Wkbw march 13, 2004
Rally for two year detainee
He started off living the American dream. Now 26-year old Ansar Mahmood, a
Pakistani man, is behind bars and dozens of people are protesting for his
release.
“No justice, no peace, till Ansar's release,” was the chant outside the INS
Detention Center in Batavia. The protest is for 26-year old Ansar Mahmood.
“This man has not had due process,” said Pastor Richard Rose of the First
Baptist Church.
A native of Pakistan, Mahmood has been held here at the INS Detention Center in
Batavia since 2001.
“Ansar's imprisonment is just plain wrong,” said Rose. “He needs to be freed
and he needs to get back to his life here in the United States.”
Mahmood was picked up for taking a photo at the water treament facility center
in Hudson, New York. That's where he worked as a pizza delivery man. After he
pled guilty to illegal harboring of aliens - the government has been trying to
deport him.
“So he's fighting that, cause he needs to stay here, his father's got a lot of
medical problems,” said Rajesh Barnabas, the protest organizer. “The only way
he could support them is by staying here in America.”
This is the third protest held by the Ansar Mahmood defense committee.
“He knows we're here,” said Rose. “And that just overwhelmed him and
overwhelmed me with emotion, just human being to human being. Just meeting him,
I was just touched, by his big heart and his love for this country, which he
still has.”
Unable to fulfill his American dream to live and work in this country, this
group hopes to hopes to accomplish its dreams.
“I hope what we're doing here today, will make a big difference in embarrassing
some people some where so that they'll realize there's no need to hold this man,”
said Rose.
Mahmood was cleared of all terrorist activity, but because he's fighting his
deportation, he remains behind bars.