Media Center > Turkish Student Cleared in Bomb Threat Trial

Wednesday, June 25, 2003
Source: Pasco Times

Dade City -After a trial that included references to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, a Turkish student was cleared Tuesday of charges he telephoned a bomb threat to Saint Leo University after he was expelled.

Mehmet Emir Bozbey, 22, of Tampa smiled broadly as court officials announced the acquittal after 45 minutes of deliberation, His attorneys argued the state presented no concrete evidence said Bozbey was visiting his family in Turkey when the threat was mad Dec. 19, 2002.

“I believed in the judge, I believed in the jury”, Bozbey said outside the courtroom.. “I knew I was not guilty.”

In the courtroom, defense attorneys Brett Newkirk and David Kubiliun slapped Bozbey on the back in celebration. His mother, Meral, broke into tears.
In opening arguments, Kubiliun said his client was the victim of mistakes and stereotypes. Bozbey was a student at Saint Leo in September 2001 but was expelled shortly after the terrorist attacks.       

University vice president of student affairs Edward Dadez testifies the attacks had nothing to do with Bozbey’s dismissal; rather it was the result of earlier breaches of school conduct codes. But Kubiliun said Bozbey noticed people treated him differently after the attacks.

This case is really about a series of misassumptions.” Kubiliun said. “After Sept. 11, things started to change for Emir Bozbey. Other students started to ridicule him. Teachers started to treat him differently.”

When a call came in from a foreign-sounding person on Dec. 19 of last year, a security guard thought he recognized Bozbey’s voice, making a vague threat of a bomb in a school building.

Security guard Robert Beasley testified Tueday he knew Bozbey well from driving him to and from the airport and said he recognized Bozbey’s voice instantly.

But a detective’s claim on the arrest affidavit that the call had been traced to Bozbey’s phone was wrong, defense attorneys said. Prosecutors agreed that the call was never traced.

“All we heard really is Mr. Beasley heard a conversation and within seconds-two seconds-he immediately jumped to a conclusion, He assumed Mr. Bozbey was on the other end,” Kubiliun said in his closing argument.

Bozbey said he is continuing his studies in international relations at the University of South Florida. He expects to graduate within a year. He said he is considering seeking a master’s degree.