Abdelrehim Kewan insists that all he did was take a wrong turn last October and stop at Camp Pendleton to ask for directions. The 36-year-old Egyptian got more than he bargained for: an indefinite stay in a jail cell and trouble from a federal government under heightened alert after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Kewan’s problems began when the Marine base included his name in a report Camp Pendleton is required to file with San Diego’s federal Joint Terrorism Task Force. Any unauthorized person who approaches the gate is included in the report. Two weeks later, immigration agents showed up at Kewan’s apartment in San Diego to question him about his stop at the base. They noted that his immigration status was in limbo and led him away in handcuffs, according to arrest reports. Kewan lives alone; his family is in Egypt. Since Oct. 25, Kewan has been held without bond at the San Diego Correctional Facility on Otay Mesa. No criminal charges have been filed against him. Neither FBI nor military officials suggest that he was anything more than a lost motorist when he arrived at Camp Pendleton’s gate, according to court documents. Full Story
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