U.S. Student responsible for Muslim cabbie attack in court

Ahlul Bayt News Agency - ABNA.ir - An arts student accused of slashing a Muslim taxi driver's neck has been indicted on hate-crime charges, prosecutors said on Monday.

Michael Enright, the 21-year-old accused of telling the driver to "consider this a checkpoint" before allegedly stabbing him last week, waived his right hand to be in court as his indictment was announced Monday. He was being held without bail in a psychiatric ward until an accusation next month on charges of attempted murder and assault, both as hate crimes.

Authorities said Enright, uttered an Arabic greeting before making his "checkpoint" remark and attacking driver Ahmed H. Sharif with a folding knife Aug. 24. Police have said Enright was drunk.

Sharif, who is from Bangladesh, was wounded in the face and neck but survived. He has said he has no doubt the attack was fueled by anti-Muslim bias.

The allegations have mystified some who know Enright, a senior at the School of Visual Arts who lives with his parents in suburban Brewster, N.Y. He had volunteered with an interfaith group that helped pay to send him to Afghanistan as part of a video project for his school. As part of the work, Enright spent time embedded with U.S. troops. When arrested, he was carrying two notebooks that described his experiences in Afghanistan, along with an empty bottle of scotch, police have said.

Moreover, Enright's lawyer, Lawrence Fisher, declined to comment on the charges.

Enright has refused to speak with reporters, and Fisher said he might ask a judge to block media representatives from trying to visit the student.

Enright's arrest came along with an emotional, worldwide discussion of the planned Islamic center and mosque two blocks from the World Trade Center site. Supporters see the mosque as a monument to religious freedom.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who supports the proposal, at a news conference with Sharif last week said: "This should never have happened and hopefully won't happen again, hopefully, people will understand that we can have a discourse."

If convicted, Enright could face up to 25 years in prison

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