A former Tufts dental student has been detained for questioning in connection with the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, according to a report in the Boston Globe last week.
Fayad has not personally contacted his family since the detainment, although the Egyptian Embassy in Washington has been relaying information as they learn it from the US government.
"We have not been able to contact him personally. We will try to do so," said Mahmoud Zayed, head of the consular section at the Egyptian Embassy. "His family in Egypt is concerned and wants to contact [him]."
Fayad is considered a material witness because authorities believe he was once the roommate of one of the hijackers, the Globe reported. Fayad reportedly studied at Tufts dental school for six months, before being dismissed. The University would not confirm that he ever was a student.
The Los Angeles Times reported last week that he was being held by the FBI in New York for a possible link to the attacks in Washington and New York. But the FBI refused comment.
The 33-year old Egyptian native was taken into federal custody on Sept. 17 from his home in Colton, CA and was transferred to New York for questioning. Globe reporters found the Tufts connection through documents in an Otis Street apartment in Cambridge. The documents indicate Fayad attended the dental school for a brief period in 1998 or 1999.
Reports said Fayad is one of 175 people on the FBI's "watch list" of those with possible connections or relationships to the terrorists.
Fayad was evicted from the Cambridge apartment after failing to pay his rent and subsequently moved to a Pleasant Street apartment in Malden. This apartment building reportedly once housed operations connected with Osama bin Laden.
A former resident of the apartment, California native Raed Hijazi, is now imprisoned in Jordan after collaborating to disrupt a millenium celebration at a hotel in Amman, according to the Globe. But associations between Fayad and Hijazi are not confirmed.
The Malden building's landlord told the Globe that he was surprised about Fayad's detainment and that he was a "regular guy" who often played tennis.
Neighbors in Colton say that Fayad lived in California for at least the past 18 months, reported the Globe. One resident of the apartment complex told the LA Times that he "sometimes took issue with people who criticized the United States."
In addition to 19 people identified as hijackers, 350 people have been detained and 400 more are sought for questioning by federal authorities. Officials a searching for members of the network which supported the hijackers, provided them with money and training as well as coordination.
Investigators plan to freeze financial assets and institutions which may have been used as conduits between Mr. bin Laden and his Al Qaeda terrorist network. They are looking into 200 organizations that may have been involved.
- Veronica Aguilar, Adam Blickstein, Nicolas Ferre, and Adam Pulver contributed to this article.
