Sex, Lies And American Justice: French Still Try To Understand Strauss-Kahn Case (Time.com)

By PIOTR SMOLAR / LE MONDE / WORLDCRUNCH Piotr Smolar / Le Monde / Worldcrunch – Sat Jul 2, 2:25 am ET

This post is in partnership with Worldcrunch, a new global-news site that translates stories of note in foreign languages into English. The article below was originally published in Le Monde.

The startling turnaround in the Dominique Strauss-Kahn affaire has nothing to do with what happened May 14 in the now famous Sofitel hotel room 2806. It is all about the credibility of the plaintiff, the Guinean housekeeper who has accused "DSK" of sexual assault. For the American judicial system, in its Protestant and Puritan culture, lying is considered absolutely unacceptable.

According to the revelations in the New York Times, and subsequent details from prosecutors, there was a healthy amount of incoherence in the statements of the Sofitel Hotel employee. (See pictures of the legal battle of DSK.)

"The American system is based on truth," explains Arthur Dethomas, a Parisian lawyer who is also a member of the New York bar. "Litigants take an oath, they swear not to lie, even in matters that involve themselves. In France, on the contrary, a person who is testifying on his own case is not required to be sworn in, because it is assumed that he can protect himself."

The French system thus gives the accuser a sort of "right to lie." In court, before any statement is recorded, the witnesses are questioned about their connections with the individuals involved in the case. Are they close friends or relatives? Have they had any connection of dependence on them, such as a salary?

According to Dethomas, the revelations mark a decisive turn of events in the investigation. "It has to do with an unexpected affair in a closed room, between two individuals," says the lawyer. "The accusation rests on a sexual encounter between them. For a rape to be established, there must be an absence of consent. If the person who claims to have not given consent ceases to be credible, it's over. Even the fact that she possibly lied on a federal document, the application she filled out for refugee status, would be a felony, a perjury sufficient enough to disqualify everything else she says." (Who was Strauss-Kahn's accuser?)

U.S. Justice Works Both Ways

Between France and the United States, the differences in judicial philosophy and practice, notably concerning the status of the victim, explains part of the incomprehension coming from this side of the Atlantic. But so too does the soap opera of a judicial procedure that has taken place since the beginning in New York against Dominique Strauss-Kahn: his being paraded before the media, handcuffed in front of the cameras, his three-day temporary detention, then the heavy weight given to the prosecution, in contrast to the tactical silence of the defense. "In its brutality, the American justice system works both ways," says a Parisian lawyer.

For his part, Patrick Baudoin, a lawyer as well as the honorary president of the International Federation of Human Rights (FIDH), listened rather incredulously to the avalanche of commentaries since the latest turn of events. "One thing struck me: as soon as certain unfavorable, thorny elements were discovered in the past history of the plaintiff, it was deduced that her testimony no longer stands."

Baudoin himself encountered the ways of the American justice system when he defended the mother of Zacarias Moussaoui, accused of having wanted to participate in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. The comparison between the United States and France prompted him to distinguish justice from public life. "In terms of public morality, it is much better in the United States," he notes. "In France, there is much more leeway and allowance for half-truths. However, in terms of law, it is striking to see what is going on in the United States from one extreme to another. We saw a vilified and reviled DSK who was being dragged through the mud. Suddenly, the victim, who contrary to the French system is merely a witness and not a plaintiff, is discredited." (See pictures of the flashly life of Strauss-Kahn.)

The lie is not only a "mortal sin" inside the courtrooms of America. It is also devastating in front of the cameras. In 1998, Bill Clinton was nearly thrown out of office through an impeachment procedure for having been accused of perjury in the Monica Lewinsky affair. He was not criticized for having a sexual relation with his assistant, but for having lied about it.

In the same way and more recently, the Democratic representative Anthony Weiner had to resign from his position in Congress on June 21. He had sent risquE photos of himself in his underwear through his Twitter account. But the reason for his fall was caused by his first version of the facts, which were misleading and dishonest. He had pretended that his account was hacked. This insupportable line of defense forced him, within a few days, to backtrack and confess with sobs in his voice in front of the cameras. It was already too late.

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See France's reaction to the collapse of the DSK case.

See pictures inside Rikers Island.

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American soccer star plays for Palestine

Palestine's soccer team plays Afghanistan in a World Cup qualifying match Omar Jarun, one of Palestine's defenders, is an American-Arab who was brought up in Georgia He is visiting his ancestral homeland for the first time Palestine's national team is playing in the World Cup qualifiers for the first time

(CNN) -- At six foot five, with his shock of blonde hair shaved into a fat Mohawk and talking in a languid Georgian drawl, Omar Jarun looks like he was once part of an all-conquering college basketball team.

But the 26-year-old American doesn't play basketball. Or at least not well. "I played recreational basketball for one season," he told CNN.

"People told me I should try it because of my height. But I wasn't any good at it."

Instead life had a different path for Jarun, one that would take him far from his native Peachtree City, Georgia.

On Sunday he will line up as a defender for the Palestinian national soccer team as they take on Afghanistan in a match that, just one year on from the World Cup final in South Africa, represents one of the first steps towards qualification for the next tournament in Brazil in 2014.

Besides being Palestine's first World Cup match on home soil, Sunday's encounter will have extra significance for Jarun. It will be the first time he has ever set foot in the West Bank and he plans to visit his ancestral town of Tulkarem.

His team traveled for 24 hours to be able to play their first match against Afghanistan. The game was moved from Kabul to the tiny aluminum smelting town of Tursunzade in southern Tajikistan -- a few miles from the Uzbek and Afghan border -- for fear of violence in Afghanistan.

Palestine won 2-0 and now have a good chance of qualifying for the second round where they would play Thailand.

The return match, to be held Sunday in Ramallah, will also be a landmark: Palestine's first ever World Cup match on home soil.

"My dad taught me to play the game. He would always take me and my brother out and we would always play around the back yard," Jarun says.

"I kicked football in high school, and I was actually pretty good at it. They wanted me to pursue it in college but I didn't really want to. I wanted to play with a team, I really wanted to play soccer."

Jarun's remarkable story began in Kuwait. Along with his sister, his American mother and Palestinian father, he fled the country in 1990 when Saddam Hussein's forces invaded the kingdom and sparked the first Gulf War.

"I remember bombs going off. Missiles shooting off near the apartment. I remember grabbing my bear, me and my sister running to my dad's bedroom and saying: 'What's going on?'" he recalled.

"The next morning my dad would come in shaking from the bombs going off. Because we are American, my mom managed to get the entire family in to the U.S. We left everything behind. My parents had nothing."

Growing up, Jarun soon discovered his love for soccer, playing for AFC Lightning, the same youth team that nurtured U.S. internationals Clint Mathis and Ricardo Clark.

His Arab heritage was seldom an issue, he says, but he noticed a change after 9/11. "By looking at me, I look like a white boy," he laughed. "You don't get judged immediately like my father does. Like an Arab. He gets judged right away. But you look at me and you don't think I'm Arab.

"Before 9/11 there were no problems, really. I had always established myself as an American from the Middle East. After 9/11 it was very difficult. My dad would tell me: 'Be careful what you say.' I would get double, tripled-checked at the airport. You know it's for safety for the country, so I don't have many complaints about it."

After stints playing for the Atlanta Silverbacks, Vancouver Whitecaps and then in the Polish league, Jarun returned to the U.S. and joined F.C. Tampa Bay in America's second tier league. But by now he had become an international footballer.

A scout from the Palestinian Football Federation discovered him while on a tour looking for professional players from the Palestinian diaspora that might qualify to play for the national team.

"At the time, when I thought of the national team I thought I could play for the U.S. national team at some point but I never really got the opportunity, so I took this one. I really had no idea I'd be in the Palestinian national team," he said.

"I knew it wasn't going to be the best set-up, I knew it wouldn't be particularly professional. But I could do my part. I didn't know what I could do for the Palestinian people apart from play football. So when they told me I could play for the Palestinian national team I said yes."

Many will be surprised that Palestine even has a national team. In 1998 FIFA, world football's governing body, recognized Palestine, making it one of the few international bodies to place it alongside other nation states.

But following the outbreak of the second intifada in 2000, and the imposition of restrictions for residents of the West Bank by the Israelis, the local league was cancelled and national team players were prevented from traveling abroad to fulfil their fixtures.

When qualification for the 2006 World Cup began, so many players were prevented from leaving Gaza and the West Bank that only nine could start against Uzbekistan in a match in Doha, Qatar.

Today the team is a patchwork of bureaucracy. They fly on seven different sets of papers that make moving through every border, be it Jordanian, Israeli or Tajik, a tough task.

One, Roberto Bishara, plays for Palestino in the Chilean first division, a team set up by Palestinian immigrants. Three others are Israeli Arabs who have played in Israel's first division while most of the rest play in Jordan or for teams in the newly professional West Bank Premier League.

The coach, Mousa Bezaz and his assistant are French Algerian; eight players and the goalkeeper coach are from Gaza, which is controlled by the militant Palestinian movement Hamas and in many ways cut off from the outside world. Others have an East Jerusalem ID, a separate identity reserved for those Palestinians who live in the divided city or have family there.

Gaza-born players who now play in the West Bank have recently been refused re-entry when trying to come home via Jordan. Arguably the team's best player, defender Abdel Latif Bahdari, was repeatedly refused permission to leave Gaza through Egypt due to a ban on visas for men aged between 18 and 40. By the time he finally got out it was too late for him to make the team.

Jarun recalls first meeting his teammates. "Their first impressions were: 'Who the hell is this guy? How the hell is this guy Palestinian?' But they welcomed me in like I was one of the brothers. It wasn't like I was an outsider. No one was judging each other.

"They could tell I had good intentions for the team. Being an American I can explain to people in America what was going on in their county."

Jarun believes victory on Sunday will do far more than send Palestine into the next round.

"I think the match is huge man. Sport brings countries together and I don't know a better way for the world to know about Palestine apart from this soccer team," he explained.

"Coming from outside, I feel that this is such a big step for this country. We can show that the Palestinians are normal people."

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Greece intercepts Gaza-bound American activists (Reuters)

ATHENS/JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Greece prevented a boat of U.S. activists from sailing on Friday to join a flotilla of pro-Palestinian campaigners planning to challenge Israel's sea blockade of the Gaza Strip.

The small flotilla of activists from the United States, France and Canada was due to leave at least a week ago, but the departure has been constantly put back amid allegations of sabotage.

The Greek coastguard intercepted the boat soon after it left the port of Perama, near Piraeus, for the open sea, one of the activists said.

"We are just here, two miles off Piraeus," said U.S. activist Ann Wright, aboard the ship. "We've been stopped by the coastguard. Their ship maneuvered in front of us and they are now talking to the captain. They want us to turn around," she told Reuters by phone.

Some hours later the vessel started heading back to the Greek shore, said a coastguard official who declined to be named.

Wright said the mission had wanted to sail to the Greek island of Crete but the coastguard would not allow them.

Greek authorities said earlier on Friday that ships destined for Gaza -- which involves transit through international waters -- were prohibited from leaving Greek ports.

But another activist said the coastguard's interception was illegal and would not deter the rest of the flotilla, which is expected to leave in the following days.

"The interception does affect us but we believe it is illegal and unreasonable," Vangelis Pissias told Reuters. "We are determined to continue. How can they be doing this?"

Israel says its blockade of Gaza is aimed at stopping weapons from reaching the enclave's rulers, Hamas -- an Islamist group that is branded a terrorist organization by the West.

Palestinians and their supporters say the naval blockade is illegal and constitutes collective punishment for Gaza's 1.5 million residents.

Israel has urged foreign governments not to let the latest convoy get under way. On Thursday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu thanked allies, including Greece, for taking steps to block the activists.

A spokeswoman for the campaigners said the flotilla would set sail from Greece by the middle of next week.

"Israel is doing its very, very best to make sure we don't get out of port," spokeswoman Greta Berlin said, speaking by telephone from Greece where some of the ships are moored.

"We want to move the boats by July 5 to get to our rendezvous point no later than July 6 or 7 ... We will go with what we have," she said adding that nine boats were now hoping to take part in the mission against original plans for up to 15.

Irish activists accused Israel on Thursday of sabotaging their boat in Turkey, stopping it from sailing to Gaza.

Israel has denounced the flotilla as a provocation, but has denied allegations that it sabotaged either the Irish boat or a Swedish vessel that reported propeller damage after berthing in a Greek port.

Just over a year ago, Israeli marines stormed another pro-Palestinian flotilla that had set sail from Turkey and approached Gaza. Nine activists died in the onboard clashes, provoking an international outcry.

(Additional reporting by Deborah Kyvrikosaios and Yiorgos Karahalis; Writing by Ingrid Melander, George Georgiopoulos and Ori Lewis)

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Somalia pardons UK and American ransom couriers: government (Reuters)

MOGADISHU (Reuters) – Somalia has pardoned six foreigners convicted of illegally carrying millions of dollars into the country with the intention of paying pirate ransoms, a government spokesman and presidency officials said.

Somali authorities detained three Britons, an America and two Kenyans late last month, impounding their two aircraft and $3.6 million in cash.

"Considering the humanitarian situation, the Somali President pardoned the six foreigners," government spokesman Abdirahman Osman Yarisow told Reuters on Sunday, adding that the ransom money the men were carrying would be kept.

The Somali government says it is illegal to pay ransoms to the armed pirate gangs stalking the strategic sea-lanes linking Europe and Asia, but the practice remains common.

A Somali court convicted the six of illegally taking money into the country, aiding and abetting piracy and undermining the integrity of the Somali state.

They were handed jail terms of up to 15 years and ordered to pay fines of up to $15,000.

The government spokesman and officials at the presidency said the men would be allowed to leave Somalia with the two planes, after paying fines for each aircraft.

"Because of their illegal arrival, the two planes were each fined $50,000. And the $3.6 million in cash has been taken by the government. They may fly today or tomorrow. It depends on their departure process. The Somali government never encourages payments to pirates" he said.

A Reuters witness said the men were in a police building at Mogadishu airport on Sunday morning.

Maritime piracy costs the global economy up to $12 billion annually and has spawned numerous private security businesses offering armed protection for ships and ransom deliveries, which are often dropped onto hijacked ships from light aircraft.

The security consultancy firm that had contracted the men to carry the ransom money declined to comment.

(Editing by David Clarke)

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Somalia jails Britons, American over pirate cash (Reuters)

MOGADISHU (Reuters) – A Somali court has jailed six foreigners including three Britons and an American for illegally carrying millions of dollars into the country to pay ransoms for the release of vessels held by pirates.

Authorities in the Horn of Africa country, where a lack of effective central government has allowed piracy to boom off its shores, seized two aircraft carrying $3.6 million in the capital Mogadishu late last month.

"We sentenced the two pilots, who are American and British nationals, to fifteen years imprisonment and a $15,000 fine each," the Mogadishu court's judge Hashi Elmi told Reuters late on Saturday.

The charges were illegally bringing money into the country, carrying cash intended to pay ransoms and landing in Mogadishu without the correct papers.

The four others, among them two Kenyans, were handed ten years jail terms and fines of $10,000 each, Elmi said. The cash and two aircraft were now the property of Somalia's government, he added.

Maritime piracy costs the global economy up to $12 billion annually and has spawned numerous private security businesses offering armed protection for vessels and conducting ransom drops.

Cash ransoms are usually dropped onto captured vessels from light aircraft.

It was the first time Westerners have been sentenced for involvement in ransom payments. Elmi said the six might be able to buy their freedom.

"The men can appeal and if they ask to pay more instead of (remaining in) prison then we shall see and take our decision," Elmi said.

(Reporting by Mohamed Ahmed; Editing by Richard Lough)

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US delegation meets with American jailed in Cuba (AP)

HAVANA – Members of a visiting U.S. delegation met with a jailed U.S. contractor Thursday and reported that he has lost nearly 100 pounds in captivity but is otherwise doing well.

Democratic political strategist Donna Brazile, who was part of the delegation, said they talked for about two hours with Alan Gross in an air-conditioned room across from the cell he shares with two other prisoners at a military hospital. She said the meeting was apparently being monitored, but there were no Cuban officials in the room.

"He's in good spirits although he's clearly lost a lot of weight," Brazile said. "He wants to come home. He does not want us to forget him."

About 50 pounds overweight when he was taken into custody, Gross has lost 95 pounds by his own estimation, she said.

Gross, of Montgomery County, Maryland, was working on a USAID-funded democracy building program when he was arrested in December 2009. This March, he was sentenced to 15 years in prison after being convicted of bringing communications equipment into Cuba illegally. His lawyer is appealing.

Havana, which considers the millions of dollars spent on USAID-funded projects to be aimed at toppling the government, calls Gross a spy. U.S. officials say relations with Havana cannot improve while he remains in jail.

Brazile said at Havana's international airport before flying back to the United States on Thursday that Gross and his visitors had a "down-home" conversation about the Washington Redskins, U.S. politics and crab cake recipes. She said he was not bitter and had "a remarkable sense of humor."

"This has taken a huge toll on his family, his wife, his daughter, his mother, and I assured him that ... I will visit his family and also relate to them his condition," Brazile said.

Gross' daughter and elderly mother both have cancer, and State Department officials have expressed hope that Cuba might release him on humanitarian grounds.

David Dreyer, another member of the delegation who said he and Gross belong to the same Jewish congregation in Washington but had never met before, showed journalists a plastic wristband that Gross apparently fashioned while in custody.

"He pulled this bracelet out of his pocket which he had knitted together from the bottle caps of the bottled water that he drinks every day, and he said that he wanted us to bring this bracelet home so that he would not be forgotten," said Dreyer, who planned to address the congregation back home this weekend.

Gross has said he was working to improve Internet communications for Cuba's Jewish community, though Jewish leaders denied dealing with him.

"Some news about the States is coming through," Dreyer said. "We asked him about that, and the first thing he responded was, 'Anthony Weiner?'" referring to the U.S. congressman who admitted this week that he had sent lewd photos and text messages to women.

The delegation, which arrived Sunday, consisted of U.S. women leaders brought to Cuba by the Center for Democracy in the Americas, which works to improve U.S. relations with Cuba and other countries and is a critic of Washington's decades-old economic embargo against the island.

Former U.S. Rep. Jane Harman, a California Democrat who resigned in February and now heads the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, also was part of the group.

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American loosens bag policies for military

American Airlines will allow military personnel to check up to five bags for free.Soldiers back from Afghanistan said Delta charged their unit $2,800 to check extra bagsAmerican will go to five free checked bags for military personnel, up from three Airline: "Full implementation ... should be completed in the next few days"Delta and United/Continental announced bag-check policy changes on Wednesday

(CNN) -- In the wake of an online video in which soldiers returning from Afghanistan complained that Delta Air Lines charged their unit more than $2,800 in bag-check fees, rival carrier American Airlines on Thursday announced it will allow military personnel to check an extra two bags with no out-of-pocket expense.

"Full implementation of that policy should be completed in the next few days," American Airlines spokeswoman Dori Robau Alvarez said in a statement released Thursday.

The airline is the latest of the major U.S. carriers to change its policy. Delta and Continental/United announced Wednesday they were loosening their checked-bag policies for military personnel.

Soldiers' $2,800 bag fee sparks outrage

Previously, American Airlines allowed three bags to be checked free, "with full government reimbursement to military personnel on any bags above that number," but the carrier decided to increase the free-bag limit to five, "given the potential confusion with different military units carrying different amounts of bags depending on their mission," according to the statement.

The statement continued: "Both our revised 5-bag policy as well as the previous policy allowed active military personnel traveling either on orders or on personal travel to utilize our military bag policy. In addition, American also allows military personnel traveling on orders to have one of their free bags weigh up to 100 pounds and (to be) 126 linear inches in size without penalty. ... This greatly helps with the typical, large military duffel bags."

Its limits on other bags are 50 pounds and 62 linear inches, it said.

The Delta incident got instant notoriety after servicemen spoke out about their experience in a video posted on YouTube.

In the clip, which the men say was recorded on board a Delta flight from Baltimore to Atlanta on Tuesday, a day after they returned from Afghanistan, the soldiers explain they had "a little issue with the bags."

CNN affiliate WXIA in Atlanta identified the soldiers as U.S. Army Staff Sgts. Fred Hilliker and Robert O'Hair.

The men, who were bound for Fort Polk, Louisiana, said their military travel orders allowed them to carry up to four bags, but when they arrived at the airport in Baltimore, Delta told them it allowed military personnel to check only three bags for free.

Members of the unit who were traveling with four bags ended up paying out of pocket for their extra luggage, the soldiers said in the video. They were charged $200 per extra bag, so the 34-member unit ended up paying more than $2,800 in bag fees, the soldiers said.

Any extra bag fees charged by an airline will be reimbursed by the government, a military spokeswoman told CNN affiliate WGCL in Atlanta.

One of the soldiers in the video said the bag he had to pay for was a weapons case that contained "the tools that I used to protect myself and Afghan citizens while I was deployed in the country."

The other man then looked into the camera, exasperated.

"Good business model, Delta," he said sarcastically. "Not happy. Not happy at all," he added, shaking his head.

On Wednesday, Delta changed its policy: Effective immediately, U.S. military personnel traveling on orders are now allowed to check up to four bags for free in coach and five bags in first class and business class.

Delta spokeswoman Susan Elliot on Thursday said the airline will reimburse the complaining soldiers for any fourth-bag fees that the military will not cover, and is giving them travel vouchers good for future trips.

United/Continental also announced Wednesday it will allow more bags.

"United and Continental are waiving the fourth checked bag fee for military personnel traveling on orders in recognition of their sacrifice and service to our country," Christen David, a spokeswoman for United/Continental Airlines, said in an e-mail.

The two airlines closed a merger deal in October.

Delta said it deeply respects and admires men and women in uniform and added that it has worked hard to ensure that U.S. military personnel get "additional flexibility" when they travel on the carrier.

The carrier said it's "continuing to work with the soldiers individually to make this situation right for each of them."

The soldiers may have been misinformed about how many bags traveling active duty military personnel can check for free, according to Stars and Stripes, the independent news organization focusing on the military.

CNN's A. Pawlowski contributed to this report.

CNN

Scotty tops iTunes, "American Idol" ratings surge (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – New "American Idol" champion Scotty McCreery hit No.1 on the iTunes single charts on Thursday, as Fox television reported a 21 percent surge in viewers for the all country music finale of the long-running singing contest.

McCreery, 17, became the first country musician to win the "Idol" title and a recording contract since Carrie Underwood in 2005. The poised teen with the distinctive deep voice beat 16 year-old Lauren Alaina in the youngest Top 2 match-up in the show's 10 year history.

McCreery's newly-released single "I Love You This Big" went straight to the top of the iTunes singles charts, while Alaina's emotional ballad "Like My Mother Does" was at No.3 on on Thursday.

"This is pretty wild. It is a whole lot more than I bargained for coming into this," McCreery, a former grocery store clerk from North Carolina, told reporters on Thursday. "But I'm handling it well. This is my new life, so it's good."

Some 29.3 million Americans tuned in see McCreery crowned at the end of a star-studded finale on Wednesday that included performances from Lady Gaga, Beyonce, Bono and "Idol" judges Jennifer Lopez and Aerosmith's Steven Tyler.

According to preliminary estimates from Fox, the audience in the 18-49 age group most coveted by advertisers rose 12 percent compared to last year.

That was the first time in five years that "American Idol" had grown its 18-49 year old audience for the finale.

The higher numbers reflected a push by "American Idol" producers to attract younger contestants, and the introduction of judges Lopez and Tyler to stem a four years ratings slide.

Last year, just 24.2 million overall viewers watched the finale of "American Idol", which has been a lucrative source of advertising revenue for Fox for more than seven years.

Recent "Idol" champions have seen dismal record sales. But with a new record label in the Universal Music Group, and Underwood's record as the top "Idol" earner, McCreery and his brand of country music could revive those fortunes.

"I am really looking forward to getting my music out there," McCreery said on Thursday, adding that he was hoping to perform at the Country Music Association Festival in Nashville next month.

"I think it's going to be a great album. I've got to pick some good songs. That's what it's all about after the show -- good songs. The fans have got me where I am right now, but now I have to get out the music they want to hear."

"Country music is me, it's what I grew up with, it's what I do," he added. "I have done all the work on 'Idol' and now it's time for the real job to start."

Fox is a unit of News Corp; Universal Music is a unit of Vivendi; iTunes is owned by Apple Inc..

(Reporting by Jill Serjeant, editing by Christine Kearney)

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American accused of stealing handcuffs detained in UAE

Adam Foster has been detained in Dubai since his arrest on February 26. He is charged with stealing police handcuffs.NEW: Travel advisory warns Americans against carrying any security related items in the UAEInvestigators say Adam Foster stole a pair of handcuffsHe says he found them at a mallFoster says he only confessed after he was tied to a chair and beaten

(CNN) -- An American detained for more than two months in the United Arab Emirates faces up to seven years in prison for stealing police handcuffs, an allegation he says he only confessed to after being tortured.

A judge in Dubai is expected to hand down a verdict next week against Adam Foster, 30, of Burdett, New York, whose case has become the focal point of a grassroots letter-writing campaign via Facebook that calls for his release.

"It's hard to be hopeful at this point," Foster told CNN by telephone Thursday from Dubai, where he has been detained since his February 26 arrest. "I don't want to think I'm going to be getting out of here in a few days and then find I have to stay for seven years."

The UAE has charged Foster with theft of government property, possession of police paraphernalia and theft at night. If found guilty, he faces up to seven years in prison.

The U.S. State Department confirmed that Foster was detained. American consular officers met him on February 28 before UAE authorities released him on bail March 1.

Officials in the UAE did not respond to a CNN request for comment.

But investigators claim Foster stole a pair of official police handcuffs during questioning in an unrelated matter at a Dubai police station the night before was due to leave the city, according to his attorney, Yousuf Khalifa Hammad.

Foster has said it was a coincidence, saying he was brought in for questioning because he was in possession of a bottle of Korean rice wine -- a parting gift from colleagues. He was released without charges.

Foster said he found the handcuffs a day earlier on the ground at a mall parking lot, about a mile and half from the police station where he was questioned.

"I was thinking 'souvenir,'" Foster said. "They were lying on the ground. So I picked them up."

Foster, who was on his way home after a six-week stint as a contractor for Dubai Energy Water Authority, was arrested after authorities found the handcuffs in his luggage during a routine security screening at the Dubai airport.

He said he was pulled off the plane, questioned and taken to a police station, where he was interrogated twice by two officers.

It was during that second round of questioning, after hours of maintaining his innocence, he said he was beaten and forced to confess.

Foster claims he was told to take off his shoes and socks, and handcuffed to a chair while one of two officers used a coil to whip the bottom of his feet. He also said he was punched in the face.

"The pain was unimaginable," Foster said. "So I told them I did it. I told them 'I'm sorry.'"

Foster said he then signed a confession written in Arabic.

"I have no idea what it said," he said.

Hammad said there is little recourse for Foster as there were no witnesses to the alleged torture, though court documents show he initially said he was innocent, confessed and then recanted.

"It is up to the judge to consider this," Hammad said.

Foster said he recanted his confession after he was released from jail. He said he did not tell U.S. consular officials who met with him while he was in jail nor did he file a complaint against the officer in the case because he was afraid he would be beaten again if he professed his innocence.

Robert H. Arbuckle, a public affairs officer at the U.S. Embassy in Abu Dhabi, declined to comment because Foster had not authorized consular officials to act on his behalf with the media.

The U.S. Embassy strongly advises travelers to the UAE and those transiting through the country to avoid carrying any type of law enforcement or security item, including weapons, body armor and handcuffs, according to its web site. It warns that people caught carrying such items will face criminal charges.

"I don't understand how they can do this?" Foster said. "How can they put me away for seven years with no proof whatsoever?"

Foster has been living at a Dubai hotel since authorities released him on March 1. In lieu of bail, UAE officials confiscated his passport to ensure he would appear in court, Hammad said.

Nearly 1,000 people have appealed to Yousef Al Otaiba, the UAE ambassador to the United States, and Jeffrey D. Feltman of the State Department's Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs to intervene on Foster's behalf.

"I urge you to do everything in your power to ensure Adam is treated fairly on May 19 with consideration of his illegal torture and coerced confession," according to a sample letter posted on Facebook. "Americans all over the world are counting on you and the State Department to speak boldly in opposition to human rights violations."

Hundreds of others have posted messages of support.

"Imagine yourself in his place for about five minutes. Then do something to help him," urges Facebook user Bruce Varner.

Foster said he was hanging on to hope that the letters from friends and family might make a difference in his case.

Last year, UAE authorities detained Nicholas Moody of Nevada for more than three months on charges of possessing weapons accessories -- parts that could accompany a gun, though no firearm itself.

Moody was arrested during an 18-hour layover in Abu Dhabi while heading back from Iraq. A judge later dismissed the charges.

CNN's Jill Doherty contributed to this report.

CNN

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American who trained al Qaeda pilots still wonders why him

Naples, Florida (CNN) -- He didn't lose any friends or family on that Tuesday in September of 2001, but Rudi Dekkers achieved infamy that day, watching two of his flight school students commit murder as they steered two hijacked passenger jets into the World Trade Center towers.

Today, he celebrates the death of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.

"I wish I killed him," he told CNN. "Like a lot of people, I wish I was the one. And bravo to everyone who was behind this. The head of the snake is gone."

Dekkers says he's spent the past 10 years wondering why two terrorists would choose his Venice, Florida, flight school to practice for the day that will go down in U.S. history as one of its greatest tragedies.

Now bin Laden may be gone, but the pain is not.

"To realize he's not there anymore takes some time ... it's a deep emotion for me," Dekkers said. "I don't have that closure yet. I feel like it is buried. But it is fine and perfect that he's out of the picture."

Dekkers' life has been turned upside down ever since it became known that Mohamed Atta and Marwan al Shehhi came to his school, Huffman Aviation, to get their multi-engine commercial pilot licenses in the summer of 2000.

A year later, Atta piloted American Airlines Flight 11 into the north tower of the World Trade Center and shortly after, al Shehhi steered United Airlines Flight 175 into the south tower.

Dekkers wrote a book about it, "Guilty by Association,"

He says the title pretty much sums up the last 10 years of his life, filled with threats, forced to sell his business.

"Guilty by association is meant as a phrase to mean banks won't borrow you money. I can't get a job because I'm related to 9/11," he claimed.

And now, with the death of bin Laden, Dekkers is emotionally encouraged, but it's only part of the healing.

"Ten years with this emotion, do you think it's over in one day?" he asked. "They want a scapegoat ... when I met people and they found out I was affiliated with this, they turned their back."

Dekkers no longer has a flight school. He was not able to secure financing, he believes, because of his ties to the 9/11 tragedy.

He went into the swimming pool business for a while and today he runs a cellular phone business. He says that while the event remains heavy on his mind, he does not feel responsible.

"Is the grocery store responsible for keeping them alive, because they bought groceries there? This is life. We're all caught up in this," he said.

Dekkers says that both Atta and al Shehhi never displayed any behaviors that would have labeled them as terrorists. At one point, he says, the two men were on the verge of being kicked out of the school because they did not appear to be taking their training seriously and were too busy fooling around and not listening to their instructors. They had to be warned, and went on to become average students, Dekkers said.

"Al Shehhi was a more likable person. He laughed and joked," said Dekkers.

"My employees called Atta 'Dead man walking.' He had a white face and no emotions and was a nasty person, very unfriendly," Dekkers told CNN.

The two future terrorists went on to pass the FAA commercial pilot's test and were granted their licenses.

"I didn't know what they were about to do," Dekkers said. "I don't feel guilty at all. I couldn't do nothing about it.

"I wish I could be a hero. I think about this often. Why me? But that's fate. You can't turn away from fate, I guess."

CNN

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American Idol Carrie Underwood

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Carrie Marie Underwood is among the top ranking country music artist of the world. She rose to fame after coming in at first place in the reality singing competition, The American Idol in the year 2005. Today she is among the top ranking singers, song writers and actresses of teh world. She was born on the March 10th, of the year 1983 in the small town of Muskogee, that is located in the great state of Oklahoma. She did her schooling there and graduated from high school in the year 2001. Afterwards she joined the North Eastern University and from there she graduated with a degree in mass communication with an emphasis on journalism. She auditioned for the American idol and has been one of the favorite contestant ever since the beginning. After winning the show, she has released many albums. She is today a multi platinum selling recording artist. She has won Grammy awards many times along with a golden globe nomination, Academy of Country music award three times and she is also the winner of Country Music Association Female Vocalist. Additionally, she is also the first female artist in the history of music who has won back-to-back Academy of Country Music (ACM) Awards for Entertainer of the Year in the session of 2009 and 2010.

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