Houssein Zorkot appeared this morning for his preliminary exam in Dearborn's district court.
Zorkot’s preliminary examination has been delayed several weeks because the defendant was undergoing a psychiatric evaluation determining his competency to stand trial. This morning the court accepted the stipulation of both the prosecution and the defense, agreeing with the forensic report stating Zorkot is competent, and, in fact, “normal,” for purposes of standing trial.
Zorkot thereafter waived his right to his preliminary exam. Next he will be formally arraigned (December 28th) and bound over for trial in circuit court.
Over the prosecution's objections, the court agreed with the defendant that the $1M bond was too high, and recommended that it be lowered to a $100,000 cash bond, . Assuming Zorkot can meet the bond, he will be released with a tether, and confined to his home.
Family members and friends of Zorkot were present in the courtroom ready to vouch, if called upon, that if Zorkot were released from jail he would pose no further threat, nor try to flee. At the same time, the Wayne State University medical school, (where Zorkot had been studying medicine prior to his arrest), sent a representative to court expressly to reiterate that, even if Zorkot were released on bond, he would still not be allowed to return to the school.
Thanks for the update. I couldn't get there this morning due to other unexpected obligaitons.
ReplyDeleteNot pleased that he may get out on bail, but a tether is better than nothing. We'll soon see if he violates it.
You can still blow up a bomb, spread jihad propaganda, and shoot an AK47 while on a tether.
ReplyDeleteWas this Judge Hultgren's doing? He is on the take and his trial was just a few weeks ago. But, the results will not be decided and made public until March '08. In the mean time, we have a terrorist on the lose.
Was it Hultgren, Mr. Clancy?
ReplyDeleteWith a $100,000 cash bond I believe $10,000 will get him out.
ReplyDeleteAdd a couple of thousand for the judge and its bombs away for the hottie jihadi!
Dearbon's camp Hezbollah has all that "tax-free" money. They will just short the wire transfer a little or save on the expense of a plane ticket for the individual who had it packed in his suitcase ready for flight to Bint jbail.
Good!! We know the guy isn't a loose nut wack job. He sincerely hates this country and feels that his jihad to kill and maim is just. I hope he gets convicted and spends 15-20 years being everybody's favorite prison date.
ReplyDeleteOn another note, I happen to be acquainted with several third year WSU medical students. Not a single one of them has met Zorkot or knows anything about him, and that is very strange as they spend the first 2 years of med school together in all of the same classes.
Yes, it was Judge Hultgren, but after today the case will proceed to the circuit court.
ReplyDeleteZorkot is still in jail, pending payment of his bond. It wasn't clear to me from how the judge ruled whether he was lowering it himself, or recommending it to be lowered, perhaps for the successor court. My bad for not knowing more about criminal bonds.
Frankly, so far I haven't seen that the usual suspects associated with Hezbo taking a very visible role in supporting him.
As to the WSU thing, strange that no one remembers him. The med school has taken it seriously enough to publicly say he's not welcome, and to send somebody to court to say he still isn't welcome. Sounds like they knew him as a student.
Thanks all for commenting.
A few days ago in the Toronto area, a 16 year old Muslim girl, Aqsa Parvez, was murdered by her father because she refused to wear the traditional hijab headscarf when she went out. Apparently, one of the girl's brothers actually lured her to her father's home where the murder took place. This is an example of so-called honor killings, carried out by a female's own family member when the girl violates traditional Islamic customs or defies her parents. It also happened in the US back in 1989, when a Palestinian Muslim father and mother in St. Louis viciously stabbed their daughter (Palestina Isa) to death for similar "offenses". Ironically, the FBI had the house bugged because the father, Zein Isa, was a member of the Abu Nidal terrorist cell. Thus, the murder was captured on audiotape. This murder in the parents' unremorseful eyes, was another example of an honor killing. Fortunately, our US court didn't see it that way. The parents were convicted and sentenced to death.
ReplyDeleteThis raises a serious question in western countries with large Muslim immigrant communities: How do we deal with certain practices that are accepted in Muslim communities that are clear violations of US laws? How much can we demand of all of our immigrants that they assimilate into our culture? Europe is faced with the same problem. Germany and other countries have witnessed honor killings. In Holland, female circumcision has been carried out behind closed doors. People (like Theo van Gogh) have been murdered for "defaming" Islam. In other cases, Fatwas have been issued by Islamic clerics, to be carried out against people like Salmon Rushdie who live in Europe. This is clearly intolerable and must be addressed, both here and other countries in the West.
As I have said before, I welcome legal immigration, but I do feel that immigrants should make the decision to assimilate. They should especially accept that their children and grandchildren will assimilate even more, which is a natural process. They will be Americans, speak English, and will be exposed to all the American influences for better or worse.
When it comes to religion, we do not demand that immigrants give up their religion. It is their right to practice their faith. However, it is a natural process that the younger generations may choose at some point to become Christian, or Jewish or whatever. I don't have any empirical evidence, but I know from my own experiences with Asian-Americans that many of the younger generations eventually become Christian. In California, you will see numerous Christian churches with a predominantly Korean, Japanese or Chinese congregation. It appears that the Islamic community would not tolerate this kind of conversion.
So here is the dilemma: Should Muslim immigrants to America accept the possibility that their children and grandchildren will become Americanized and engage in social activities or dress that they disapprove of? Should they accept the fact that their children may decide to convert to another religion? Should they accept the fact that honor killings and fatwas are not tolerated here and will be severely punished? The answer is yes.
If Muslim parents want to protect their children from drugs, premarital sex, drinking etc., I say join the club of millions of concerned American parents (including me). If Islamic influence encourages young people to act in a moral and modest manner, I am fine with that. However, if even the more innocent forms of assimilation into Western society are unacceptable, then they should remain in their own countries.
gary fouse
fousesquawk