Terror Scare Bust A 'Misunderstanding'

The three Muslim medical students detained after a woman said they were discussing terror plans told reporters they want to clear their names and study to become doctors, but a Miami hospital where they were supposed to train no longer wants them.

The head of Larkin Community Hospital in Miami said Sunday he had received more than 200 e-mails after the incident, some threatening.

"Obviously, nothing is final," said Dr. Jack Michel, president and chief executive officer of Larkin. "Our primary objective is to take care of patients. I don't know how that could be done with all this media coverage."

He said the medical school where the men are studying, Ross University, had agreed to transfer them to a different training program.

Kambiz Butt, 25, said Sunday that he and Ayman Gheith, 27, and Omar Choudhary, 23, want to continue their education in the United States.

"We're medical students. We are not terrorists," Butt said, flanked by Gheith and Choudhary. "Our concern in life is to become doctors. We want to help people. We do not want to hurt."

Butt, the only one of the students to speak at a news conference, said they were worried about their futures but have no resentment toward the woman who told authorities she overheard them discussing terrorist plans Thursday at a restaurant in Calhoun, Ga. They were detained for 17 hours, but were not charged with any crimes.

"We're in a state of shock and we are scared," Butt said. "But I'd like to tell the American people that we are not a threat."

On Friday, Gheith said the experience was an injustice that should never be repeated.

"I learned that injustice, regardless against whom, is wrong," Gheith said. "It is against us today, tomorrow it could be against you."

Speaking to reporters after his release, Gheith, who has a long beard and wore a skull cap, said the woman may have been influenced by his appearance.

"She saw obviously the way I was dressed and maybe she put a little salt and pepper into her story," he said.

The woman who called authorities, Eunice Stone of Cartersville, Ga., said she heard the students talking about blowing up buildings and laughing about the Sept. 11 attacks. She also said she heard the students saying that a terrorist event was looming on Sept. 13.

"Not once did we mention 9-11. Not once did we mention anything about 9-13, nor did we joke about anything of that sort," Butt said. "She was probably just eavesdropping on our conversation and might have heard a few key words that she misconstrued."

Butt said he believes Stone was attempting to be "a patriot for America."

Stone stood by her report of what she heard and said she would do the same thing again.

"I am not a racist, and I am not ignorant," she told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "I was just trying to do what's best."

Chaudhary's father, Javed Chaudhary of Kansas City, Missouri, was angry over the detention, noting his 23-year-old son was born in Detroit.

"We are very upset. I think this is all fabrication. I don't know what the lady in the restaurant heard or assumed. She must have had some kind of prejudice," said Javed Chaudhary, a native of Pakistan.

Hana Gheith of suburban Chicago also said she didn't believe the report about her 27-year-old brother. She said he was driving to Miami to find an apartment before starting his hospital training program.

"My brother doesn't joke about these matters," she said, her voice at times shaking with anger. "A lot of Muslims suffered in 9/11."

Brett Newkirk, one of four attorneys representing the students, called the situation "an incident of misunderstanding."

"They are Americans, just like any other American, who are proud to be American, who want to fulfill the American dream, and who were on the road to doing that when the American nightmare happened to them," Newkirk said.

David Kubiliun, another attorney for the men, said all three are U.S. citizens. Gheith is a naturalized U.S. citizen born in Jordan.

The three students were in two cars and en route to Miami on Friday when authorities stopped them on Interstate 75 after one of the vehicles allegedly went through a toll plaza without paying. Newkirk denied they had not paid.

Officials at Ross University, which is based in New York City but has a campus on the Caribbean island of Dominica, did not immediately return calls for comment on Sunday.