RASC News Agency: Politico reported on Tuesday that Mohammad Rahim Wahidi, the former Taliban ambassador to Spain, was arrested by U.S. immigration authorities at Dulles International Airport in Virginia. His detention follows a criminal investigation involving his brother-in-law, Farhad Shakari, who has been accused of orchestrating an assassination attempt on Masih Alinejad, an Iranian-American journalist and outspoken critic of the Islamic Republic. The U.S. Department of Justice had previously indicted Shakari in November last year for his alleged involvement in the plot to assassinate Alinejad.
Wahidi, a permanent U.S. resident based in Sterling, Virginia, was traveling from Turkey to the United States with his wife, Mari Shakari Wahidi. According to his attorney, U.S. immigration authorities briefly detained his wife but released her after 12 hours. Previously, Spain had stripped Wahidi of his diplomatic privileges following allegations of sexual assault and harassment. According to Politico, a federal judge on Monday denied Wahidi’s request for release. His attorney argued in legal filings that the detention of the former Afghanistani diplomat was part of a broader crackdown on immigrants by the Trump administration and expressed serious concerns over the conditions of his arrest.
The filing stated that upon Wahidi’s arrival at Dulles Airport, he was interrogated by multiple agents, potentially from the FBI. His attorney contended that the circumstances of his detention violated his legal rights and demanded his immediate release. Federal Judge Leonie Brinkema ruled that Wahidi would remain in custody until his hearing on Monday morning and prohibited his transfer outside the judicial detention jurisdiction. She also directed U.S. authorities to adhere to the detention standards established by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Hassan Ahmad, Wahidi’s attorney, stated that Wahidi and his wife had been subjected to prolonged interrogation. While Mari Shakari Wahidi was released after nearly 12 hours in custody, Wahidi remained detained overnight, reportedly spending the night in a room with only a thin mattress. Ahmad further disclosed that on Sunday, he attempted to visit Wahidi at Dulles Airport but was denied access due to “border inspection authorities” and “standard operational procedures.”
He emphasized that, given Wahidi’s extended detention, the allegations against his brother-in-law, and the nature of his interrogation, this case should unequivocally be classified as “official detention.”
