LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) -- Civil rights groups say a growing number of foreign scholars whose visas have been revoked, denied or delayed based on their ideology or political views. Examples from the American Civil Liberties Union are:
-- Waskar Ari, a Bolivian professor hired to teach Latin American history at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Ari’s 2005 request for a work visa was delayed more than two years during security checks by the U.S. Department of Homeland security. Ari says he was never given a reason for the delays, but thinks he may have been mistakenly linked to Bolivian President Evo Morales, an outspoken critic of the Bush administration’s policies in the region and a supporter of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.
-- Tariq Ramadan, a Swiss citizen and Muslim scholar who teaches at Oxford University. He was denied a temporary business and tourism visa in 2004 after the State Department said he provided material support to a terrorist organization. The ACLU said the U.S. government told Ramadan he was being excluded because he donated $765 to French and Swiss organizations that provide humanitarian aid to Palestinians.
-- Yoannis Milios, a Greek professor of Marxist economic thought who was invited to speak at the University of New York at Stonybrook. Milios was detained in June at the airport, interrogated about his political views and denied entry to the United States, according to the ACLU. Despite a request, no explanation was given.
-- Adam Habib, a prominent South African human rights and anti-war activist who was invited to meet with officials from the World Bank and National Institute of Health. He had a valid visa and had visited the Untied States before, but said he was held for several hours in October after he arrived in New York and questioned about possible links to terror organizations. Habib said he was denied entry with no explanation.
-- Inaki Egana, a Basque historian who traveled to the United States in March to conduct research. He was interrogated about the research, detained overnight and returned to Spain with no explanation, according to the ACLU.
-- Kamal Helbawy, the 80-year-old founder of the Muslim Association of Britain, who was invited to speak at a conference about the Muslim Brotherhood hosted by New York University’s Center on Law and Security in October. He was removed from his New York-bound flight, questioned about the views he intended to present and told he would not be allowed to re-board. No explanation has been given, the ACLU said.
-- Haluk Gerger, a Turkish sociologist and journalist jailed in the 1990s in Turkey for writing about the Kurdish minority. The U.S. State Department in the 1990s criticized Gerger’s treatment, according to the ACLU. Then in October 2002, officials at Newark airport barred his entry with no explanation.
