A hearing is scheduled in Santa Ana today to determine if an Anaheim man accused of helping ISIS has been eating since being ordered to do so by a federal judge.
If Muhamad Elfatih M.A. Badawi has not complied with the order, U.S. District Judge David O. Carter will order him force-fed.
Badawi had been fasting irregularly, causing his weight to drop from about 140 pounds to about 110 in recent days. Carter urged Badawi on Friday to have dinner or he would be ordered to be force-fed.
Badawi ate a peanut butter sandwich, two ounces of tuna, honey and drank some apple juice shortly after Carter’s order, said his attorney, Kate Corrigan.
Carter said during Friday’s hearing he was contacted Nov. 20 with news that the 24-year-old Badawi was refusing to eat or be treated by female medical personnel while in custody in the Santa Ana jail. He and Corrigan have been working to have Badawi transferred to the Metropolitan Detention Center in Los Angeles, where he indicated he would eat.
The gaunt man appeared lethargic at times during Friday’s hearing and Carter had to sharply command his attention occasionally.
A nurse at the Santa Ana jail told Carter that Badawi was reluctant to receive any treatment from her, but was more cooperative with a male nurse.
Lisa Hope, a psychologist who has been treating him, said her staff is almost entirely female and when he first arrived in Santa Ana’s jail he was “somewhat resistant.”
Badawi told the psychologists and social workers he would only speak with females when necessary, Hope said. The psychologist added that he cited his “religious beliefs” for his reluctance to deal with women counselors.
Badawi, who insisted in Friday’s hearing he was not on a hunger strike, also indicated he wanted to fast on Mondays and Thursday for religious reasons. Carter, who has spent a good deal of time in Afghanistan and Middle Eastern nations where he trains officials on legal issues, scoffed at the suggestion that Badawi had a legitimate reason to fast on those days.
“You’ve got the wrong days and the wrong time,” Carter told the defendant. “This is not Friday and this is not Ramadan,” the Muslim holy month, marked by daily fasting from dawn to sunset.
Badawi was indicted along with Nader Salem Elhuzayel, 25, of Anaheim, on charges of bank fraud and providing material support to ISIS.
The indictment alleges that during April and May, Elhuzayel operated a scheme to rip off three banks by depositing stolen checks into his personal checking accounts and then withdrawing cash from automated teller machines.
Badawi is accused of buying a plane ticket for Elhuzayel to get to Turkey.
The men, who have been denied bail, were initially charged May 22, a day after FBI agents arrested the two — Elhuzayel at Los Angeles International Airport and Badawi at an apartment in Anaheim.
