The father of a Sudanese pilot suspected of planning anti-American attacks and detained in the US denied the charges and said his son was "too meek to kill a bird."
"My son, as I know him, has no political affiliation and is too meek to hit a bird or kill a pigeon, let alone attack the White House," Hamad Mekki Hamad told the daily Al-Watan.
Hamad, who lives in Omdurman, the sister-city of Khartoum, said his son Mekki Hamad "was not a military pilot but a transport pilot with a first lieutenant rank." He said his son moved to the United States to improve his standard of living and request "political asylum" there.
Hamad, a high school headmaster in Omdurman, said his son was sent by the government in 1993 to Peshawar, Pakistan, to receive pilot training and on his return served with state-owned Azza air transport company. The company was taken over by the Sudanese air force in the year 1997.
According to AFP, he said he had phoned Mekki's roommate in the United States who told him Mekki was being well treated and would appear on Monday before an inquiry judge before standing trial. "I expect my son will be acquitted, God willing," the father added. (Albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
