An Iraqi immigrant accused of running down his daughter in Arizona with his car because she was becoming "too Westernised" has been arrested in Georgia, authorities say.
Jim Joyner, a spokesman for the US Marshals Service in Atlanta, said on Friday that Faleh Almaleki was arrested when he arrived at Atlanta's airport. He had been sent from the United Kingdom after authorities denied him entrance.
Almaleki, 48, awaits extradition to Arizona and will face two counts of aggravated assault, according to Peoria police.
He is accused of striking and then running over his 20-year-old daughter and a family friend with his Jeep on October 20 as the women were walking across a Peoria parking lot.
Noor Almaleki remains hospitalised in serious condition after undergoing spinal surgery. The friend, Amal Khalaf, is in serious but stable condition, according to family members.
Khalaf, 43, is the mother of Noor Almaleki's boyfriend.
Police said the Almalekis moved to Peoria from Iraq in the mid-1990s.
Family members said Noor Almaleki had been living with her boyfriend and Khalaf, and Faleh Almaleki was upset that his daughter had become too "Westernised," had failed to live by traditional Muslim values and had disrespected the family.
After the incident, authorities said Almaleki drove his vehicle to Mexico and abandoned it in Nogales, where Mexican officials later located and seized it.
Almaleki made his way to Mexico City, where he boarded a plane to London, but United Kingdom authorities denied him entry into the country.
They contacted US authorities and Almaleki was put on a flight back to Atlanta, where he was arrested upon arrival.
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