Police Charge Iraqi Father Who Allegedly Ran Over "Westernized" Daughter

By: Sammy Rose Saltzman
Topics: Daily Blotter

(KPHO/MySpace Photo)

MySpace Photo: Noor Almaleki.

NEW YORK (CBS/AP) An Iraqi immigrant who gave authorities the run-around after he allegedly ran over his daughter with a Jeep because she was becoming too "Westernized," was charged Saturday with aggravated assault in Arizona.

Faleh Almaleki was arrested Thursday when he arrived at Atlanta's airport from England, after authorities there denied him entry. He was ultimately returned to the Phoenix-area city of Peoria, booked and taken to a county jail.

Almaleki is accused of striking and then running over his 20-year-old daughter and her boyfriend's mother with his Jeep on Oct. 20, as the women were walking across a Peoria, Ariz. parking lot.

Noor Almaleki remains hospitalized in serious condition after undergoing spinal surgery. The other woman, Amal Khalaf, is in serious but stable condition, according to family members.

(KPHO)

Faleh Almaleki.

Police said the Almalekis moved to Peoria from Iraq in the mid-1990s.

Family members said Noor Almaleki had been living with her boyfriend and Khalaf, and that Faleh Almaleki was upset that his daughter had become too "Westernized," had failed to live by traditional Muslim values and had disrespected the family.

After the alleged incident, authorities said Almaleki went to Mexico. He eventually flew to London, where United Kingdom authorities denied him entry.

They contacted U.S. authorities and Almaleki was put on a flight back to Atlanta, where he was arrested, then sent back to Arizona.