(From The Republic, Columbus, IN.)
Twenty-two young men who are accused in a lawsuit of being involved with a Kurdish gang in Nashville will be restricted from associating with each other, at least temporarily.
Attorneys who filed the lawsuit for the Metro government want the men declared a public nuisance. If that happens, they could be permanently barred from being together in public within a 1.4-square-mile "safety zone" south of downtown, where police say the Kurdish Pride gang operates.
It is the first time in Tennessee that a city has used public nuisance laws to combat gang violence.
At a hearing on Friday, most of the men said they need time to find attorneys. The judge reset the hearings for Aug. 3. In the meantime, the men will have to abide by the restrictions.
After the hearing, Aran Ibrahim, who is one of the men named in the suit, complained that he and several others have not been involved with the gang for months or years. Some are now working and married with children.
He also was upset that he was being asked not to associate publicly with his cousins.
"A lot of us are relatives," the 22-year-old said. "Sometimes you need a ride to work. You're going to call your cousins."
The restrictions on public association include riding in a car together within the so-called safety zone. If the men were caught doing so, the car could be seized.
Ibrahim, who came to the United States from Turkey as a baby and is an American citizen, was convicted of selling cocaine last year. On Friday, he said he is trying to quit the gang life but the lawsuit drags him back in by labeling him as a gang member.
Meeran Hamawandi attempted during the hearing to persuade Metro attorneys to dismiss him from the suit but could not reach an agreement with them.
In an interview afterward the 23-year-old said he is not involved in the gang but is a student at Middle Tennessee State University where he performs community service as a member of the Kappa Alpha Order fraternity. He also said he is working to establish an import-export business.
Hamawandi said he was born in Iraq, but has lived in the United States since he was 7 and is a citizen.
He said he planned to sue Metro for defamation.
Typically the state's public nuisance law has been used by local governments to shut down businesses associated with crimes like prostitution and illegal alcohol sales. The state added criminal gang activity to the law in 2009, but this is the first time that provision has been used.
The city's petition includes a way for the accused to opt-out of the injunction if they can prove they are no longer part of the gang. It also gives the city a way to add other gang members to the injunction in the future.
