Did Terrorist Case Busy NYC Bus Terminal?

— -- Did Terrorist Case Busy NYC Bus Terminal?

N E W Y O R K, April 30 — The FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force has been given information about a suspicious man seen taking pictures at NYC's Port Authority Bus Terminal.

Port Authority workers told ABCNEWS that a man of Middle Eastern descent had been taking pictures of obscure areas of the terminal. When approached by police, the man fled.

The Port Authority immediately turned the case over to the FBI Joint Terrorist Task Force, but the FBI would not comment about the incident.

Renowned terrorist expert Harvey Kushner says taking photographs of a potential target is a common practice of al Qaeda operatives.

"There's a history, they cased out the embassies in East Africa. They cased out Kohbar Towers, the U.S.S. Cole and certainly the World Trade Center. So, this is the M.O. of that particular group," Kushner says.

Inside the Port Authority Bus Terminal in midtown Manhattan, there are dozens of stores and thousands of people. More people pass through NYC's Port Authority Bus Terminal than any other in the nation: 200,000 people every day.

Last week Attorney General John Ashcroft announced that public places like shopping centers and malls could become potential terrorist targets.

The Port Authority says "it has operated at high-level security since Sept.11, and believes that is sufficient for the bus terminal."

The suspicious photographer seen at the bus terminal has not been identified or tied to any terrorist group. Sources told ABCNEWS that investigators showed the person who witnessed the incident pictures of suspected terrorists in an attempt to identify him.

—ABCNEWS.com

Judge Tosses Out Case Against Jordanian studentN E W Y O R K, April 30 — A federal judge threw out a perjury indictmenttoday against a Jordanian college student who knew two allegedSept. 11 hijackers, citing errors made when investigators appliedfor an arrest warrant.

U.S. District Judge Shira Scheindlin dismissed the indictmentafter concluding that Osama Awadallah, 21, was unlawfully arrestedafter he was taken from his San Diego home several days after theSept. 11 terrorist attacks.

"Awadallah was effectively seized," she wrote.

Scheindlin said that federal statute does not authorize thedetention of material witnesses for a grand jury investigation. Itwas not immediately clear what effect such a ruling could have ondozens of material witnesses held since the terrorist attacks onthe World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

"We believe the court's opinions are wrong on the fact and thelaw and we are reviewing our appellate options," U.S. AttorneyJames B. Comey said in a statement.

A message left with a lawyer for Awadallah was not immediatelyreturned.

The judge also threw out evidence seized after Awadallah, astudent at Grossmont College in El Cajon, Calif., was taken intocustody on Sept. 21. The evidence included videotapes and a pictureof Osama bin Laden.

The judge cited several factors showing that Awadallah's consentto go with FBI agents to their office and later submit to a liedetector test was the "product of duress or coercion."