Suspects explored U.S. entry
PHILADELPHIA – Two of the seven doctors arrested in Britain after last week’s failed bomb attacks had explored the possibility of coming to the United States, making inquiries to a Philadelphia-based organization, sources said.
The two took preliminary steps to apply for graduate medical education programs in this country, sources familiar with the FBI investigation told the Philadelphia Inquirer.
This is the first indication that members of the alleged terrorism cell in Britain expressed any interest in coming to the United States.
After the Glasgow airport bombing attempt, FBI agents visited the Philadelphia headquarters of the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates, sources said.
The nonprofit organization is a national clearinghouse that certifies the qualifications of foreign-trained doctors to work as medical residents in the United States.
Agents found records there on two of the British suspects. One of them, sources said, is neurologist Mohammed Jamil Asha, 26, a Jordanian who was born in Saudi Arabia and is of Palestinian descent.
The name of the second doctor who expressed an interest in coming to the United States could not be learned.
Stephen S. Seeling, vice president of operations for the educational commission, confirmed that FBI agents visited him at his Market Street office this week.
Citing privacy rules, Seeling said he could not discuss the circumstances of the visit or confirm any information about any foreign doctor who may have contacted the commission about coming to this country.
Asha and his wife are among eight foreign medical professionals arrested by British authorities in the plot, which began when two bomb-laden Mercedes-Benzes were discovered last week near a London nightclub.
British news reports have linked Asha with one of the Glasgow suspects, Bilal Abdulla. Asha worked eight weeks at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge, where Abdulla lived in 2001.
According to the BBC, Asha trained at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital and the Princess Royal Hospital in Telford. He moved to the University Hospital of North Staffordshire and was working there as a neurologist. A doctor at Royal Alexandra Hospital in Glasgow said Asha also kept an office there.
In Jordan, security officials said Asha had no criminal record, and friends and family said they found it hard to believe he and his wife were connected with the plot.
“We are an educated family, and we reject all kinds of terrorism,” Asha’s mother, Fawzieh, told the Associated Press.
It could not be learned Thursday how far Asha and the second doctor had proceeded in the certification process, nor where in the United States they hoped to study.
Seeking certification from the educational commission is the first step in a multilayered process for graduates of foreign medical schools who seek a medical residency in the United States. Graduates of Canadian medical schools are exempt.
The organization verifies an applicant’s medical school credentials and administers three exams, identical to those required of graduates of American medical schools.
Last year, roughly 46,000 foreign-educated doctors applied to take at least one of the three tests, Seeling said.
The educational commission is not involved in the visa process, nor in the admissions process conducted by the 7,800 residency programs in the United States.
“We verify medical documents, credentials, diplomas and transcripts,” Seeling said. “The doctors we certify are not guaranteed of anything. It’s just another step in the process.”