Afghan Witnesses Trapped in Chicago

It's the never-ending vacation from hell. An Afghan driver named Ziaulhaq, and two other Afghani men were brought to the U.S. under false pretenses in 2008 and have since been forced to remain in the country for over a year as potential witnesses in a bribery case involving U.S. servicemen and Afghan contractors. The men were told that they were embarking on all-expenses-paid trip to Columbus, Ohio, to attend a conference honoring Afghan businesses, but have instead been stuck inside an airport hotel in Chicago, where they must follow nightly curfews and check in with probation officers. Ziaulhaq has not been accused of any crime but has been legally required to stay in the country, despite a sick wife and six children at home in Afghanistan, because of a post-9/11 Bush statute that says prosecutors can hold material witnesses in ongoing investigations, even if they have not been charged with a criminal act.