testblog

******Please forward widely and act TODAY!**********

Early in the morning of Friday April 11th IDF troops invaded the home of the AbuMaria family and arrested Mousa AbuMaria. Mousa is a well known nonviolent activist and a co-founder of the Palestinian Solidarity Project. He has been a lead organizer in peaceful protest involving hundreds of Israelis and internationals and has been committed to nonviolence for several years.

When Mousa was arrested his family was not told of the reason of his arrest or his whereabouts.
When his lawyer managed to locate him it turned out he was being held in military jail but still no reason for his arrest was given. Only days later was his lawyer finally told that he was suspected of membership in a terrorist organization but when his interrogation did not turn up any evidence the prosecution has admitted that there 'may' not be enough evidence to put him on trial.

With no evidence against him and a long history of nonviolent activism Mousa's family should be celebrating his impending release. However, the Israeli military court system that presides over Palestinians in the Occupied Territories does not work that way and the prosecution has said they are considering putting Mousa in Administrative Detention, in which he has no right to trial. For Palestinians, when there is no evidence for a trial, they are simply jailed without one. The decision on whether Mousa will be placed in Administrative Detention will most likely be made TOMORROW.

ACT NOW to support Mousa.

Register your outrage to imprisonment without trial. Please write to the Chief Military Attorney,

Brigadier General Avihai Mandelblit , and demand that Mousa AbuMaria be released immediately.

Below is a suggested draft of a letter addressed to the Chief Military Attorney. Your own version should be emailed from gmail, yahoo hotmail or riseup to:

+97236080366@fax.tc

This will then be faxed to the Chief Military Attorney's office. Please cc PSP so we can keep track of the letters of support: palestineproject@gmail.com

Those who have a fax machine or do not have an email account at either gmail, yahoo, hotmail or riseup can fax the Chief Military Attorney's office directly at

972 3 608 0366

Sample letter:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chief Military Attorney

6 David Elazar Street

Tel Aviv

Military postal code 9605,IDF

Fax: +972 3 608 0366

Monday 14th April, 2008

F.A.O: Brigadier General Avihai Mandelblit,

I am writing with regards to the arrest of Mousa AbuMaria on Friday 11th April, 2008 in the village of Beit Ommar, West Bank, Occupied Territories. His lawyers have informed the international community of the conditions surrounding his arrest and said that although there is currently not enough evidence to put him on trial, he may soon be placed in administrative detention.

I would like to highlight my concerns and call on you, the Chief Military Attorney of Israel, to ensure that Mousa is not administratively detained without charge or trial.

Mousa has for many years been a lead organizer in peaceful, non violent protest and worked alongside hundredss of international and Israelis activists in resisting the illegal occupation of Palestinian land. He is well known as a passionate advocate of non violent resistance and has many Israeli friends who can vouch for his peaceful political commitments and his character.

I, the undersigned, would like to see this issue addressed through the appropriate channels and ensure that he is released immediately.

Thank you for your time.

Yours sincerely,

(Insert name)

PSP http://Palestinesolidarityproject.org

Posted by Konrad at 11:31 AM | Permalink

But in March and April of 2007 my FOIA leaped ahead. Peggy handed me off to a Loren Shaver, and a two-week session of phone tag ensued. One of Shaver's voice mails mentioned "issues" with my request. I googled his name and found it on the website for the support of Leonard Peltier. It was satisfying to know that Farouk and I were in good company. But it was sobering to read that the government had been withholding "100 thousand" documents on Peltier from his defense team since 2001. In the ongoing battle for the Peltier files, Shaver has essentially played the role of the FBI's FOIA guardsman, a supplier of pretexts to deny the release of documents.

In the case of Leonard Peltier, Shaver had told the defense team that there were too many documents to produce and that he would provide summaries instead, which turned out to be useless. Great, so if the FBI decides to watch you like a bug under a microscope, it can claim it has too much information on you to tell you about.

I figured if I was about to face the dreaded Loren Shaver, I'd better get the best advice I could. I emailed the lawyer in charge of the FOIA issues for Peltier's team, Michael Kuzma. He responded right away, and after he'd generously shared his insights, I felt ready to deal with whatever mishegoss awaited me.

When I finally reached Shaver on April 26th (the fifth anniversary of Farouk's arrest), it was actually a cordial, low-key conversation. Shaver told me that they'd identified over 3,000 documents pertaining to my request, putting it in the "large" category. As Michael had explained to me, FOIA requests are fullfilled in three categories - Small (under 500 pages), Medium (500-2500 pages) and Large (over 2500 pages). (Though in the case of Leonard Peltier, there's apparently a fourth category, Too Large.) The larger the request, the more protracted the wait. "Large" entails a wait of months to a year (Too Large=Forever).

The first sign of trouble is that Shaver told me no records had turned up on Farouk dating after 1995. That would be interesting, since:

• on April 9, 2002 the FBI came to Farouk's home saying they were looking for him and, not finding him, ransacked the apartment and tried to intimidate his son and his roomate
• Farouk was questioned by an FBI agent about his Palestinian connections right after his arrest on April 26, 2002
• according to the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (BICE), on July 15, 2002 Middlesex County Jail sent an informer's report on Farouk claiming that he had "knowledge of briefcase nuclear suitcases in the U.S." to the FBI for evaluation.
• on May 2, 2003 Farouk was questioned at York County Jail by an FBI agent named Sean Dowd, based in Philadelphia
• a BICE document I have reports that the FBI had Farouk under investigation in connection with the assassination of a Mossad agent, and closed that investigation administratively as of November 14, 2002

And the FBI is telling me now they have no records on any of this?

Stay tuned...

Posted by Konrad at 11:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Lynne Stewart has for decades been a valued member of the New York progressive community and until recently a lawyer who defended the rights of many. Targeted under some of Attorney General John Ashcroft's most blatantly unconstitutional "anti-terrorism" laws, Lynne's arrest and persecution was unfolding in the same time period as Farouk's -- yet she still took time away from her own dire situation to remain a staunch supporter and friend to him. Now convicted and disbarred, she needs and deserves the help of human rights supporters everywhere.

-- Konrad Aderer

Dear Friends,

So embarrassing to have to write a letter like this. However, the Lynne Stewart Organization (formerly the Lynne Stewart Defense Committee) is having severe financial problems. Our work which is completely outreach--using the case and its many issues, and my legal/political career to organize people and keep supporters informed in these days of mounting political discontent.

Perhaps we were too ambitious after the euphoria surrounding our sentence victory, but at this moment we are without funds to even pay Pat Levasseur for her dedicated and ongoing work.

As you may know, I am now disbarred and have not worked since 2004. Ralph and I scrape by with Social Security and direct gifts from family and supporters. (If you remember, Judge Koeltl described me as "destitute"! ! Not true, but close!!) I am able to carry out a rigorous personal appearance schedule only because the LS Organization pays the expenses. So, if I do a fund raiser for WBAI(the local Pacifica radio station) on Central Park West in New York, there is still the cost of transportation and parking etc. So far in 2007, I have been in Boston on 3 occasions, Philadelphia 4x, Washington DC, Chicago, California ,Oregon Florida, Washington and local (NY) appearances and speeches too numerous to mention. While we fund raise when appropriate, the vast majority of my speaking engagements are not compensated, because I am there for other worthy causes (Leonard Peltier, Mumia, Anti War, Immigrant Rights, Muslim Anti Discrimination, Political Prisoners, Death Penalty, etc) Not to whine, but it all costs and we find ourselves at the bottom of the proverbial financial barrel.

If you are able, please send something to get us through the next few months. We are putting together fund raisers for the fall and hope to be able to bring news of the issues on my appeal at that time. But Now is Urgent.

Please send donations to Lynne Stewart Organization, Suite 700, 350 Broadway, NY NY, 10013. You can do it by credit card via Paypal at our website (lynnestewart. org) Checks can be made out to Lynne Stewart Organization or to National Lawyers Guild Foundation, memo LS Organization for a tax deduction. All mailed to above address.

The work is there to be done and I want to do it but we need a little (pardon the analogy) gas for our engine.

Love Struggle,

Lynne Stewart

Posted by Konrad at 08:24 AM | Permalink

(Français ci-dessous)

STATELESS & DEPORTED....

Bi-Weekly Picket in Solidarity with Palestinian Refugees Facing Deportation

THURSDAY MARCH 29th, 4 pm -> 6 pm
Citizenship & Immigration Canada
1010 St. Antoine W. [corner of Peel]
[metro Bonaventure]

REFUGEE CAMPS ARE NO ONE'S HOME!
STOP THE DEPORTATIONS OF STATELESS PALESTINIAN REFUGEES!

After more than FIVE YEARS of organizing and fighting back, hundreds of Palestinian refugees in Montreal and across Canada continue to face imminent deportation to the Occupied Territories and to the refugee camps of Lebanon.

Based on this continued and urgent situation, the Coalition Against the Deportation of Palestinian Refugees calls on supporters to participate in the re-launch of bi-weekly solidarity pickets, in front of Immigration Canada, to demand:

- An END TO THE DEPORTATIONS, and
- An IMMEDIATE REGULARIZATION of all Palestinian refugees in Canada.

Over the past few months, integral members of the Coalition Against the Deportation of Palestinian Refugees have received final rejections of their cases and await deportation dates back to the Occupied Territories and to the refugee camps in Lebanon.

An elderly Palestinian couple are also fighting against their deportation back to the refugee camp of Sabra in Lebanon, where Farouk Za'atar has lived since he was forced to flee Palestine as a child in 1948. The elderly couple will be forcibly separated from their three children and five grandchildren in Montreal, all of whom are Canadian citizens or permanent residents. Once again, the Coalition is faced with fighting a situation where some family members refugee claims have been accepted, while other's have been refused. The Za'atar's son was granted refugee status in Montreal years ago, while the parents, though based on the same sequence of events, were later rejected by a different refugee board member.

Conditions for Palestinians in both the Occupied Territories and in Lebanon are horrific and are worsening daily.

Palestinian refugees in Lebanon are systematically prevented from owning property, working in over 70 professions, receiving proper health care, and moving and traveling freely. The intensified mistreatment of Palestinian refugees inside the camps has left their lives in real and immediate peril.

If deported, those Palestinians who had escaped the dire situation in the Occupied Territories, would face daily terror at the hands of the Israeli state which continues to enforce a deadly and illegal military occupation. Palestinian refugees from the Occupied Territories have fled from the killings, extra-judicial assassinations, house demolitions, illegal arrests, trials without evidence, torture, land confiscation, and constant humiliations.

We must stand united, in support of the long and courageous fight against deportations waged by the Palestinian refugees in Montreal.

Your support, solidarity and participation are needed....!

REFUGEE CAMPS ARE NO ONE'S HOME! STOP THE DEPORTATIONS OF STATELESS PALESTINIAN REFUGEES!

In Solidarity.
the Coalition Against the Deportation of Palestinian Refugees

refugees.resist.ca / refugees@riseup.net

APATRIDES ET MENACÉS DE DÉPORTATION

Piquetage bimensuel de solidarité avec les réfugiés palestiniens menacés de déportation.

JEUDI le 29 MARS de 16 à 18 heures environ
Citoyenneté et Immigration Canada
1010, rue St-Antoine O. [coin Peel]
[métro Bonaventure]

LES CAMPS DE RÉFUGIÉS NE SONT UN FOYER POUR PERSONNE !
METTONS FIN AUX EXPULSIONS DE RÉFUGIÉS PALESTINIENS APATRIDES !

Après plus de CINQ ANS de lutte structurée, des douzaines de réfugiés palestiniens de Montréal et de partout au pays continuent d¹être menacés d¹expulsion immédiate vers les Territoires occupés et les camps de réfugiés du Liban qui existent depuis 58 ans.

Vu cette situation urgente et qui persiste, la Coalition contre la déportation des réfugiés palestiniens lance un appel aux personne qui la soutiennent pour participer au relancement des piquetages bimensuels de solidarité, devant les locaux d¹Immigration Canada, afin de demander :

- la FIN DES EXPULSIONS, et
- la RÉGULARISATION IMMÉDIATE de la situation de tous les réfugiés palestiniens au Canada.

Au cours des derniers mois, des membres à part entière de la Coalition contre la déportation des réfugiés palestiniens ont reçu des avis de rejet définitif de leur demande et attendent la date de leur expulsion vers les Territoires occupés et les camps de réfugiés du Liban.

Un couple de Palestiniens âgés lutte également contre son expulsion vers le camp de réfugiés de Sabra, au Liban, où Farouk Za'atar a vécu depuis qu¹il a été contraint de fuir la Palestine en 1948 alors qu¹il était enfant. Ce couple âgé sera séparé de force de ses trois enfants et de ses cinq petits-enfants qui sont tous citoyens canadiens ou résidents permanents et vivent à Montréal. Une fois encore, la Coalition se trouve aux prises avec un cas dans lequel les demandes de statut de réfugié de certains membres de la famille ont été acceptées, tandis que d¹autres ont été rejetées. Le fils des Za'atar a obtenu le statut de réfugié il y a des années à Montréal, tandis que ses parents, bien qu¹ayant vécu les mêmes événements, ont vu leur demande rejetée ultérieurement par un autre membre de la Commission de l¹immigration et du statut de réfugié du Canada.

Les réfugiés palestiniens au Liban se voient systématiquement refusés de détenir une propriété, d'exercer plus de 70 professions, de recevoir des services de santé adéquats, de se déplacer et de voyager librement. Les mauvais traitements des Palestiniens à l'intérieur des camps se sont accrus, mettant en danger immédiat et réel la vie de ces personnes.

Les Palestiniens qui ont échappé à la situation désastreuse qui règne dans les Territoires occupés, sont soumis à la terreur quotidienne que leur fait subir Israël, qui continue d¹imposer une occupation militaire illégale et meurtrière. Les réfugiés palestiniens des Territoires occupés ont fui les tueries, les assassinats extrajudiciaires, les démolitions de maisons, les arrestations illégales, les procès sans preuve, la torture, la confiscation de leurs terres et les humiliations continuelles.

Nous devons rester unis pour soutenir la longue et courageuse lutte des réfugiés palestiniens de Montréal contre les expulsions.

Nous avons besoin de votre soutien, de votre solidarité et de votre participation !

LES CAMPS DE RÉFUGIÉS NE SONT UN FOYER POUR PERSONNE ! METTONS FIN AUX EXPULSIONS DE RÉFUGIÉS PALESTINIENS APATRIDES !

Solidairement,
La Coalition contre la déportation des réfugiés palestiniens
refugees.resist.ca / refugees@riseup.net

Posted by Konrad at 10:53 AM | Permalink

Al-Awda, The Palestine Right to Return Coalition, calls on all people of conscience to demand that Dr. Sami Al-Arian is immediately freed from his political imprisonment. Dr. Al-Arian is a Palestinian former University of Florida professor who is currently on his 58th day of a water-only hunger strike. He is protesting his maltreatment by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) which violated an earlier plea agreement that absolved Dr. Al-Arian from any further cooperation with the government. According to his lawyer, the DOJ wanted Dr. Al-Arian to testify before a grand jury in Virginia. When he refused, citing his plea agreement, he was sentenced up to 18 months in jail.

Dr. Al-Arian is currently being held at a medical facility in North Carolina. Family members who recently visited him reported that he had lost 53 pounds, equivalent to more than 25 percent of his body weight. He is no longer able to walk or stand on his own.

More information on Dr. Al-Arian's ordeal can be found in the transcript of a recent interview with his wife, Nahla Al-Arian. See: http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=07/03/16/1410255

ACTION

We ask all people of conscience to demand the immediate release and end to Dr. Al- Arian's suffering.

Call, Email and Write:

1- Attorney General Alberto Gonzales
Department of Justice
U.S. Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20530-0001
Fax Number: (202) 307-6777
Email: AskDOJ@usdoj.gov

2- The Honorable John Conyers, Jr
2426 Rayburn Building
Washington, DC 20515
(202) 225-5126
(202) 225-0072 Fax
John.Conyers@mail.house. gov

Generation After Generation Until Total Liberation - FREE PALESTINE!

Don't forget to sign the Rutgers University Divest from israeli Apartheid Petition at: http://www.rutgersdivest.org

NJSolidarity-announcements is a moderated, low volume announcements list used to inform the community of upcoming events sponsored by New Jersey Solidarity -- Activists for the Liberation of Palestine, as well as events sponsored by other individuals and organizations participating in the struggle against all forms of oppression.

Posted by Konrad at 07:55 PM | Permalink

This is the latest chapter as far as my troubles with the feds. I had other troubles back in 1998-99 and in 2005 but those troubles were basically things that made me and my friends go, "hmmm." They’re being more blatant now, since this time they’re actually identifying themselves as feds.

The ‘98-‘99 troubles were occurring while Sharin Chiorazzo was my roommate and we both were working with Farouk in the Palestine Aid Society and Palestine Education crew. I had trouble with my mail and my apt being entered yet no cash was stolen but stuff was opened and moved around. I can write more on that period but suffice it to say this latest chapter didn’t just happen out of a clear blue sky.

I’ve been having problems with the NYPD, New York FBI and Boston FBI. It started Oct 3rd 2006. This woman who introduced herself as detective Sendepour or Estenpour (it was crappy reception so I couldn't hear her that well) of the NYPD called me up from a number that came up on my cell phone as a "private" number and said she was at my house (I was not there) and she said she wanted to talk to me about "someone I know" and then she said she doesn't want to have to come to my job and that she wants to speak to me in private and in person. So I said, this sounds like a silly joke, and I hung up on her. She had a slight accent mixed with a NY accent, one of my friends said she sounded Iranian possibly. Maybe a leftover from SAVAK days in Iran, since it is well known that the U.S. repressive forces take in secret police forces from around the world to work with them, like Shin Bet, SAVAK, El Salvadorean death squad types, etc.

She called up again and I hung up right away. Then she called AGAIN and left a message, saying the same thing she said when she first called and said it's no big deal and she left her cell phone number.

So I went to my best friend’s place and left a message with a lawyer I know (a lawyer who had handled Farouk’s habeas petition) and called back the number the woman had left. I told her I was sorry to hang up but I thought it was a joke and that I couldn't hear her well (my phone sucks). The woman replied that it was bad reception because she was IN my building. She told me she was a detective with the NYPD and also with the NY office of the FBI. She then said the Boston FBI had called the NY FBI office about me (by way of identifying me she tells me, "you were born in this place and you have this last name and this maiden name"), and that she wants to talk to me about "some people you’re associated with," (now it's plural – first it's "someone" I know then it's "some people" I'm associated with) telling me AGAIN it’s no big deal. I said, “I have nothing to say without my lawyer present.” She went right ahead and asked me about some Lebanese guy. I replied, "like I said, I have nothing to say to you.” Once again she said, "I don't want to have to come to your job. We need to talk in person and in private.” So I said, “I don't want to talk to you,” and I hung up. Five minutes later she calls again. I let it go to voicemail. She left a message saying pretty much the same thing and adding that they got a complaint from the Boston FBI about me and they have to check all bases when they get complaints. I was active in radical politics in Boston from 1980-84. Some of my friends and I had some minor hairballs with the FBI, but not like this round of heat.

I called a lawyer I know (who had handled Farouk’s case) and told him what happened up to that point. He said that when they say they’re a detective with the NYPD and are also with the FBI that means they are Joint Terrorist Task Force. The lawyer said, just keep telling them you don't want to talk to them and if they keep bugging you give them my number.

On Oct 17th, as I’m in line to go to the Lynne Stewart sentencing, the woman detective calls again. She asked me about the emergency contact person I’d put on my passport renewal application. I said, I don't want to talk to you guys, and I kept telling her that my lawyer had said I didn't have to speak with them. She then said she would come to my house again and go to my job to talk to me. She repeated, "we want to talk to you about your travels abroad". I said, “I don't want to talk to you guys,” and I hung up.

She called right back and I didn’t answer, so she left a rude-ass and threatening message saying "You can hang up all you want but we WILL talk to you. We just want to ask you a couple of questions and you’re making a big deal out of it. You can do it the easy way or the hard way.” Then she said, "We will come to your house again, and to your job, and everyone at your job and your neighbors will know. (I'm thinking - know WHAT, you bitch?!). She then said, “I gave you ten days as a courtesy to get an attorney, so it's OVER. You can give me your lawyer's number.” My friend recorded the message for me on a CD.

I gave the lawyer the two numbers I had for the detective. One of the numbers was at the police headquarters, according to the lawyer. Then on Oct 18th a male detective called me from that same headquarters. He said, "I am detective shit-for-brains (I can't remember his name, it was some generic Anglo name) and my partner has been trying to talk to you" and I said, “Like I told your, partner, I don't want to talk to you guys.” Then he said, “We want to ask you a few questions, and it’ll only take a few minutes.” I said, “I don't want to talk to you guys, here’s my lawyer’s number.” And then he said “is this the number we can reach you at?” I said, “Just call my lawyer, not me,” and I hung up. I then called the lawyer and updated him on the latest calls from the woman and her partner.

On Oct 20th, the lawyer called me and told me he’d spoken to the agents, who’d told him they wanted to talk to me about my travels abroad. I asked what trip did they want to talk to me about, and he said they wouldn’t tell him. He’d told them that I didn’t want to talk to them at all, and they’d said that if I don’t talk they will use “other means” to deal with me. I asked what was meant by “other means” and the lawyer essentially said it’s hard to predict their moves since they’re bullshitters and shady. He told me he’d instructed them not to call me, to call him instead, and told me if they call me again to just do as I’ve been doing – refuse to talk to them and have them call him.

So that is where it stands now. A slice of life in the homeland under the Homeland Security “War on Terror.”

UPDATE

In November 2006 a friend of mine got a call from the FBI and they asked him if he knows any Sunni men that have entered the U.S. in the past year. He told them he had nothing to say and hung up on them.

On Sunday January 6th, the supers of my building informed me that 2 detectives showed up with a photo of me and a file folder with a bunch of papers in it. I asked them when the detectives come by and they said early October(when they called and said they were at my house the first time they called). I was thinking to myself, “NOW you tell me! – I asked them why they didn't tell me back then, why now - almost 3 months later. They just kept on repeating the fact that these detectives showed up with my photo and a file folder with papers, and how it really bugged them out. They said the detectives asked them if I have roommates, and they’d said no because at that time I didn't have roommates. I had let some friends stay in my place while I was gone out of town for a month. They are still with me and they are apartment hunting and I’d told that to the super way before the detectives had come by.

On Jan 20th, I got a message from the landlord saying I have to pack up and leave. It could be because of having friends staying with me, or because of the feds coming by and making me look like some dangerous person to the supers, or for both reasons.

Maryloo Souied
January 2007

Posted by Konrad at 11:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Middle East Analyst and Host of WBAI Radio Program "Live From Palestine"

http://channer.tv/Thursday's%20.htm

Airs at 10:30 AM Time/Warner Cable NYC Ch. 34
also streamed to Web at WWW.MNN.ORG:
click here for webcast

Sharin, who was engaged to Farouk during the last year of his life, carries on his legacy as a human rights activist. Tune in to the program for her reflections on Farouk's life and the latest on her latest battles for the rights of Palestinians and political prisoners.

schiorazzo*at*hotmail.com

Posted by Konrad at 10:30 AM | Permalink

On July 27, US District Court Judge Terry J. Hatter Jr. of Los Angeles ordered the government to free Southern California Muslim community leader Abdel-Jabbar Hamdan, a Palestinian who has spent two years detained on an immigration violation. Department of Justice lawyers responded to the judge's order by filing a last- minute motion on July 28, seeking an emergency stay and claiming that Hamdan is a danger to the public and that he might flee while his deportation case is pending in the US 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. Hatter denied the request the same day, but it was unclear when Hamdan would actually be released from the Terminal Island detention center where he has been held since his arrest on July 28, 2004.

His attorney, Ranjana Natarajan of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), said Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials in Los Angeles were supposed to draw up conditions of a supervised release. "The judge clearly said the government has no business detaining him," said Natarajan. Hamdan's daughter, Yaman Hamdan, said her family was afraid that the government could still find a way to keep her father locked up.

The government had never charged Hamdan with a crime, but alleged in immigration proceedings that he was linked to terrorism because of his former job as a fundraiser for the Holy Land Foundation, a Dallas, Texas-based charity which allegedly channeled funds to the Palestinian armed group Hamas [see INB 12/18/04, 2/12/05, 3/25/06, 6/18/06]. [Los Angeles Times 7/29/06]

Immigration News Briefs (INB), a weekly English-language summary of US immigration news, is forwarded out to the email list of the Coalition for the Human Rights of Immigrants (CHRI). If you receive INB as a forwarded message, and you wish to subscribe directly to INB, or to the CHRI email list (which includes INB and local NYC area events, average 4-5 messages a week), write to nicajg*at*panix.com (indicate "CHRI list" or "INB only").

Immigration News Briefs (INB), un resumen semanal en ingles de noticias sobre inmigracion en los EE.UU., es enviado cada semana a la lista de correo electronico de la Coalicion para los Derechos Humanos de los Inmigrantes. Si el INB le llega como mensaje reenviado, y usted quiere subscribir directamente al INB, o a la lista de correo de CHRI (que incluye INB, mas anuncios de actividades en el area de NYC, promedio de 4-5 mensajes por semana), escriba al nicajg*at*panix.com (indique si quiere "lista de CHRI" o "solo INB").

Contributions toward Immigration News Briefs are gladly accepted: they should be made payable and sent to Nicaragua Solidarity Network, 339 Lafayette St, New York, NY 10012. (Tax-deductible contributions of $50 or more may be made payable to the A.J. Muste Memorial Institute and earmarked for "NSN".)

Posted by Konrad at 10:32 AM | Permalink

[Please distribute widely. Note that WBAI will have a special on the Middle on Monday, 7/17/06, 7 pm to midnight; there will be a segment with Sharin Chiorazzo at 11 pm.]

"،Farouk Vive! ،La Lucha Sigue!"
Vigil Commemorating the Life of Farouk Abdel-Muhti

Friday, July 21, 2006, noon to 1 PM

At the Federal Building, 26 Federal Plaza
Broadway at Worth Street
(Take the 4/5/6 or N/R to City Hall, or the A/C/E to Chambers St)

New York-based Palestinian activist Farouk Abdel-Muhti died suddenly of a heart attack on July 21, 2004, three weeks before his 57th birthday and 100 days after he was released from immigration detention. Federal agents and New York City police arrested Farouk in April 2002, just as he was beginning to work as a producer of segments on Palestine at New York's WBAI-FM. The US government then held him in a series of county and federal facilities for nearly two years--in clear violation of his constitutional rights--and refused to release him until ordered to do so by a federal district judge.

Now, as Israeli renews its assaults against Gaza and Lebanon, we need to remember Farouk's lifelong struggle for peace with justice and for the rights of Palestinians, of immigrants and of workers everywhere. Join us in front of the Federal Building, where we vigiled for Farouk's release each Friday at noon, to rededicate ourselves to carrying on his work.

Remember Farouk, and call for a free Palestine. Demand an end to US-backed Israeli violence in Gaza & Lebanon. ،Hasta la victoria siempre!

Speakers to be announced. For more information and to endorse: call 212-674-9499 or email freefarouk@yahoo.com

=========================================================
Committee for the Release of Farouk Abdel-Muhti
PO Box 20587, Tompkins Square Station, New York, NY 10009
Phone: 212-674-9499 * Email freefarouk@yahoo.com
Website: freefarouk.netfirms.com
=========================================================

Posted by Konrad at 12:00 PM | Permalink

1) May 1: Great American Boycott 2006 in New York City (4pm rally/march)
Primero de Mayo: Gran Paro Americano 2006 en Nueva York (4pm mitin/marcha)
2) Actions at 12:16pm in Manhattan, Bronx, Queens, Brooklyn, Staten Island
[Acciones a las 12:16pm en los cinco boros de Nueva York]
3) ACTION ALERT: On May 1st, Tell Congress to Stop Deportation Now!
4) Useful resources for workers attending protests / Materiales utiles
(incluso en espan~ol) para los trabajadores que asisten a las protestas

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
1) May 1: Great American Boycott 2006 in New York City (4pm rally/march)
Primero de Mayo: Gran Paro Americano 2006 en Nueva York (4pm mitin/marcha)

[texto en español sigue al ingles]

In solidarity with the call for a Great American Boycott 2006
NO WORK, NO SCHOOL, NO SALES, AND NO BUYING
on Monday, May 1 across the country

Immigrant Rights
Are Workers Rights
FULL RIGHTS FOR ALL WORKERS

MAY 1 Rally & March
4 pm Union Square Park
14th St. & Broadway
(take #4, 5, 6, R, N, L to Union Square or F, 1, 2, 3 to 14th Street)

NO TO HR 4437
- Yes to Immediate Amnesty
- Yes to Family Unity
- No to Criminalization
- No Border Fences and Racism
- No Increased Enforcement

Reclaim May Day!

To endorse and find more information locally in NY: www.may1.info and
nationally: www.NoHR4437.org

Leaflets available in English, Spanish, Chinese, Arabic, Bengali, Creole and
Russian at http://www.may1.info/

MAY 1 COALITION c/o TONC, 39 W. 14 St.,#206, NY, NY 10011 212-633-6646
or c/o Teamsters Local 808, 22-43 Jackson Ave., LIC, NY 11101 718-389-1900

***

Solidaridad con el llamado al Gran Paro Americano 2006:
NI TRABAJO, NI ESCUELA, NI VENTAS, NI COMPRAS
en todo el país el 1º de Mayo

¡Los Derechos de l@s Inmigrantes Son Derechos de l@s Obrer@s!
DERECHOS PLENOS PARA TOD@S L@S OBRER@S

1º de MAYO Mitin & Marcha
4 pm en el Union Square Park
calle 14 y Broadway
(tome el tren #4, 5, 6, R, N, L hasta el Union Square
o el F, 1, 2, 3 hasta la calle 14)

NO A L A HR 4437
- Sí a la Amnistía Inmediata
- Sí a Familias Unidas
- No Murallas y No al Racismo
- No a la Criminalización
- No Aumento de Patrulla Fronteriza

¡Recobremos el 1° de mayo!

Para endosar y adquirir más información en la localidad de NY visite a
www.1mayo.info; nacional www.NoHR4437.org

Volantes disponibles en ingles, español, chino, arabe, bengali, creol y ruso al
http://www.may1.info/

COALICIÓN 1º DE MAYO c/o TONC, 39 W. 14 St.,#206, NY, NY 10011 212-633-6646
o c/o Teamsters Local 808, 22-43 Jackson Ave., LIC, NY 11101 718-389-1900

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2) Actions at 12:16pm in Manhattan, Bronx, Queens, Brooklyn, Staten Island
[Acciones a las 12:16pm en los cinco boros de Nueva York--espan~ol abajo]

Date: Thu, 27 Apr 2006 14:21:01 -0400
From: Gouri Sadhwani
Subject: May 1st New York Action Flyers

NATIONAL DAY OF ACTION FOR IMMIGRANT RIGHTS

MAY 1, 2006 12:16PM*

Come out on our National Day of Labor at 12:16pm and form a HUMAN CHAIN in
an expression of solidarity for immigrant rights. New York's diverse and
vibrant immigrant commercial centers are vital to the economy of New York
City and by closing for 15 minutes we will join the nation in highlighting
the many ways in which immigrant workers and businesses contribute to and
stimulate our economy. ALL members of the community are encouraged to join
in this peaceful expression of solidarity!

Human Chain Locations and Contact info:

Bronx
NYCPP, Sussie Lozada, 212-388-2149

Brooklyn
Fifth Avenue Committee, Artemio Guerra, 718-930-9068
Council of Peoples Organization, Mohammed Razvi, 718-434-3266

Manhattan
Washington Heights: NYCPP, Laura Espinosa, 212-388-3296 and La Aurora,
Rathamés Perez, 718-543-0410

Battery Park: Make the Road by Walking, 718-418-7690

Chinatown: Chinese Progressive Association, Mae Lee, 212-274-1891

Queens
NYCPP, Zahida Pirani, 212-388-2119 and LAIC, Ana Maria Archila, 718-565-8500

Staten Island
El Centro de Hospitalidad, Gonzalo Mercado, 646-772-0096 and Rev. Terry
Troia, 646-523-7274

*On 12/16/05, the House of Representative passed H.R. 4437, the draconian
anti-immigrant bill that sparked the massive rallies in support of immigrant
rights, including the April 10th NYC rally.

WEAR WHITE!

***

DIA NACIONAL DE ACCIÓN POR LOS DERECHOS DE LOS INMIGRANTES

PRIMERO DE MAYO, 2006 12:16PM*

A las 12:16pm del 1° de Mayo, acompáñenos a formar una CADENA HUMANA en
expresión de solidaridad a los derechos de los inmigrantes. La vitalidad del
centros comercial de inmigrantes es vital para la economía de la cuidad de Nueva
York y cerrando por 15 minutos nos uniremos con la nación para reflejar de
varias maneras que los trabajadores contribuyen y estimulan nuestra economía.
Todos los miembros de la comunidad unirán en esta expresión pacífica de
solidaridad!

Lugar y Contactos: Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, and Staten Island.

Bronx
NYCPP, Sussie Lozada, 212-388-2149

Brooklyn
Fifth Avenue Committee, Artemio Guerra, 718-930-9068
Council of Peoples Organization, Mohammed Razvi, 718.434.3266

Manhattan
Washington Heights: NYCPP, Laura Espinosa, 212-388-3296 y La Aurora,
Radhamés Perez, 718-543-0410
Battery Park: Make the Road by Walking, 718-418-7690
Chinatown: Chinese Progressive Association, Mae Lee, 212.274.1891

Queens
NYCPP, Zahida Pirani, 212-388-2119 y LAIC, Ana Maria Archila, 718.565.8500

Staten Island
El Centro de Hospitalidad, Gonzalo Mercado, 646-772-0096 y Rev. Terry
Troia, 646-523-7274

*El 16 de diciembre, la Cámara de Representantes pasó H.R. 4437, la ley
draconiana anti-inmigrante que inició las marchas masivas apoyando a los
derechos de inmigrantes, incluyendo la del 10 de Abril en NYC.

VISTASE DE BLANCO!

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3) ACTION ALERT: On May 1st, Tell Congress to Stop Deportation Now!

Date: Thu, 27 Apr 2006 16:40:55 -0400
From: Aarti Shahani

ACTION ALERT: On May 1st, Tell Congress to Stop Deportation Now!

On May 1st, immigrants around the country will mobilize and protest and
strike for our rights. While most lawmakers, media, immigrants and
restrictionists have focused on legalization and guest worker programs
for the 11 million undocumented immigrants in the United States, few
have questioned the harsh deportation measures in the Senate and House
proposed bills. The "best" and "worst" bills contain hidden provisions
that would:

* Deport long-term residents for increasingly minor crimes, even when
they are green card holders, U.S. veterans, or the parents of
American-born children
* Expand immigration detention facilities, using domestic military bases
and for-profit prison facilities
* Overturn Supreme Court rulings and legalize the indefinite detention
of non-citizens
* Turn local and state police into immigration agents
* Erect a massive border fence and further militarize our border communities
* Enable Homeland Security agents to expel suspected foreigners
indiscriminately
* Create a national identification system for all workers.

If passed, Congress would be making a bad situation worse. American
immigration laws are already harsh, resulting in the destruction of
immigrant families. Since Congress made deportation and detention
mandatory minimums in 1996, 1.4 million people have been exiled from the
United States. Immigrants have become the fastest-growing segment of our
prison population. Families and taxpayers are paying dearly, as the
Department of Homeland Security lines the pockets of for-profit prisons.
For more information, see the "Family Values" backgrounder and Detention
& Deportation factsheet
(http://familiesforfreedom.org/downloads/April24NationwideFamilies.pdf)

Call House & Senate offices
(Contact info at Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121, or visit
http://capwiz.com/adc/dbq/officials/)

Tell your elected officials:

"I demand that you say no to every deportation provision in proposed
House and Senate immigration bills. US deportation laws are already
harsh. Homeland Security does not need additional power. We need
Congress to keep our families together, and our communities strong.
Please repeal mandatory detention and deportation laws; stop indefinite
detention of immigrants; stop making deportation a surprise punishment;
uphold fair prison standards for immigrant prisoners and provide people
facing exile with counsel; end the retroactive application of
deportation laws; and stop local police and other agencies from being
federal immigration agents."

Aarti Shahani
Families for Freedom
25 Chapel St, #703
Brooklyn NY 11201
tel: 718.858.9658 x204
fax: 800.895.4454
aarti@familiesforfreedom.org
www.familiesforfreedom.org

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4) Useful resources for workers attending protests / Materiales utiles
(incluso en espan~ol) para los trabajadores que asisten a las protestas

Date: Fri, 28 Apr 2006 13:47:37 EDT
From: CLINICSF@aol.com

In light of the upcoming May 1st protest events, as well as recent raids, you
might find the following links to resources helpful. They were prepared by
the Chicago Workers' Collaborative and the Workers' Defense Committee of the
March 10th Movement, AILA, ACLU, NILC, and others.

* Sample petition to employers, Chicago Workers' Collaborative and Interfaith
Worker Justice

English
http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/organizationsORG/NILC/images/Employee_petition_to_employer_041706.doc
Spanish
http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/organizationsORG/NILC/images/Carta%20a%20Empleadores.doc

Sample Letter to Employer, Letter to Tandum Staffing
http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/organizationsORG/NILC/images/Tandem_Staffing_letter.pdf
from the Chicago Workers' Collaborative

Immigration Protests: What Every Worker Should Know, National Immigration Law
Center, American Civil Liberties Union Immigrant Rights Project, and the
National Employment Law Project (NELP)
English http://www.nilc.org/ce/nilc/protests_what_every_worker_should_know.pdf
Spanish
http://www.nilc.org/ce/nilc/protests_what_every_worker_should_know_sp.pdf

Know Your Rights Alerts, National Immigration Law Center. See
http://www.nilc.org/ce/ceindex.htm

Know Your Rights - Can an Employer Fire an Employee Because the Employee
Participated in an Immigration Rally? American Immigration Lawyers Association
and the law firm of Dorsey and Whitney, LLP. See
http://www.aila.org/content/default.aspx?docid=19203

Know Your Rights Pamphlets, National Lawyers Guild and American Civil
Liberties Union Immigrant Rights Project. See
http://www.nlg.org/resources/know_your_rights.htm

Know Your Rights if You Have Been Arrested or Detained by the U.S. Government,
CASA of Maryland.
English - http://www.immigrantrights.org/CASAofMaryland.pdf
Spanish - http://www.immigrantrights.org/CASAdeMarylandDerechos.pdf

Interfaith Worker Justice Toolkit for Workers who are fired
http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/organizationsORG/NILC/images/Toolkit_for_Workers_who_are_fired.pdf

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END FORWARDED MESSAGE(S) / FIN DE MENSAJE(S) REENVIADO(S)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
This message distributed by / Este mensaje distribuido por:
Coalition for the Human Rights of Immigrants (CHRI)
Coalicion para los Derechos Humanos de los Inmigrantes
339 Lafayette St, New York, NY 10012 tel 212-254-2591 / 888-575-8242
fax 212-674-9139 email http://www.itapnet.org/chri

-->> To get on the CHRI email list (average 4-5 messages a week), sign up
through the website at http://www.itapnet.org/chri -or- to be added to or
removed from the list write to chri@itapnet.org.

-->> Para recibir nuestros mensajes por email (promedio de 4 a 5 mensajes
por semana), inscribase en nuestro sitio, http://www.itapnet.org/chri, o,
para unirse a o quitarse de la lista, escribanos al chri@itapnet.org.

Posted by Konrad at 04:00 PM | Permalink

There is now pending before Congress a very wrongheaded and destructive bill which panders to anti-immigrant hostility and fear by further criminalizing out-of-status immigrants. The bill offers no rational solution to the fact that there are already 11 million "illegal" immigrants in the U.S.

Read an analysis of this bill, H.R. 4437.

Here's the urgent action I received from Desis Rising Up and Moving and Coalition for the Human Rights of Immigrants:

Folks,

This is a critical period of time as several anti-immigrant bills are being
considered in Congress (details below).

Take a second to (1) forward info about this online petition to your
contacts and email lists, (2) post a link to the petition on any websites
you have access to, and (3) sign the petition!

"Oppose anti-immigrant H.R. 4437 and Pass a Just Legalization Bill!"
http://www.PetitionOnline.com/HR4437/
Immigrant Communities in Action

Posted by Konrad at 09:28 AM | Permalink

Immigration News Briefs is a weekly supplement to Weekly News Update on the Americas, published by Nicaragua Solidarity Network, 339 Lafayette St, New York, NY 10012; tel 212-674-9499; fax 212-674-9139; wnu@igc.org. INB is also distributed free via email (see below).

On July 25, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) added new charges of deportability against Palestinians Khader Musa Hamide and Michel Ibrahim Shehadeh, longtime US lawful permanent residents the government has been seeking to deport for 18 years. The new charges--brought under the REAL ID Act, approved on May 11 of this year [see INB 5/14/05]--allege that Hamide and Shehadeh are deportable for having been members of the leftist Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). As with "material support" charges filed against them in September 2003 under the 2001 USA PATRIOT Act, this deportable offense didn't exist at the time Hamide and Shehadeh were organizing fundraising events for humanitarian organizations in the Middle East. The new charges followed a July 7 order from Los Angeles immigration judge Bruce Einhorn postponing indefinitely a hearing scheduled for July 13.

Hamide and Shehadeh are part of the "LA 8," a group of seven Palestinians and one Kenyan arrested early in 1987 and initially ordered deported under a provision of the 1952 McCarran-Walter Act which barred advocating "the doctrines of world communism." Congress ultimately repealed the McCarran-Walter Act in 1990; the US government has adjusted its deportability charges against Hamide and Shehadeh at least five times, while pursuing minor visa violations against the other six--several of whom later won permanent residency. In February 1999, the Supreme Court ruled in the LA 8 case that "[a]n alien unlawfully in this country has no constitutional right to assert selective enforcement as a defense against his deportation," and that federal courts have no jurisdiction to hear such claims [see INB 2/99]. [Committee for Justice (www.committee4justice.com) 6/29/05, 7/9/05, 7/12/05, 8/3/05; Los Angeles Times 6/30/05, 7/14/05]

Contributions toward Immigration News Briefs are gladly accepted: they should be made payable and sent to Nicaragua Solidarity Network, 339 Lafayette St, New York, NY 10012. (Tax-deductible contributions of $50 or more may be made payable to the A.J. Muste Memorial Institute and earmarked for "NSN".)

Posted by Konrad at 09:50 AM | Permalink

All,

In addition to today, August 9th, 2005 marking the  the 60th
anniversary of the US bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 (a somber
and tragic anniversary), today also marks the would be 58th birthday of our
friend, brother and comrade in struggle, Farouk Abdel-Muhti, our stateless
Palestinian brother whose flame continues to burn in our hearts eternally.

As most of you know, we lost Farouk tragically on July 21st of last year to
a fatal heart attack, just three months after his release from the gulags of
the US immigration services (BICE) under the direction of this corrupt and
criminal administration headed by Bush, Cheney and then Attorney General,
John Ashcroft.

Although we do not have an event planned to commemorate this anniversary, we
can all honor Farouk's cherished memory by continuing to fight the just
fight for human rights and social equity all around the world, especially on
behalf of the Palestinian people, workers, and all those who face oppression
in their daily social, political, civil and economic lives.

Let's not forget the example Farouk and others of his stature have set for
us, and continue to carry on this noble work, in their names and in their
honor.

Let's also not forget the incredible sacrifices of those still with us
inside and outside of prison, particularly, human rights Attorney Lynne
Stewart, who has been a pillar in this community and has made immeasurable
contributions to the struggle for justice, and is now being made to pay
dearly for her commitment to human rights and social justice.

We also must never forget all those who are unjustly imprisoned and singled
out because of their political beliefs or their ethnic origin, and must
continue to fight on their behalf on the side of justice, no matter what the
cost.

May the struggle continue and may justice and light prevail over the
darkness that now surrounds us.

Venceremos!
Long Live the People of Palestine!
Long Live Farouk!

With love, sincerity and fraternity,

Sharin Chiorazzo and Tarek Abdel-Muhti

Posted by Konrad at 11:02 AM | Permalink

We are planning a tribute in Farouk’s honor on WBAI’s Wake-Up Call (99.5 FM in New York, www.wbai.org) this Tuesday, April 12th, at 6:15 am. This will be an extended segment where we will discuss his life and WBAI will re-broadcast some of his interviews with them, both before and after his release. We send out thanks to the Wake-Up Call staff at WBAI’s Radio Pacifica in New York for hosting this event, and hope you will be listening.

Additionally, in the near future we will host a commemorative trip out to the cemetery where Farouk is buried (Forest Green Cemetery, plot J-26 in the Islamic Section) in Marlboro, New Jersey, for those who are interested. We have a tentative date of April 30 set for this occasion, but will let you know for certain, once the event is planned.

Below please find a statement detailing Farouk’s struggles for social justice, and commemorating his life.

Sincerely,

Sharin Chiorazzo and Tarek Abdel-Muhti

Statement Honoring the Life and Work of Farouk Abdel-Muhti

Farouk Abdel Muhti was a political prisoner, a freedom fighter, a revolutionary, and a political activist who dedicated his life to the question of Palestine and to the attainment of legitimate political rights and independent statehood for the Palestinian People. Farouk was at an Anti-War Forum at the Philadelphia Ethical Society, hosted by an assortment of human rights groups gathered together in their opposition to political detentions in the United States and on the repercussions of the post-September 11th government policies on immigrants, on the night he died, July 21, 2004. He had just finished delivering an inspirational speech and message to the progressive community, whom he credited with his release from immigration detention, when his fatal heart attack struck him. Farouk was pronounced dead less than two hours later at Jefferson Hospital in Philadelphia, around 10 pm, to the shock and dismay of his friends, supporters and loved ones.

Farouk was a stateless Palestinian, who came to the attention of Immigration authorities earlier in his life, but more intensely after September 11th, 2001, when he began speaking out fervently for the rights of Arabs and Muslims in the United States and for the rights of his people, the Palestinians, who came under severe attack in Israel after the so called “War on Terror” had begun in the United States, and the Bush Administration turned a blind eye to Ariel Sharon’s brutal policies against the Palestinian People, which were intensified during this period.

Farouk was picked up by the Absconder Task Force in New York at his home, on April 26th, 2002, about one month after he began broadcasts on WBAI’s Wake-Up Call, a progressive Pacifica radio station based in New York City, (99.5 fm, www.wbai.org) in a program which exposed the plight of the Palestinian People and the brutality being waged against them by the Sharon Government in Israel. He spent the next two years being shuttled between nine different jails throughout New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, including eight months and ten days in solitary confinement in York, PA, as punishment for his political activism, under the pretext of an immigration violation. It was during this period that Farouk’s health deteriorated, mainly due to the stress put upon his body by the constant moves, mistreatment, beatings and withholding of thyroid and hypertension medication from him by prison officials and guards.

Farouk was never charged with a crime. He was finally ordered released on April 9th, 2004 by Federal District Judge Yvette Kane of Pennsylvania, who ruled that the government’s holding of Farouk was unconstitutional. Farouk mainly fought for social justice and rights for all oppressed peoples, including African Americans in the United States, and indigenous peoples all over the world, throughout much of his life. He embraced the struggles of people in Latin America, Cuba, Puerto Rico (around the issue of Vieques), Palestine, and those of all others deprived of their fundamental economic, social, civil, political, and human rights. He was especially vocal on the issue of workers’ rights, and supportive of the struggle of workers around the world from a class-conscious, socialist perspective. Farouk voiced his commitment to socialism and social justice, and officially became a member of the USA Socialist Party in 2004.

Farouk believed in the extension of rights and justice to all peoples. He brought many progressive groups in the United States together around the ideas of human rights, workers’ rights and social justice, linking all of these to the struggle for legitimate political rights and independent statehood in Palestine.

Farouk was a true revolutionary, who believed in legitimate resistance to occupation and political repression, wherever it is found, but who at the same time, condemned terrorism, including the state terrorism waged by states such as Israel against the Palestinian People, and the current American occupation against the Iraqi people. Farouk always reiterated that he and his people were victims of terrorism at the hands of the current Israeli administration and previous administrations, who had occupied his land and denied him and other Palestinians the right to return to their country, in spite of United Nations Security Council Resolution 194, and other resolutions signed onto by the United States, which are recognized as legally binding by the international community. Farouk condemned terrorism against civilian populations in all forms, both in the United States and abroad.

Farouk was fervently anti-imperialist, but not anti-American, even though the current US Administration under George W. Bush denied him his freedom and his rights, and even tried to deny him his dignity by imprisoning him without charges, by withholding medication from him, and by holding him in solitary confinement for more than eight months at York County Prison in 2003.. But this did not stop Farouk's dedication to his work and to the just causes he embraced, namely justice and rights for Palestinians and foe oppressed peoples all over the world.

Farouk considered America to be his home and New York to be his city. He considered himself and his Palestinian community to be integral members of American society, and as such, a part of the fabric of immigrants that make up American society.

Farouk was Anti-Zionist, but not Anti-Jewish. He worked with progressive Jewish groups in the New York City area on the question of Palestine, and encouraged all groups to work together on this and other pertinent issues of social justice and equality everywhere. He was against racism and oppression in all its forms, including in the Jewish case.

Farouk brought many diverse groups, peoples and struggles together, from the left, including workers, socialists, liberals, anarchists, those embracing African-American struggles, Latin American struggles, and the struggles of indigenous peoples, in addition to the struggles of his own people for political, social and human rights, justice, and equality. He was exemplary for exposing the true situation of the Palestinian People to an oftentimes uninformed North American public. He never attempted to gain recognition for himself, but utilized his growing popularity as a platform to speak about and expose the plight of his people, the Palestinians.

Farouk did amazing work and accomplished a great deal in his life, even while imprisoned. He mobilized many immigrant detainees together during this time, and took up their concerns and legal problems as his own. His selfless and tireless commitment to human rights should be held up as a model to all of us. We were all honored to have known this great man.

His passing is a great loss to the New York City progressive community, and to all those who believe in social justice, human rights, and equality for all peoples. He will be missed immensely however, we must carry on his work to the best of our abilities, in order to adequately honor the life and work of this great man, who will not be forgotten.

Sharin Chiorazzo (Farouk’s fiancée and comrade in struggle)

Posted by Konrad at 03:33 PM | Permalink

Hello friends,

The Office of Inspector General (OIG) connected to the Department of
Homeland Security is currently conducting an investigation of abuses
against immigrant detainees at four county jails throughout the country.
Two of the county jails being investigated are in New Jersey -- Passaic
and Hudson.

New Jersey Civil Rights Defense Committee is providing support to the
detainees during the interview process. We are looking for people who are
willing to be witnesses to interveiws between OIG representatives and
detainees. You do not need any previous experience to be a witness.
While we are asking for general volunteers we are also specifically
soliciting help from immigration attorneys who would be willing to
volunteer to be present during the interviews.

These interviews will be conducted at Hudson County Jail beginning April
18 and at Passaic County Jail beginning in May. We will be signing people
up to go into the jail as witnesses throughout this time period. Please
contact New Jersey Civil Rights Defense Committee at
info@nj-civilrights.org to help.

New Jersey Civil Rights Defense Committee
http://www.nj-civilrights.org

Posted by Konrad at 04:40 PM | Permalink

The New York Times

By JULIA PRESTON

A defense lawyer in the trial of Lynne F. Stewart, a lawyer charged with conspiring with Egyptian terrorists, accused the government yesterday of trying to play on jurors' fears by repeatedly referring to Osama bin Laden and the Sept. 11 attacks during the trial.

The sharp criticism of the prosecutors came on the first day of closing arguments by Kenneth A. Paul, a lawyer for one of Ms. Stewart's co-defendants, Ahmed Abdel Sattar. The prosecutors in the trial, in Federal District Court in Manhattan, have emphasized that Mr. Sattar had numerous telephone conversations with Egyptian Islamic militants who were in close contact with Mr. bin Laden. Mr. Sattar is a Staten Island postal worker who worked as a court-appointed paralegal aide with Ms. Stewart.

Mr. Paul said the prosecutors had "so blatantly attempted to tug and play upon those fears" of "the No. 1 enemy of the United States." He told the jurors that the government had tried "to scare you into thinking" that the case involved "a direct threat to the national security of the United States."

Judge John G. Koeltl has often reminded the jury during the six-month trial that Mr. bin Laden is not part of the case. But Mr. bin Laden still appeared repeatedly in the government's presentation, most notably in a videotape, recorded somewhere in Afghanistan and broadcast on television in the Middle East in September 2000, in which he threatened to attack the United States to win the release from prison of a client of Ms. Stewart's. The client, Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman, is a blind Islamic cleric who is serving a life sentence in an American prison for a thwarted plot to bomb landmarks in New York.

Two Egyptian Islamic militants who, the evidence has shown, had frequent telephone conversations with Mr. Sattar appear on the video with Mr. bin Laden.

But the prosecutors never showed that Mr. Sattar had anything to do with making the videotape. The main evidence in the trial was drawn from about 85,000 secretly recorded intercepts of Mr. Sattar's home telephone made by the F.B.I. between 1995 and 2002. Mr. Sattar is facing a charge of conspiracy to kill and kidnap in a foreign country, which carries a maximum life sentence.

The government presented no evidence that Ms. Stewart knew in any detail about Mr. Sattar's calls with the Egyptian militants.

Mr. Paul said Mr. Sattar had followed guidance from Ms. Stewart and other lawyers for Mr. Abdel Rahman when he sent letters to the sheik in prison with messages from Egyptian Islamists. Mr. Sattar did not help to disseminate any message from the sheik that he understood to be a call for violence, Mr. Paul said.

Posted by Konrad at 10:15 AM | Permalink

For Release Dec. 6, 2004
Contact:
Eric Lerner
973-736-0522
elerner@igc.org

Press conference to be held
Monday, Dec. 6
1:00 PM
Rutger’s Newark Campus
Newark, NJ
Hill Hall (Room 208)
To get to Room 208, please go up the ramp from the second floor of Hill Hall. Hill Hall is at the corner of MLK Jr. Blvd. and Warren St., next to the Student Center.

Representatives of immigrants rights and civil rights groups, including NJ Civil Rights Defense Committee, Casa Freehold, Council on American Islamic Relations-NJ, and others will describe how this victory was achieved and the broader context of the struggle for immigrant rights.

The representatives of the groups and detainee family members will explain what has been won so far and the much greater tasks that still must be accomplished to defend the civil rights of all who live in this country.

The directive, effective Dec. 11, was a response to a report on National Public Radio documenting the use of the dogs to terrify and physically attack detainees. Officials at Passaic County Jail, one of several facilities that used the dogs, stated that they had already removed the dogs from the jail, an action confirmed by detainees.

The NPR report was the result of an 18-month-long campaign by immigrant rights and civil rights groups to expose the use of dogs to torture immigrant detainees.

The canine abuse was first reported to the press by NJ Civil Rights Defense Committee (NJCRDC) in a press conference July 18, 2003. The conference was held in connection with a hunger strike by Nigel Macado and Hemnauth Mohabir, one of the detainees interviewed in the NPR report last week. Since then, NJCRDC, Families for Freedom and other immigrant rights organizations have been vigorously exposing dog attacks. The groups arranged detainee interviews for the NPR story.

This effort has been part of a general campaign to win the release of all the detainees, who are being held unconstitutionally without any criminal charges “This victory is a step forward,” said NJCRDC member Jeannette Gabriel, “but it puts an end to only one type of detainee abuse. The worst abuse is to hold them at all, as they are not charged with any crimes.” Detainees are held by the Department of Homeland Security as “civil” detentions under laws passed in 1996 and vigorously enforced since September, 2001.

The end of the torture-by-dog is one of the limited but important victories which the growing immigrant rights movement has won in the past year. In Freehold, New Jersey, a coalition of immigrants and citizens united in Casa Freehold and other organizations defeated an attempt by the Township government to shut down a muster zone for immigrant day-laborers. With the support of this coalition, the day–laborers were able to organize a hiring-hall-type of system, ending competition among the laborers and enforcing minimum labor standards on contractors. When police harassment drove the contractors away, NJCRDC and Casa Freehold, joined by other immigrant rights and peace groups, organized a march in Freehold in July which succeeded in countering the harassment.

This new civil rights fight is just beginning. Thousands of detainees remain unconstitutionally incarcerated and immigrant communities are under attack. The detainee featured in NPR’s report for being deliberately subjected to a dog bite, Rosendo Lewis, and another detainee, Abdoulie Secka, have just finished a nine-day hunger strike at Passaic County jail to demand their freedom. They report being subjected to threats by ICE officials to move them to other detention facilities thousands of miles from their families. The dogs are gone, but the violations of human rights remain and only continued exposure and protest will stop them.

Posted by Konrad at 01:00 PM | Permalink

Denounce the deportation of Ahmad Nafaa, demand his return to Canada!

December 1. 2004-- Tuesday morning, Ahmad Nafaa was deported from Canada to the United States. Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) and the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) turned Ahmad over to the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Services (INS), who immediately locked him up in the Clinton County Jail in Northern New York. All of this occurred despite the week-long efforts of the Coalition Against the Deportation of Palestinian Refugees and allies, who had been working, since Ahmad was detained on November 23, to prevent his deportation. The night before Ahmad was deported, friends went to visit him in the Laval detention center, Ahmad was very afraid of what is awaiting him in the US and felt that his last hope for living a life in peace and dignity was being crushed in those few hours. Ahmad removed a map of Palestine from his necklace and gave it to a friend for fear of being harassed in the US by immigration officials or in the US jail.

At this moment, Ahmad is being transferred from the Clinton County Jail to the INS detention center near Buffalo, NY. The situation he faces in the US, in addition to the injustice of an arbitrary detention, is difficult and dangerous. It is unlikely that the US will not eventually deport him back to the 56-year-old Palestinian refugee camp of Ein El Helweh in Lebanon, back to a life of statelessness and a life void of all fundamental civil and human rights. It is crucial to recall that occurs against the background of the Canadian government’s continued support of Israel and the illegal occupation of Palestine.

Ahmad will probably be found ineligible to claim asylum as a refugee in the US. US immigration law imposes a one year time limit for the filing of a refugee claim, and the time starts running at the moment the claimant first enters the country. Because Ahmad first entered the US, on his way to Canada, in 2001, that time period has expired. He can apply for a 'Withholding from Removal', but the standards applied to such an application are much higher than for a refugee claim, and it does not confer the same status. The acceptance rates in the US for both types of claims are disturbingly low. Even if Ahmad is released from detention during the time that his claims are processed, he will not be eligible for a work permit for six months.

While Ahmad was being forced into this situation by CIC and the CBSA, the Minister of Immigration Canada, Judy Sgro, ignored a wide variety of efforts to convince her to stop Ahmad’s deportation. Several members of Parliament, including Bill Siksay (NDP), Meille Faille (Bloc), and Alexa McDonough (NDP), personally pressured the Minister to review Ahmad's file and stay his deportation. On Monday morning, Bill Siksay asked the following question in Parliament: “Could the Prime Minister assure us that Canada will live up to its obligations under the UN Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness and, given his personal commitment to the protection of Palestinians, will he ensure that stateless Palestinian refugees are not deported from Canada?” Over the past week, the Minister and several high-level bureaucrats in CIC received thousands of faxes, phone calls and emails explaining Ahmad's situation and demanding a stay of deportation. Despite all of this, the Minister remained intransigent.

The Coalition organized four demonstrations in support of Ahmad, two in front of Immigration Canada’s Montreal office, one at the Laval detention center where Ahmad was being held, and one in front of the Ministry of Citizenship & Immigration in Ottawa. The Coalition’s allies in Toronto organized a demonstration at the riding offices of Minister Sgro.

Several major media outlets, including the CBC, Radio Canada, La Presse, Le Devoir, The Gazette and Global Television, provided extensive coverage of these demonstrations and Ahmad's plight. Journalists were able to interview Ahmad over the weekend while he was in detention in Laval. These interviews appeared on television and in the print media. Still, Sgro, who was surely made aware of the extensive media coverage and public awareness regarding Ahmad, refused to act.

For a sampling of the media coverage, visit the following:
http://radio-canada.ca/nouvelles/Index/nouvelles/200411/28/002-nafaa-lav al.shtml
http://www.canada.com/montreal/montrealgazette/news/story.html?id=e485c8 88-9dd2-492c-a26b-f66479a64fb5
http://radio-canada.ca/regions/Montreal/nouvelles/200411/29/009-DEPORTAT IONPALESTINIEN.shtml
http://www.cyberpresse.ca/actualites/article/article_complet.php?path=/a ctualites/article/1,63,0,112004,852430.php
http://radio-canada.ca/regions/Montreal/nouvelles/200411/24/012-MANIFDEP ORTATIONPALESTINEN.shtml

The Federal Court also failed to prevent this injustice. On Monday afternoon, Judge Beaudry rejected an application for a stay of deportation, which had been filed by Ahmad’s lawyer, Annick Legault. The judge, incredibly, found that Ahmad would not face ‘irreparable harm’ if deported to the US. One wonders what reparations Judge Beaudry would therefore find adequate for the indignity and loss of liberty that Ahmad has already suffered during just his first 24 hours in the US. Judge Beaudry also denied the application on the grounds that Ahamd did not have ‘clean hands’ because he had been living underground for over a year before being detained (he way, as they say, ‘illegal’). In essence, the judge refused the application because Ahmad had been forced underground in order to avoid deportation to the poverty and persecution that are daily life in the refugee camps of Lebanon. This despite the fact that the initial refusal of Ahmad’s refugee claim was clearly unjust. A clear indication of that is that fact that his own brother, who has exactly the same case, was granted refugee status in Canada and is allowed to stay simply because a different Immigration & Refugee Board member heard his case.

The Coalition is now organizing to arrange to pay a $10,000 (USD) bond so that Ahmad may be released from detention while he awaits his virtually guaranteed deportation back to Lebanon.

PLEASE CALL, FAX and EMAIL THE MINISTER OF IMMIGRATION We ask you to again write, call or email the Removal Officer in this case and the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, expressing your outrage and disgust at the failure of the government to prevent this gross injustice.

WHEN YOU CALL, DEMAND FROM CITIZENSHIP & IMMIGRATION: 1) To accept Ahmad Nafaa’s humanitarian and compassionate grounds application, which was filed over 6 months ago, so that he may return to Canada.
2) To stop the deportation and regularize the status of the Stateless Palestinian refugees who are facing deportation from Canada.

For more information, contact the Coalition Against the Deportation of Palestinian Refugees:
Email: refugees@riseup.net
Phone: 514.591.3171
http://refugees.resist.ca
----------------------

Removal Officer
Ludmilla St-Saveur
Agent d'execution de la loi-CBSA
1010 rue St-Antoine
Phone: 496-2683
Fax: 496-1882

Judy Sgro
Minister of Citizenship and Immigration Canada
CIC National Headquarters 365 Laurier, Jean Edmonds South Tower, 21st Floor Ottawa, Ontario K1A 1L1 Fax: (613) 947-8319 Phone: (613) 954-1064 Minister@cic.gc.ca Sgro.J@parl.gc.ca

RE : STATELESS PALESTINIAN REFUGEE AHMAD NAFAA (4277-4326)

Honourable Judy Sgro,

December 1 2004 - AHMAD NAFAA has been deported from Canada to the United States, and after being locked in the Clinton County Jail, he is being transferred to an INS detention center. We, therefore, respectfully request that, as Citizenship and Immigration Minister, immediately accept his application for permanent residence on compassionate and humanitarian grounds so that he may return to Canada. The Canadian government has already failed Mr. Nafaa once, by failing to stop his unjust deportation, and the only way to remedy that wrong is to allow Mr. Nafaa to return to Canada as soon as possible.

Mr. Nafaa was born a stateless Palestinian in Ein El-Hilweh refugee camp in Lebanon. Fear, poverty and persecution are daily facts of life in the Ein El-Hilweh camp, and the present and future are grim for resident Palestinians. They are banned from an ever-expanding number of trades and professions. Unemployment among them, as a result, is extremely high. Poverty rates are also astronomical. The restrictions on new construction within the camp means its residents are forced to live in dilapidated, hopelessly abject housing. All these factors lead to a situation so bleak for Palestinians that suicide in the camp is an everyday tragedy.

After 24 years in the camp and suffering its endemic racism, discrimination, fear, violence and poverty, Mr. Nafaa fled Lebanon and claimed refugee status in Canada. His claim was denied on February 20, 2002. On the other hand, his brother Mohammad¹s refugee claim, heard by a different member of the refugee board, was accepted.

Since arriving in Canada, Mr. Nafaa has become fully integrated in Canadian and Quebec society. He has been reunited with his brother, and they have renewed their close family ties. Mr. Nafaa currently works full-time in a restaurant and is a self-sufficient and contributing member of his community. He dreams of returning to school and finishing the nursing degree he began in Lebanon. After suffering for so many years as a refugee, his greatest desire is to alleviate the suffering of others. In every sense, Mr. Nafaa has found a home in Canada.

Ahmad Nafaa now faces deportation from the U.S. to the refugee camps of Lebanon, where the conditions faced by Palestinians are dangerous, degrading and, beyond dispute, in clear violation of international law. This situation, over half-a-century old, is directly related to the statelessness of Palestinians. Because of their unique situation, Palestinians have been denied not only rights accorded ordinary citizens but also genuine access to the international system for the protection of refugees. The fact that Mr. Nafaa’s immediate deportation was to the United States does not materially affect his plight. Eventual deportation to his country of origin is virtually automatic.

In signing the United Nations Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness in 1978, the government of Canada championed the cause of stateless refugees. If Canada allows Mr. Nafaa to return to Lebanon, it would be abdicating that noble responsibility. The Minister of Citizenship and Immigration must therefore act now to grant Mr. Nafaa, and the other stateless Palestinian refugees facing deportation from Canada, permanent residence on humanitarian and compassionate grounds, pursuant to s. 25(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.

We thank you for your attention and efforts in this urgent matter.

Sincerely,

(YOUR NAME, ADDRESS)

CC: -Office of the Prime Minister of Canada: pm@pm.gc.ca, Fax: 613-941-6900 -Michel Dorais, Deputy Minister CIC: Fax: (613) 954-3509 or (613) 954-5448
-René D’Aoust: Director Investigation & Removal: Phone: (514) 496-1238, Fax: (514) 496-1882
-Monique Leclair, Director General: CIC QC Regional Office: Fax: (514) 496-3976
-Andrew Telegdi, P.C. (Chair of Standing Committee on Citizenship & Immigration): telega@parl.gc.ca
- Bill Siksay, MP (NDP - Immigration): siksay.b@parl.gc.ca
- Meili Faille, MP (Bloc Québécois - Immigration): Faille.M@parl.gc.ca

Posted by Konrad at 04:23 PM | Permalink

Continue reading "DEMONSTRATION AGAINST THE DEPORTATION OF AHMAD NAFAA" »

Posted by Konrad at 09:35 AM | Permalink

Contact:          Sharin Chiorazzo,(201)951-6919 
                  abufkheida@maktoob.com
 
                  David Wilson,(212)674-9499
                  freefarouk@yahoo.com

FOR RELEASE:      Immediately

MEMORIAL MEETING FOR PALESTINIAN HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST:  A celebration of 

the life of Farouk Abdel-Muhti, who died July 21, 2004, 100 days after 

being released from a post-September 11, 718-day, federal detention later 

deemed unconstitutional. Speakers at this public event include the lead 

attorney in Abdel-Muhti's case, Shane Kadidal of the Center for 

Constitutional Rights, activist lawyer Lynne Stewart and Amy Goodman of 

WBAI/Pacifica Network's Democracy Now.  6-9 pm at SEIU Local 1199 

Auditorium, 310 W 43 St. between 8th and 9th Ave., Manhattan.  For more 

information call 212-674-9499.

                            -30-

=========================================================

      Committee for the Release of Farouk Abdel-Muhti

PO Box 20587, Tompkins Square Station, New York, NY 10009

      Phone: 212-674-9499 * Email freefarouk@yahoo.com

  Websites: www.freefarouk.org * freefarouk.netfirms.com

=========================================================

Posted by Konrad at 10:26 AM | Permalink

September 13, 2004, 4:29 PM EDT

NEWARK, N.J. -- The federal government has agreed to release a stowaway who had been among the nation's longest-held immigration detainees.

His lawyer said Salim Yassir is expected to be set free from a detention center within the next two weeks, and can stay in the United States until federal authorities find a country to which they can deport him.

Yassir had sued the government, claiming he could not be held indefinitely.

In papers filed Monday in U.S. District Court, Assistant U.S. Attorney Colette Buchanan said the court did not have to order Yassir's release because the government has already decided to let him go.

"He's kind of in shock about it," Yassir's lawyer, Joshua Bardavid said. "What he's been hoping for four years is finally happening. He's very, very happy and excited."

Bardavid said Yassir will stay at least temporarily at Christ House, a religious group facility in the Bronx, which will provide him with lodging, meals and living expenses until he can find a job on his own.

Yassir, who has been the cook at the detention center in Elizabeth where he has been held, hopes to find a similar job once he is released.

In August 2000, he was found hiding in a ship bound for Port Elizabeth, and turned over to federal immigration authorities, whom he asked for political asylum. A judge denied the application, so Yassir agreed to be deported.

Yassir, 28, is from Gaza City in the Gaza Strip, an area controlled by the Palestinian Authority. In order to send him back there, U.S. authorities would have needed permission from Israel, which does not have a repatriation agreement for Palestinians.

Authorities also have been unable to find a third country to accept him, although those efforts will continue. He will be able to stay in the United States until a country is willing to accept him, Bardavid said. The only thing that could allow him to stay here permanently is marrying a U.S. citizen and applying for an adjustment in his immigration status, the attorney said.

Yassir's situation is similar to that of another former detainee, Farouk Abdel-Muhti, who claimed that as a stateless Palestinian there was no nation to which he could legally be deported. He was held for nearly two years before being released in April, pending deportation, but died three months later.

In court papers, Buchanan said efforts to deport Yassir have been complicated because he cannot prove citizenship in any country.

The lawsuit seeking his freedom was taken to a federal appeals court in Philadelphia, which kicked the matter back to Newark. Monday was the deadline for government officials to respond to Yassir's request for an order granting his release.

Still to be determined are the conditions of his supervised release, which could include electronic monitoring, Bardavid said.

Copyright (c) 2004, The Associated Press

This article originally appeared at: http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/ny-bc-nj--four-yeardetainee0913sep13, 0,101426.story?coll=ny-ap-regional-wire

Visit Newsday online at http://www.newsday.com

Posted by Konrad at 10:06 AM | Permalink

Yassir was born in Gaza and moved to a refugee camp in Libya at age 10. He briefly lived in Syria and England before arriving in New Jersey as a stowaway on a Wallenius Lines ship in 2000. He has been held ever since at the immigration detention center in Elizabeth, New Jersey. On Aug. 9 the Third Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia ruled that Yassir had established his identity, and sent his habeas case back to the district court for a new hearing, now set for Sept. 13. The district court had ruled that the government could not release Yassir because it couldn't confirm his identity. "The government was out of options," said Yassir's attorney, Joshua Bardavid. "They had to go to a judge and get a final ruling in the case. So instead of releasing him, they try to take him in the middle of the night and put him on a ship."

In June 2001, the Supreme Court ruled in Zadvydas v. Davis that immigrants ordered deported should not be held over 180 days while authorities seek their removal; later this year the court is to decide, in Benitez v. Mata, whether this principle applies to people deemed "inadmissable" upon arrival. The government will not say how many detainees have been held over 180 days following a final removal order. In January 2004 the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released a list of 128 such detainees; when attorneys in the Detention Watch Network checked the list, they found at least 84 of their clients in this category were unlisted. [Star Ledger (Newark, NJ) 8/28/04; AP 8/28/04]

Immigration News Briefs (INB), a weekly English-language summary of US immigration news, is forwarded out to the email list of the Coalition for the Human Rights of Immigrants (CHRI). If you receive INB as a forwarded message, and you wish to subscribe directly to INB, or to the CHRI email list (which includes INB and local NYC area events, average 4-5 messages a week), write to nicajg@panix.com (indicate "CHRI list" or "INB only").

Immigration News Briefs (INB), un resumen semanal en ingles de noticias sobre inmigracion en los EE.UU., es enviado cada semana a la lista de correo electronico de la Coalicion para los Derechos Humanos de los Inmigrantes. Si el INB le llega como mensaje reenviado, y usted quiere subscribir directamente al INB, o a la lista de correo de CHRI (que incluye INB, mas anuncios de actividades en el area de NYC, promedio de 4-5 mensajes por semana), escriba al nicajg@panix.com (indique si quiere "lista de CHRI" o "solo INB").

Posted by Konrad at 09:49 AM | Permalink

Published: August 20, 2004

WASHINGTON, Aug. 20 — Three men have been charged with raising millions of dollars for Hamas, the group blamed for carrying out dozens of suicide bombings in Israel, through a shadowy network of United States banks as part of a 15-year racketeering conspiracy, Attorney General John Ashcroft said today. Advertisement

Two of the suspects were arrested Thursday night, while the third is now in Damascus, Syria, and is classified as a fugitive, Mr. Ashcroft said at a news briefing here. He identified the suspects as Abdelhaleem Ashqar, who has lived in the Washington area; Muhammad Salah, who has lived in a Chicago suburb; and Mousa Abu Marzook, formerly of northern Virginia and Louisiana and now in Damascus.

The three were named in an indictment unsealed today in Chicago. The indictment seeks forfeiture of about $2.7 million in bank accounts under the defendants' control, Mr. Ashcroft said.

The attorney general said all three defendants were charged with racketeering conspiracy for taking part in the affairs of Hamas, which the United States has designated a foreign terrorist organization since 1997 and which Mr. Ashcroft says has murdered many innocent people, including some American citizens abroad.

Mr. Salah and Mr. Ashqar are also charged with obstruction of justice, he said. Mr. Salah is believed to have lied under oath in testifying in a civil suit involving the murder of an American in the West Bank, while Mr. Ashqar at least twice refused to testify before grand juries despite a grant of immunity, the attorney general said.

Mr. Marzook is believed to be the deputy chief of Hamas's political bureau, which helps to coordinate terror attacks, Mr. Ashcroft said. He said the defendant, while living in the United States from 1988 to 1993, kept bank accounts in New York, Ohio, Wisconsin, Louisiana, Mississippi and Virginia and used them to funnel large sums of money to Hamas.

A lawyer for Mr. Ashqar told The Associated Press the indictment was "politically motivated." The lawyer, Ashraf Nubani, said his client was already under house arrest because of an earlier indictment accusing him of obstruction of justice, and that he had appeared at every required court hearing.

Mr. Ashqar came to the United States as a graduate student at the University of Mississippi, Mr. Ashcroft said. Mr. Ashqar is accused of being a money conduit for Hamas from 1989 onward, taking part in Hamas meetings in the United States and helping to plan the group's acts by means of coded telephone messages.

Mr. Salah traveled throughout the United States, Israel and the West Bank from 1989 to early 1993, meeting with Hamas members, recruiting and training new ones and distributing money to finance the organization, Mr. Ashcroft said.

Mr. Ashcroft said the case against the three defendants would have been much more difficult to bring, had it not been for legislation passed by Congress shortly after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. The legislation, dubbed the Patriot Act, makes it easier for intelligence-gatherers to share information with law enforcement agencies. The law's supporters say the law is a vital tool in battling terrorism; its critics say it can endanger civil liberties.

Posted by Konrad at 09:02 PM | Permalink