A group of young soccer players arrested after a cross-country flight was diverted are scheduled to appear in court Wednesday to face a federal charge for interfering with a flight crew. Meanwhile, some family members in El Cajon are questioning the facts and motives behind the arrests.
Saiman Hermez, 19; Jonathan Khalid Petras, 20; Ghazwan Asaad Shaba, 21; Essa Solaqa, 20; Khalid Yohana, 19; and Wisam Imad Shaker, 23, were named in a criminal complaint.
The men were on Southwest flight 1522 that was headed to Chicago Monday night when the plane was diverted to Amarillo, Texas after a "Level 1 Threat" was declared onboard.
Prosecutors allege the teammates talked loudly, used profanity, lunged forward at a flight attendant, called her racist and a pig, and attempted to incite other passengers.
A flight attendant was "in fear for the safety of the crew and passengers" when she asked pilots to divert the aircraft, according to the complaint.
Southwest Airlines said, “several passengers traveling together became disorderly” and “refused to obey instructions from the crew.”
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Christina Shaker has tried texting and calling her brother Wismar but gotten no response since his arrest.
“We just want to know they are safe and why they are in jail,” Shaker said.
Other members of the soccer league here at home say they are embarrassed.
“I'm sorry to hear that but they should more behave and have respect for their elders,” soccer player Muhammad Shamsaldia said.
Some family members feel strongly this was more than a misunderstanding. The soccer players were speaking excitedly in their language.
“We Chaldean people are Arabs. When we are happy we like scream we do parties maybe that thing was going on,” Shaker said.
The Petras family calls it something closer to racial profiling.
“I have been flying Southwest for 31 years this is the first time I have ever heard a flight attendant telling people to 'Shut up, shut up' twice,” Kelly Petras said.
While the FAA categorizes disruptive behavior as the lowest level threat, the charge of interfering with a flight crew carries a maximum 20 year prison sentence if convicted.
The soccer players were released from federal custody Wednesday under specific conditions, court deputy Elodia Brito confirmed. The charges have not been dropped.
Mark Arabo, a first generation Iraqi-American born and raised east of San Diego and founder of the non-profit, Minority Humanitarian Foundation (MHF), helped facilitate the release of the men through discussions with federal authorities and Southwest Airlines.
The charges have not been dropped, but Arabo – who runs an “underground railroad” for Iraqi refugees fleeing ISIS – plans to stand behind the group.
"These young men made some regrettable actions,” Arabo said. “But they should not be misrepresented as anything greater than just that. They are not to be labeled as Chaldean, or Middle-Eastern men, but as young men who made a mistake.”
“With that being said, there is fault that lays with both sides. After discussion with the families involved, it has come to our attention that these Christians were told not to speak their first language on this flight. Not only is this intolerant, it is illegal. The finality of this case has yet to be witnessed on either side. And we intend to wholeheartedly stand behind these young men moving forward,” he continued.
