Latest news is that on September 11, Nayyar Zaidi was officially served papers which orders him to undergo psychiatric evaluation.
According to his wife, Zaidi may be flown to Missouri where he will undergo monitoring and evaluation by a jail psychiatrist.
Based on the psychiatrist's evaluation, the court will then decide if Zaidi is A) capable of undergoing trial. B) if he should remain under psychiatric evaluation until he is capable of appearing in the court.
Under US law a judge may order that an accused be evaluated for mental and psychological fitness in order to undergo a trial. Same yardstick applies if the accused wishes to represent himself or herself.
Zaidi had requested the court that he be allowed to represent himself. But latest information is that he is seeking legal help and has also appealed to the jousnalistic and media organizations to assist him.
Showing posts with label Nayyar Zaidi. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Nayyar Zaidi. Show all posts
Friday, September 19, 2008
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Zaidi To Be Evaluated By a Shrink; Trial Postponed
Got a call from Nayyar Zaidi today from the Northeast Ohio Correctional Facility where he remains detained for alleged teen sex crime. It was a followup to his handwritten notes that were faxed to me yesterday by his wife Shaheen.
Zaidi said he has been told by the Federal Court judge that in order to determine if he can represent himself, he will have to undergo a competency test as well as a psychiatric test to determine his competency to stand trial.
The October 6 hearing has thus been postponed until the court determines if he is "fit to undergo trial".
Zaidi appeared before Judge Kathleen McDonald O’Mailly on Aug. 26 for a hearing following a motion he had moved requesting that he be allowed to represent himself as he said he had no confidence in the court-appointed defense lawyer, Craig Weintraub's ability to represent him satisfactorily.
He has refused to hire an attorney to plead his case, citing financial constraints.
The Federal judge told him that she would approve his request only after a competency test to determine if he was competent to represent himself. She also said his competency to stand trial would need to be determined first.
Zaidi said he is “alarmed” by the judge’s verdict because in case the psychiatric test he is administered finds him not competent to stand trial, he could be committed "for life" to a psychiatric detention facility until it is determined that he is fit to undergo trial. That could mean a lifetime, Zaidi said.
The competency test is part of the due process of U.S law for those individuals who wished to defend themselves in court.
Zaidi thinks it should not be meant for someone like himself, a highly educated man and one of Pakistan’s best known journalists and broadcasters who has been associated with the Jang Group of Publications for over 30 years.
It is possible that this latest development may suggest that the prosecution’s case against him– crossing state lines with the intention of committing a felony involving an underage female – is weak, said one observer.
Zaidi has written to his home state Virginia's Senator including some others as well as to Virginia Governor. He has also appealed for help from CPJ, ACLU, PFUJ and wishes that U.S. correspondents and U.S Senators be informed by the media about his predicament.
Nayyar Zaidi is Washington Correspondent or Washington Bureau Chief of Pakistan's Geo News TV (Geo Television Network), The News International (English newspaper) and Daily Jang (Urdu newspaper). He was arrested by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the state Police on Thursday, 20 March 2008 in Ohio, USA, on alleged teen sex crimes charges. Since he crossed state border, he has been charged with a Federal crime. He remains under detention in an Ohio jail since March 2008 pending court hearing. He has been refused bail, he said.
Zaidi said he has been told by the Federal Court judge that in order to determine if he can represent himself, he will have to undergo a competency test as well as a psychiatric test to determine his competency to stand trial.
The October 6 hearing has thus been postponed until the court determines if he is "fit to undergo trial".
Zaidi appeared before Judge Kathleen McDonald O’Mailly on Aug. 26 for a hearing following a motion he had moved requesting that he be allowed to represent himself as he said he had no confidence in the court-appointed defense lawyer, Craig Weintraub's ability to represent him satisfactorily.
He has refused to hire an attorney to plead his case, citing financial constraints.
The Federal judge told him that she would approve his request only after a competency test to determine if he was competent to represent himself. She also said his competency to stand trial would need to be determined first.
Zaidi said he is “alarmed” by the judge’s verdict because in case the psychiatric test he is administered finds him not competent to stand trial, he could be committed "for life" to a psychiatric detention facility until it is determined that he is fit to undergo trial. That could mean a lifetime, Zaidi said.
The competency test is part of the due process of U.S law for those individuals who wished to defend themselves in court.
Zaidi thinks it should not be meant for someone like himself, a highly educated man and one of Pakistan’s best known journalists and broadcasters who has been associated with the Jang Group of Publications for over 30 years.
It is possible that this latest development may suggest that the prosecution’s case against him– crossing state lines with the intention of committing a felony involving an underage female – is weak, said one observer.
Zaidi has written to his home state Virginia's Senator including some others as well as to Virginia Governor. He has also appealed for help from CPJ, ACLU, PFUJ and wishes that U.S. correspondents and U.S Senators be informed by the media about his predicament.
Nayyar Zaidi is Washington Correspondent or Washington Bureau Chief of Pakistan's Geo News TV (Geo Television Network), The News International (English newspaper) and Daily Jang (Urdu newspaper). He was arrested by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the state Police on Thursday, 20 March 2008 in Ohio, USA, on alleged teen sex crimes charges. Since he crossed state border, he has been charged with a Federal crime. He remains under detention in an Ohio jail since March 2008 pending court hearing. He has been refused bail, he said.
Monday, August 11, 2008
Nayyar Zaidi Trial Set for Oct 6, 2008
Renowned Jang/GEO Correspondent and Columnist Nayyar Zaidi's trial is scheduled for October 6, in Ohio, where he remains detained without bail since March 2008.
He was twice rejected bail, according to his spouse. But it is unclear why he was refused bail, and what the grounds were. My understanding is that on such matters it may be possible to obtain bail unless it is set so high that it cannot be obtained by the affected individual.
Another reason for bail refusal could be if the alleged crime is piggy-backed by another alleged crime which gives the prosecutor more strength to ask the Judge to reject the bail application.
Mr Zaidi, on August 5th, sent me thru his wife, a 14-page handwritten explanation on his incarceration and his defense. It is being made available on DesPardes.com website at: http://www.despardes.com/zaidi-papers-aug5.pdf
Since the matter is subjudice before the court, we need to be careful not to comment on any aspect of the case, specially on its merit.
In his handwritten note, Mr Zaidi says, "I was working on a story which was part of a bigger journalistic project, on the invasive nature of the internet and the political and social changes it is bringing. I was inspired by Marshall McLuhan's 1960 book :Understanding Media". He adds, "Sexual exploitation of minors is a big issue. I named the project, "PARENTS AS PREDATORS." After my arrest one minor case in Italy and one is Austria came out in news."..."But internet is fantasy land...nothing is authentic (not news but chats)...."
"As journalists we know that first-hand accounts are the most authoritative..It was natural for me to try to establish real-time contact with some one who claimed to be in a "Parent Predator". As you all know, I am. perhaps, the only (Pakistani) journalist whose name is well known is U.S. and Pakistan. There is a market in Pakistan for stories that do not start with, "Mr Boucher said..."
Mr Zaidi also claims in his faxed notes to me that he was the first journalist to break the story of CIA providing potable labs to Afghans (during the Afghan Jihad War) to make Heroin.
"U.S. ambassador to Pakistan, Arnold Raphael, was outraged that he told the State Department to terminate my 17-years contract with the Voice of America(VOA)," he added.
One newspaper report (Daily Times) has said that Mr Zaidi and his spouse refused embassy help on grounds that Mr Zaidi was an American citizen and was "not in jail". I know for sure he is in under detention, based on his and his spouses's phone calls to me during the last few weeks. I am not sure why there is still need to hide this critical fact. Why not let people know and possibly help?
Besides, Pakistani-Americans automatically enjoy dual nationality status. So what's the harm in reaching out for all available help if one is innocent?
He was twice rejected bail, according to his spouse. But it is unclear why he was refused bail, and what the grounds were. My understanding is that on such matters it may be possible to obtain bail unless it is set so high that it cannot be obtained by the affected individual.
Another reason for bail refusal could be if the alleged crime is piggy-backed by another alleged crime which gives the prosecutor more strength to ask the Judge to reject the bail application.
Mr Zaidi, on August 5th, sent me thru his wife, a 14-page handwritten explanation on his incarceration and his defense. It is being made available on DesPardes.com website at: http://www.despardes.com/zaidi-papers-aug5.pdf
Since the matter is subjudice before the court, we need to be careful not to comment on any aspect of the case, specially on its merit.
In his handwritten note, Mr Zaidi says, "I was working on a story which was part of a bigger journalistic project, on the invasive nature of the internet and the political and social changes it is bringing. I was inspired by Marshall McLuhan's 1960 book :Understanding Media". He adds, "Sexual exploitation of minors is a big issue. I named the project, "PARENTS AS PREDATORS." After my arrest one minor case in Italy and one is Austria came out in news."..."But internet is fantasy land...nothing is authentic (not news but chats)...."
"As journalists we know that first-hand accounts are the most authoritative..It was natural for me to try to establish real-time contact with some one who claimed to be in a "Parent Predator". As you all know, I am. perhaps, the only (Pakistani) journalist whose name is well known is U.S. and Pakistan. There is a market in Pakistan for stories that do not start with, "Mr Boucher said..."
Mr Zaidi also claims in his faxed notes to me that he was the first journalist to break the story of CIA providing potable labs to Afghans (during the Afghan Jihad War) to make Heroin.
"U.S. ambassador to Pakistan, Arnold Raphael, was outraged that he told the State Department to terminate my 17-years contract with the Voice of America(VOA)," he added.
One newspaper report (Daily Times) has said that Mr Zaidi and his spouse refused embassy help on grounds that Mr Zaidi was an American citizen and was "not in jail". I know for sure he is in under detention, based on his and his spouses's phone calls to me during the last few weeks. I am not sure why there is still need to hide this critical fact. Why not let people know and possibly help?
Besides, Pakistani-Americans automatically enjoy dual nationality status. So what's the harm in reaching out for all available help if one is innocent?
Monday, July 28, 2008
Nayyar Zaidi in jail on "teen sex" charges?
A friend of mine forwarded me today , a copy of an email apparently mass distributed by - The REPORT PRESS - Special Reports Media - USA- Chief Editor: Journalist SYED ADEEB.
The body of the text reads as follows:
Pakistani-American Journalist Nayyar Zaidi Still Locked Up in an Ohio Jail Since 20 March 2008.
(ReportPress.com) - Mr. Syed Haider K. Zaidi (pen name: Nayyar Zaidi)- Washington Correspondent or Washington Bureau Chief of Pakistan's Geo News TV (Geo Television Network), The News International (English newspaper) and Daily Jang (Urdu newspaper) - was arrested by the U.S.Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Police on Thursday, 20 March 2008 in Ohio, USA, on sex crimes charges. He is still locked up in an Ohio jail since March 2008.
Read the following five American media-press news reports about Pakistani-American journalist NayyarZaidi who lives in Woodbridge, Virginia, USA:
Publisher: THE INDEPENDENT - Massillon, Ohio, USA
Man Arrested for Trying to Meet Teen
By Staff Reports
JACKSON TOWNSHIP, Ohio, USA, 20 March 2008 (indeonline.com) -Authorities arrested a Virginia man Thursday accused of traveling toJackson Township to have sex with a 13-year-old girl.
Syed Haider Kar Zaidi, 64, of 12776 Captains Cove, Woodbridge, Va.,was taken into custody at 3 p.m. in a parking lot at 4220 BeldenVillage St. N.W., according to jail records. The arrest culminated atwo month investigation by local police and the FBI's Internet CrimesAgainst Children Task Force.
Jail records show Zaidi developed an online relationship with the girland arranged to meet her for sex in the Belden Village area. The girlZaidi was communicating with actually was an undercover officer.
Zaidi faces felony charges of attempted unlawful sex with a minor,attempted child endangering, attempted illegal use of a minor innudity-oriented material or performance and importuning. Zaidi was thetask force's 98th arrest.
Links:
http://www.indeonline.com/crime/x1012430497?view=print
http://www.indeonline.com/crime/x1059917866?view=print
More links to Zaidi story are embedded in the said email. Some of them are:
http://www.cantonrep.com/index.php?ID=404372
http://www.cantonrep.com/index.php?ID=405064
http://www.cantonrep.com/index.php?ID=404447
All these links contain story related to Mr Zaidi and his arrest in Ohio in March 2008.
It is therefore clear that Mr Zaidi was not detained for any "national security" or "terrorism related" charges as some may have thought, perceived or believed to be, but was actually detained and arrested by local (Ohio) police and the FBI's Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force on charges of attempted unlawful sex with a minor,attempted child endangering, attempted illegal use of a minor innudity-oriented material or performance and importuning.
I am still waiting for a synopsis from Mr Zaidi who promised me to send when he called me up last week. The documents that he had sent me through his wife did not cover the above episode nor did Mr Zaidi mention it to me at all. These documents were apparently on "non related" matters.
That is why I was careful not to jump to any conclusions. And, when Mr Khalid Hasan of Daily Times requested for details, I sent him the following email:
Based on documents in my possession, he has been apparently detained under "National Security" matter(s) and has been charged with one or more than one offense/crime. His docuents do not clarify this matter. (Bold emphasis by me.)
The Federal case number is 08-CR-0197. Mr. Zaidi is a defendant in the said case. Mr Zaidi promised to send me a synopsis. I still await. Will let you know more details if and when I get them. The matter is subjudice before a Federal Judge. (Bold emphasis by me).
The body of the text reads as follows:
Pakistani-American Journalist Nayyar Zaidi Still Locked Up in an Ohio Jail Since 20 March 2008.
(ReportPress.com) - Mr. Syed Haider K. Zaidi (pen name: Nayyar Zaidi)- Washington Correspondent or Washington Bureau Chief of Pakistan's Geo News TV (Geo Television Network), The News International (English newspaper) and Daily Jang (Urdu newspaper) - was arrested by the U.S.Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Police on Thursday, 20 March 2008 in Ohio, USA, on sex crimes charges. He is still locked up in an Ohio jail since March 2008.
Read the following five American media-press news reports about Pakistani-American journalist NayyarZaidi who lives in Woodbridge, Virginia, USA:
Publisher: THE INDEPENDENT - Massillon, Ohio, USA
Man Arrested for Trying to Meet Teen
By Staff Reports
JACKSON TOWNSHIP, Ohio, USA, 20 March 2008 (indeonline.com) -Authorities arrested a Virginia man Thursday accused of traveling toJackson Township to have sex with a 13-year-old girl.
Syed Haider Kar Zaidi, 64, of 12776 Captains Cove, Woodbridge, Va.,was taken into custody at 3 p.m. in a parking lot at 4220 BeldenVillage St. N.W., according to jail records. The arrest culminated atwo month investigation by local police and the FBI's Internet CrimesAgainst Children Task Force.
Jail records show Zaidi developed an online relationship with the girland arranged to meet her for sex in the Belden Village area. The girlZaidi was communicating with actually was an undercover officer.
Zaidi faces felony charges of attempted unlawful sex with a minor,attempted child endangering, attempted illegal use of a minor innudity-oriented material or performance and importuning. Zaidi was thetask force's 98th arrest.
Links:
http://www.indeonline.com/crime/x1012430497?view=print
http://www.indeonline.com/crime/x1059917866?view=print
More links to Zaidi story are embedded in the said email. Some of them are:
http://www.cantonrep.com/index.php?ID=404372
http://www.cantonrep.com/index.php?ID=405064
http://www.cantonrep.com/index.php?ID=404447
All these links contain story related to Mr Zaidi and his arrest in Ohio in March 2008.
It is therefore clear that Mr Zaidi was not detained for any "national security" or "terrorism related" charges as some may have thought, perceived or believed to be, but was actually detained and arrested by local (Ohio) police and the FBI's Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force on charges of attempted unlawful sex with a minor,attempted child endangering, attempted illegal use of a minor innudity-oriented material or performance and importuning.
I am still waiting for a synopsis from Mr Zaidi who promised me to send when he called me up last week. The documents that he had sent me through his wife did not cover the above episode nor did Mr Zaidi mention it to me at all. These documents were apparently on "non related" matters.
That is why I was careful not to jump to any conclusions. And, when Mr Khalid Hasan of Daily Times requested for details, I sent him the following email:
Based on documents in my possession, he has been apparently detained under "National Security" matter(s) and has been charged with one or more than one offense/crime. His docuents do not clarify this matter. (Bold emphasis by me.)
The Federal case number is 08-CR-0197. Mr. Zaidi is a defendant in the said case. Mr Zaidi promised to send me a synopsis. I still await. Will let you know more details if and when I get them. The matter is subjudice before a Federal Judge. (Bold emphasis by me).
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Nayyar Zaidi behind bars in USA!
A few days back, wife of renowned Washington-based Pakistani journalist, Mr. Nayyar Zaidi, called me up and informed me that her spouse was in detention in Ohio since March 2008 and that she would like to send me some documents for review and publication on DesPardes.com. I therefore gave her my address and my Ferderal Express account number. The next day, I received a package which contained copies of correspondents Mr Zaidi had to the Depertment of Justice, FBI, etc., along with copies of his handwritten notes, observations and latest rejoinder to the Federal court judge.
Mr Zaidi has been living in Virginia, USA, for the last twenty odd years. He is a well renowned columnist of JANG Urdu and a political analyst/commentator for GEO TV, CNN, BBC Urdu and several other world media.
Mr. Zaidi called me up today from the Northeast Correctional Center in Youngstown, Ohio. Since our conversation was basically relevant to his detention and the papers he had arranged to send me through his wife Shaheen, I did not bother that our phone talk was being "recorded and monitored". It was a no-holds-barred-conversation but he took pain not to break rules.
Our conversation was obviously intense. This was the third time in my life that I had received a phone call from a person I knew who was behind bars and who wanted to reach out to someone outside for help. And, of all the people, when a respected Pakistani journalist-cum-columnist with a vast readership in Pakistan and elsewhere happened to be on the other end of the phone, things became different. Naturally, I offered my moral support and promised to break the news to the public on his behalf.
Without discussing with him the merits of the case and his detention, I showed my concern and promised to review the papers he had sent me.
Mr Zaidi said he had gone to Ohio to pursue his journalistic "obstruction of justice" research against those individuals who are being detained there from "all over the world". Unfortunately, he ended up being detained himself in the same facility, he said. He is awaiting trial now in which he is the defendent.
Mr Zaidi has claimed that he has been "targeted" by the FBI/DOJ and the "story" goes back to 1995 when he worked for the Pakistan Television. He was approcahed to work for the U.S. government, he said.
According to Mr Zaidi, he was visited by the Feds (FBI) sometime in 2003, and was asked, he claims, to "become an informant". But he refused.
He says he has a case against FBI/DOJ for "obstruction of justice" and wants only "due process of law" to happen.
I have asked him to writeup a synopsis of the events leading to his arrest. He promised he will send.
I then called the Press Attache of the Pakistan embassy in Washington. Mr Kiani, who happens to be the press attache, told me that he found out about Mr Zaidi's detention today only from the ambasaddor Mr. Hussain Haqaani who found out from Pakistan, he claimed.
According to Kiani, Mr. Haqqani is "concerned" about Mr. Zaidi's welfare.
Both, according to Kiani, were unaware that Mr Zaidi was in detention since the last three months.
Mr Kiani said he had been calling Mr Zaidi's residence but his wife would say that he was either overseas on an assignment or would give him "some kind of answer". Interesting!
Meanwhile, Mr Zaidi remains in detention on "national security matters", he said.
Mr Zaidi has been living in Virginia, USA, for the last twenty odd years. He is a well renowned columnist of JANG Urdu and a political analyst/commentator for GEO TV, CNN, BBC Urdu and several other world media.
Mr. Zaidi called me up today from the Northeast Correctional Center in Youngstown, Ohio. Since our conversation was basically relevant to his detention and the papers he had arranged to send me through his wife Shaheen, I did not bother that our phone talk was being "recorded and monitored". It was a no-holds-barred-conversation but he took pain not to break rules.
Our conversation was obviously intense. This was the third time in my life that I had received a phone call from a person I knew who was behind bars and who wanted to reach out to someone outside for help. And, of all the people, when a respected Pakistani journalist-cum-columnist with a vast readership in Pakistan and elsewhere happened to be on the other end of the phone, things became different. Naturally, I offered my moral support and promised to break the news to the public on his behalf.
Without discussing with him the merits of the case and his detention, I showed my concern and promised to review the papers he had sent me.
Mr Zaidi said he had gone to Ohio to pursue his journalistic "obstruction of justice" research against those individuals who are being detained there from "all over the world". Unfortunately, he ended up being detained himself in the same facility, he said. He is awaiting trial now in which he is the defendent.
Mr Zaidi has claimed that he has been "targeted" by the FBI/DOJ and the "story" goes back to 1995 when he worked for the Pakistan Television. He was approcahed to work for the U.S. government, he said.
According to Mr Zaidi, he was visited by the Feds (FBI) sometime in 2003, and was asked, he claims, to "become an informant". But he refused.
He says he has a case against FBI/DOJ for "obstruction of justice" and wants only "due process of law" to happen.
I have asked him to writeup a synopsis of the events leading to his arrest. He promised he will send.
I then called the Press Attache of the Pakistan embassy in Washington. Mr Kiani, who happens to be the press attache, told me that he found out about Mr Zaidi's detention today only from the ambasaddor Mr. Hussain Haqaani who found out from Pakistan, he claimed.
According to Kiani, Mr. Haqqani is "concerned" about Mr. Zaidi's welfare.
Both, according to Kiani, were unaware that Mr Zaidi was in detention since the last three months.
Mr Kiani said he had been calling Mr Zaidi's residence but his wife would say that he was either overseas on an assignment or would give him "some kind of answer". Interesting!
Meanwhile, Mr Zaidi remains in detention on "national security matters", he said.
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