US deports man after push for indefinite detention stalls

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (AP) — A man convicted of terrorism-related crimes, who served his sentence and was then detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, has been deported after a legal battle to hold him indefinitely stalled.

Federal immigration authorities held Adham Amin Hassoun until Tuesday at a detention facility in Batavia, New York, since his release from prison in 2018.

Previously, they had argued in court that they had the authority to detain him indefinitely under the Patriot Act until they could find a country willing to accept him.

Hassoun, 58, is a Palestinian born in Lebanon.

In 2007, he was convicted along with Jose Padilla, who is still imprisoned, of conspiracy to murder, kidnap and maim people in a foreign country.

Padilla, a US citizen, was initially detained as an enemy combatant in 2002 on suspicions he planned to set off a radioactive “dirty bomb,” but those allegations were ultimately dropped in favour of charges that he, Hassoun and another conspirator sent money, recruits and supplies to Islamic extremist groups.

Prosecutors said Hassoun recruited Padilla at a Florida mosque to attend a terrorist training camp in Afghanistan.

Authorities did not disclose Hassoun’s destination after he left the country on Tuesday, the Democrat and Chronicle reported.

Padilla’s expected release date from prison is 2026.

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