Lebanese man should remain in jail pending investigation

Salam Ibrahim El Zaatari might have just made a mistake. But we must all face the… Salam Ibrahim El Zaatari might have just made a mistake. But we must all face the consequences of even our most seemingly innocent mistakes.

On Oct. 28, El Zaatari, a 21-year-old former student of the Art Institute of Pittsburgh originally from Lebanon, attempted to board a Northwest Airlines flight bound for Detroit when his carry-on luggage was searched. This has become typical procedure after the Sept. 11 attacks. Authorities discovered a utility knife in his laptop computer bag.

He has remained in jail since then on state charges of carrying a prohibited offensive weapon and federal charges of trying to board a plane with an offensive weapon. He had a student visa that was no longer valid because he had dropped out of the Art Institute. In fact, he was returning to Lebanon the day that he was caught. U.S. Magistrate Ila Jeanne Sensenich ordered him held without bond because he could pose a flight risk.

The knife was a utility knife