SALT LAKE CITY — The attorneys for Mohammad Imran and Mohammad Sajad Kohistani were in court on Thursday afternoon.
On Tuesday, ICE detained Afghan brothers during routine check-in with asylum cases pending. On Thursday was the first hearing in regard to their case.
The purpose of the hearing was to ensure they keep jurisdiction in the District of Utah.
One of the attorneys for the Kohistani brothers, Marti Jones, said they filed a petition for a Writ of Habeas Corpus, but that requires the court to have jurisdiction over the location of the brothers.
“We filed the petition for Habeas Corpus in this case because our belief in this case is that the government has no lawful authority at this point and time to re-detain these brothers,” Jones said.
Inside the Federal Courthouse in Salt Lake City, they discussed the location of the Kohistani’s. The attorneys said the two were moved to Wyoming after the judge had issued an order requiring that they be held in Utah.
In court, they reached an agreement with the government that while their petition for a Writ of Habeas Corpus is pending, they will be held at the Uinta County Jail in Evanston, Wyoming.
On February 2, FOX 13 spoke with Imran and Sajad before they were detained.
“We have received this notice, like a month ago, and then just like, we were just like, trying to do something to, just like, not get detained, and then we have done a lot to just like, make the process easier. But it's not working,” the two told us.
The two came to the US border in 2023 asking for asylum. Since then, their attorneys said they’ve followed all the correct steps.
"They’ve been completely, for over three years, compliant. Their case is moving forward in immigration court; they had an individual hearing scheduled,” Jones added.
They said, as far as they can tell, there has been no lawful argument in their circumstances that would justify re-detaining them.
