watertown, was arrested on immigration charges in May, and authorities said Khan and two other men might have handled informal money transfers for Faisal Shahzad, who pleaded guilty in the bombing attempt. But Khan was suddenly released in July.

Macarius said his client never met Shahzad and was wrongly tied to the case because authorities learned he was planning to travel to Pakistan on the same route Shahzad took and they believed Shahzad had received money from Massachusetts.

"It's a mistake the government made," Macarius said. "I just wish as much as the government made huge publicity about his arrest, the government will come to the media and say, 'We were hasty in that decision.'"

Macarius said Khan has lived a productive life since arriving illegally from Pakistan in 1991, including marrying an American, and should be allowed to stay.

"He has done nothing wrong, no criminal record, and his departure will cause extreme and unusual hardship to his U.S. spouse," he said.