Informant38

The Village Voice: Nation: Mondo Washington: Victims of the Dragnet by James Ridgeway Pakistani immigrant Mohammad Akoram had just left his Brighton Beach retail goods store with an acquaintance last November 11 when a carful of FBI and INS agents drove up and arrested his friend. As Akoram started to walk away, the cops put cuffs on him too, because�as his son recalled in an interview with the Voice�they said he might know something. Not to worry, the FBI agent told the family, he'll be back in a few days. The few days turned into five months. Prison red tape kept the family from visiting Akoram. The last time Akoram's children saw him was at the airport a week ago, just before he was put on a plane back to Pakistan.
Now Akoram's son and wife are selling their house and their business to go back to Pakistan. "We don't want to, but we have no choice," the son said. "Our father is there, and we want to be with him." He added, "We were just a regular happy family living in America, and now everything has changed so fast."