Sayed Malike
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A New York City cab driver, Sayed Abdul Malike, was arrested in May 2003 after allegedly negotiating a purchase of explosives, armor and drugs with a sting operative, and investigating bridges and ships near Miami, Florida.[1]
Malike legally entered the United States from Afghanistan on September 26, 1996, and was awarded political refugee status in 1998 with help from immigration lawyer Eric Levine.[2] He had also traveled to Italy and Pakistan, and settled in Astoria, Queens.[2][3] He is married with two children, although his wife lives in Pakistan.[2][3]
In 2000, he launched a $5,000,000 lawsuit against the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, complaining his civil rights had been ignored in an altercation with police at the 42nd Street bus station.[3] brought about by being issued a fine for jumping to the front of a line of taxicabs. He allegedly ripped his shirt off and "went berserk", and began banging his head on the car shouting about the "Giuliani Police State",[4][5] while he claims that officer William Finnie beat him.[5] He told the jurors that he was a lowly immigrant driving a cab to raise funds for a human rights organisation in Afghanistan, but the suit was rejected.[5]
Neighbours reported that he often brought women to his apartment, and grew irate when they made jokes about him being a terrorist and comparing him to Saddam Hussein.[3]
