TAMPA, Florida, 23 May 2006 — Two Saudi men who boarded a school bus full of children and gave conflicting reasons why they were there were arrested and held without bail, authorities said Sunday.
Mana Saleh Al-Manajam, 23, and Shaker Mohsen Al-Sidran, 20, were charged with misdemeanor trespassing and were jailed after a judge said Saturday she wanted more background information on them. A hearing was scheduled for today.
The two men arrived in the country six months ago on student visas and are enrolled at the English Language Institute at the University of South Florida.
Investigators said they boarded the school bus Friday, sat down and began speaking in Arabic. Their behavior concerned the driver, a substitute, who alerted the school district.
The men were asked why they boarded the bus, and sheriff’s spokesman J.D. Callaway said they gave different answers: They wanted to enroll in an easier English language program than the one at USF; they wanted to see a high school; and they thought it would be fun.
Ahmed Bedier, director of the Central Florida Council on American-Islamic Relations, criticized the decision to arrest and detain the men.
“The only reason (this happened) is because of who they are, and that’s wrong,” he said. “Thus far, it doesn’t seem like they’ve been afforded their full rights for something as simple as getting on the wrong bus.”
