In reversal, suspect tied to terror group ordered held.

Byline: Bill Bishop The Register-Guard

A federal judge on Tuesday ordered a former fugitive suspected of aiding international terrorism to remain behind bars until a detention hearing next week.

Pirouz Sedaghaty, who also is known as Pete Seda, was to have been freed Friday under an order Monday by a federal magistrate judge in Eugene who ruled that Seda is neither a public danger nor a flight risk while facing charges of tax fraud and money laundering.

In a highly unusual move, federal prosecutors appealed to U.S. District Judge Michael Hogan, asking that he overrule Monday's decision by Magistrate Judge Thomas Coffin.

After hearing both sides in an 80-minute session Tuesday, Hogan said his chief concern is whether Seda has concealed assets and passports that may allow him to flee again.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Chris Cardani told Hogan that the "somewhat regulatory" charges against Seda veil a potentially more sinister pattern of promoting violent extremist Islamic deeds. He said Seda has failed to explain how he earned money to pay for extensive travel in the Middle East in the 4 1/2 years since he fled the United States while under investigation for his work with the Ashland-based Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation.

The U.S. government and the United Nations have declared the foundation a terrorist organization. The government of Saudi Arabia, where the foundation was based, disbanded the group in 2004.

Seda's lawyer, Lawrence Matasar of Portland, said Seda has cooperated with officials who advise federal judges about pre-trial release decisions. However, he said difficulties arise in trying to confirm addresses and other information in Middle Eastern countries where the address system is different and individuals are difficult to locate. He pledged to provide more information, including financial data, for Hogan's review.

Matasar noted that several Ashland-area residents have testified that Seda promoted peace and tolerance in their community. Matasar also said Seda advocated peace while living abroad in recent years.

"There were threats and other difficulties," Matasar told the judge. He indicated Seda may have returned to face charges because of problems in his native Iran. Seda left that country in 1976 and became a U.S. citizen, according to court records.

The charges stem from a $150,000 transaction that began with a donation to the U.S. branch of Al-Haramain, which Seda co-founded in Ashland. The foundation allegedly smuggled the funds out of the country for use by Islamic fighters in Chechnya, hiding the transfer by claiming on tax forms that it was used to buy property for a prayer house in Missouri.

According to Cardani, Seda also started an Internet service used by radical Islamic leaders, distributed literature advocating violence against non-believers, and raised money for radical Islamic combatants.

After Seda left the country, he lived in and traveled frequently between Syria, Iran and the United Arab Emirates, Cardani told Hogan. Yet, Seda has not disclosed how he could afford the travel costs or cover other living expenses while a fugitive.

Seda does not present a physical danger, Cardani told the judge, "but the type of danger that he will resume his activities."

Asked by Hogan why Seda would return to face charges, Cardani speculated that he may wish to support Al-Haramain's legal challenge to its designation as a terrorist organization, or to help in Al-Haramain's federal lawsuit alleging illegal wiretaps were used to gather information against the foundation.

Matasar responded that Seda should not be kept locked up merely to keep him silent in legal challenges against the government. He suggested that Hogan could prevent Seda from any inappropriate activity by releasing him under conditions that limit his travel, his associations and his Internet use.

Hogan said he wants verifiable information on Seda's activities and finances while a fugitive. He also wants explanations for discrepancies in name spelling, date of birth and photographs used on passports issued to Seda.

"We're looking for things we can verify," Hogan said. He continued the detention hearing until Tuesday in federal court in Eugene.