Monday, December 22, 2014

Art Exhibit Questions Boston Marathon Bombing Scenario

  


 
art
The author standing next to a  on display at Black Indian Inn in Dorchester, MA. Photo by David Barkley.
 
The Boston Chapter of The Jericho Movement recently held an event at the Black Indian Inn art gallery, entitled ‘Artistic Hospitality in the Hood.’ The event featured a film about Abu Mumia Jamal, an African American convicted and sentenced to life without parole for the 1981 murder of Philadelphia police officer Daniel Faulkner.
 
This event coincided with an exhibit questioning the official story in the Boston Marathon bombing that took place in April 2013. To me, the most immediately noticeable panel of the display shows a picture of the accused Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s face coming out of the darkness with the words, “I’m not asking for mercy, I’m asking for justice,” positioned next to it. The display awakens the part of the mind that questions official details about a crime scene and allows a “shadow of a doubt” to penetrate the consciousness.
 
The panels on display in this exhibit were the same panels were held by protesters in front of Boston’s federal courthouse on October 20, 2014. Among those present that day was Elena Teyer, mother in law of Ibrahim Todashev, who was murdered by a Boston FBI agent in his Florida home in May 2013, while writing a forced confession implicating himself and Tamerlan Tsarnaev in a triple homicide. His confession does not match the actual crime scene. One of the most important panels shows photographs from Todashev’s autopsy.
 
The most terrifying aspect of this young man’s situation while awaiting trial is that despite an endless stream of media content vilifying him and his Islamic religion, we the public have never been allowed to hear him say more than “Not Guilty,” which he said seven times at his arraignment. Not even his sisters are allowed to talk to him without an FBI officer present in the room. The defense is gagged – prevented from saying publicly that their client is innocent! Meanwhile, the media has not been stopped from airing highly inflammatory stories about him.
 
“Meet Jahar…” reads a statement on the most prominent poster of the exhibit. It shows the boy’s downcast face as he was captured in the boat after being shot multiple times by police despite being unarmed. One thing is clear in the face of this 19-year-old in this most terrifying of circumstances: he looks alarmingly handsome, calm, and resolved. It is rumored that he is ready to accept death penalty before he will plead guilty for a crime he did not commit. He is placing his fate in the hands of Allah.
Nearby, we see the innocent boy on a happier day with a carnation in his lapel. The public has never before been exposed to the image of him with a flower! We learn that this “terrorist” sounds like the kid we wish we could say was our son.
 
questions
Panel on display depicting the scene of the Boston Marathon Bombing. Photo by David Barkley.
 
Crowning the display is a collection of photos of young men who are currently being held in solitary confinement, basically because they knew the Tsarnaevs.

Many of the panels discuss the logistics of what happened when the first and second bombs went off. One poster claims to show photographic evidence that “Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was not even standing at the site of the 2nd bomb. He was next door at Atlantic Fish Restaurant.”
 
One section of the display concentrates on the “bomb squad practice” that was going on at the same time as the actual bombs, and official media assurances that these explosions were only a “training exercise.” We see bomb sniffing dogs at the finish line, snipers on the roof wearing protective gear, and a tweet from the Boston Globe that reads, “Officials: There will be a controlled explosion opposite the library within one minute as part of bomb squad activities.”
 
Three panels focus on the issue of “the backpack.” Photographic evidence clearly demonstrates that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev did not have any kind of pressure cooker or anything heavy in his light colored backpack. The exploded backpack shown in the media bears close resemblance to that worn by men who are believed to be Craft International employees, who were photographed standing around with heavy black backpacks near the time of the blasts.
 
An additional panel exhibits conflicting accounts of what happened that night when the brothers were on the run. Early media reports said they had robbed a 7-11. Surveillance photos show they just bought snacks. Similar discrepancies exist regarding the story about the shooting of MIT police officer Sean Collier. Early police reports stated they were looking for a dark skinned male. Tsarnaev was first accused of this cop killing a few weeks later at his grand jury hearing. Another poster shows multiple images of the unconstitutional behavior of police raiding homes in Watertown, Massachusetts.
 
The display raises more questions than it answers, but it is not the citizens’ job to prove anyone’s innocence. It is the government’s job to establish guilt of the accused, “beyond a reasonable doubt.” Meanwhile, we watch and wait.

Sunday, December 21, 2014

If Jahar didn't bomb the marathon, who did?

Boston - Accused Marathon bomber, Dzhokhar (Jahar) Tsarnaev’s last pre-trial hearing took place on December 18th. He still resolutely refuses to plead guilty for a crime he claims he did not commit. I watched the proceedings in the overflow room and also participated in a protest outside the courthouse, where I was interviewed by reporters from every news channel.


I explained to them that I want a fair trial for Jahar. The public deserves to know what really happened. We need to make sure we got the right guy. Erroneous media reports based on leaks from anonymous law enforcement officials have been presented to the public in lieu of evidence, and have greatly biased the jury pool against the defendant before he has even gone to trial. As to whether or not I personally think he’s innocent, I would say, based on past prosecutions by US Attorney Carmen Ortiz’s team in front of the same Judge O’Toole, that it is highly probable that the young man is simply a victim of anti-Islamic prejudice.


For example, Tarek Mehanna was sentenced to over 17 years for joking comments he made on the internet, which the government misconstrued as planning to commit terrorist acts. His trial was based on highly inflammatory statements against the Islamic religion, irrelevant evidence such as beheading videos, expert testimony from career neocons, and plea bargains from acquaintances who were facing decades in prison unless they testified against Mehanna. Based on the media reports, during the time of the trial, many people in the Muslim community refused to stand up for their brother and spent energy distancing themselves from him. It was only after sentencing that he was allowed to speak out about his unjust conviction.


In Jahar’s case, he is not just accused of thought crimes but actual explosions that killed and maimed people. If he is innocent, then the real bomber is still at large. In the worst case scenario, Jahar was chosen as a fall guy to cover up for a plot that is much more sinister. So far, there have been no bomb making materials found in either his home nor that of his brother. The government has never once claimed that the fireworks that his friends took out of his dorm room were linked to the bombing. The government prosecuted the friends for lying about throwing away the backpacks, in order to pressure them to testify against their friend.


If there is evidence that Jahar and his brother Tamerlan had something to do with the Boston Marathon bombings, then the public still deserves to know the bigger picture. I have no problem with executing a criminal who committed murder but I have a huge problem with someone being executed in order to silence him. The government has silenced almost every potential defense witness. Jahar’s friends, relatives, friends of friends and even relatives of friends of friends have been deported, imprisoned and even killed by the FBI. The defense complains that they are having trouble getting anyone to talk due to government intimidation.


Furthermore, defense lawyers have complained that the prosecution is being evasive instead of presenting clear arguments as to why they believe he is the bomber. They don’t seem to want to “unravel the mystery.”


I don’t know if the truth will ever come out in this courtroom. It is not being played as a straightforward prosecution. The government is playing chess, not proving their point.


Hearing after hearing, the defense has been begging the prosecution to present their argument. Instead, the government has dumped on them millions of pages of unsearchable computer records without any explanation as to their significance. US Attorney Weinreb has consistently argued, with a smirk on his face, that if the government were to present their case to the defense, the defense would be able to come up with a counter-argument, which would be unfair to prosecutors; therefore they need to keep the element of surprise. Yet at the same time, the government has been illegally feeding news stories to the media. The defense complained that they are learning more about the government’s narrative of this case from the television than they are getting from the other attorneys. The government is not playing fair, which leads to the question of whether it is covering up the truth.


In 95% of cases since 9/11, where Muslims are accused of terrorism related acts, the FBI has been involved. We need to know more about the extent of FBI involvement in the Boston Marathon bombing suspects’ lives. His mother stated to reporters last year that the FBI had been interviewing Tamerlan on a regular basis for two years before the bombing. He had been asked to become an informant. They knew him well. So, the most likely scenario is either that he bombed the marathon as an employee of the FBI, or else that he was framed for a crime he did not commit in retaliation for refusing to become an informant for the FBI.


I don’t want to live in a country where the FBI can just come into your house and murder you because you knew somebody, where they can just accuse you of a bombing and then, instead of presenting evidence in a court of law, make up TV docu-dramas about you without even consulting you for your side of the story. Perhaps it’s not as important to ordinary Americans that their government obey the rule of law, but as someone whose parents came to this country and swore their allegiance to the US Constitution, I see no other course of action possible other than standing up and fighting for what my country stands for.

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is an American citizen with rights. He came to this country as a refugee. He loved living here. He had many friends, no criminal record, and absolutely no motive to hurt anyone. If people don’t stand up for his rights, next week it could be your son in shackles.

Thursday, December 18, 2014

Finally, we see him!!!


Dzhokhar (Jahar) Tsarnaev’s last pre-trial hearing took place Thursday, December 18 at 10am. Drone footage shows him being brought into the courthouse around 6am wearing shackles and an orange jumpsuit. He looked thin and seemed physically weak. The courthouse entranceway was a zoo, with a huge crowd of reporters, Homeland Security, FBI, police and protesters even before 8am. The massive audience filled the courtroom, plus two overflow courtrooms and the jury assembly hall, where the proceedings were shown on livestream video. About a dozen people identifying as victims of the Boston Marathon bombings also attended. Those watching on video were able to hear the judge clearly and see the defendant’s face while those experiencing the hearing live saw only his back.


Jahar sported wild, unkempt curly hair that was almost an afro, standing many inches above his head. He has grown a short beard. His eyes were downcast most of the time. He touched his face and nose a lot. His feet remained in shackles, while he sat in a relaxed slouch with his knees open throughout the 25 minute hearing. His facial expression seemed a bit weird and befuddled - quite intense yet not quite there - perhaps a side effect of being kept in isolation for over a year. He seemed almost disoriented, but maybe he was just exhausted from being hauled out of bed in the middle of the night. A supporter later asked his mother if he was taking medication and was told no, he won’t even take aspirin for a headache. He was wearing a black sweater over a white button-down shirt and slacks for court.


Judge O’Toole asked Jahar whether he had voluntarily chosen not to be present for any of the previous hearings; whether he had been kept up to date on the proceedings; and if he was happy with his representation. Jahar answered, “Yes, sir” to the first two questions and “pretty much,” or “very much” to the last question. This is the first time the public had heard his voice since he pled “Not Guilty” in 2013. The rest of the hearing was nothing special, just going over the motions. Judy Clarke patted him on the back a few times. Until…


As Jahar was handcuffed and taken out of the courtroom after the hearing, a woman in the courtroom started yelling loudly in Russian: “There are many people here supporting you. We are praying for you. We love you. We know you are innocent! Stay strong, my son!”


Onlookers report that he heard these words and smiled, although he did not turn around.


“I'm pretty sure his lawyers were not happy! Lol! I saw Miriam Conrad's face was like a wtf moment ... But I can tell Jahar was relieved. Jahar appreciates It,” stated an onlooker.


As the US Marshalls escorted her out, Elena shouted in English, “Stop killing innocent people! Stop killing innocent boys!”


Elena Teyer, US veteran and the mother of Ibrahim Todashev’s widow, then suddenly gave an impromptu press conference to hoards of reporters for the next one and half hours outside. Thank God! It worked out very beautifully that way because of the gag order that prevents Jahar’s lawyers from even stating that their client is innocent in public. Even the prosecutors made no statement to the press. Elena passionately defended Jahar’s innocence and all his friends. She decried all of the lives that have been destroyed because of FBI lies and games.


The ongoing arguments between the defense and prosecution are that the defense wants a “continuance” - in other words, more time to prepare. The government is demanding (and I would say bullying) the defense to provide detailed information about witnesses, even though it has been made clear that the witnesses are feeing too intimidated.


About 8 protesters held up placards after the hearing. About half were from out of state while the rest were local. One sign read: “Got proof? Innocent until proven guilty.”


There was a moment where a Bostonian named Marc who had lost half of one leg in the Boston Marathon bombing, waved his empty pant leg at the demonstrators. “We all wished we could have talked to him longer. He said something about what was found in the dorm room and I said have you never played with fireworks? We have to make sure we got the right guy!! It’s important. He reportedly told me to get a job LOL,” said a local supporter.

see video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ClmT70PfZRI


What was most astonishing about this hearing is that the government continues to waste the public’s time by insisting that a certain Ms. Vogelbruck be denied as a witness, because as a social worker she has interviewed a lot of people who ever knew the Tsarnaev family. Weinreb argued with his familiar smirk that he needs to know what she might say, in order that he could come up with an appropriate comeback.The government isn’t playing fair.


This is a government prosecution that was able to feed HBO and the History Channel all the statements they wanted to make, extra legal. I’d look into the government cable TV link.


The ongoing “live dispute” pertains to the list of witnesses who might testify as character witnesses in the event of a Guilty decision.


Jahar seems resigned as a noble Chechen would be, to the fate of Allah.


He absolutely refuses to plead guilty for a crime he did not commit.

Thursday, December 11, 2014

Peltier “Feeling His Age” in Prison

December 4, 2014 by  


A letter from long term political prisoner Leonard Peltier was read aloud by Bert Waters at the 45th Day of Mourning commemoration, which took place on November 27, 2014 in Plymouth Massachusetts. Every year, a letter from Peltier is read out loud to the crowd. Native American organizer Peltier, who grew up in Turtle Mountain Chippewa Indian Reservation, North Dakota, has served 37 years of a life sentence for allegedly killing an FBI agent. Peltier has long insisted on his innocence, and asserted that during his trial, the government withheld evidence and intimidated witnesses. Every presidential term, Peltier’s supporters have begged unsuccessfully for amnesty.
“The blatant government misconduct was a mitigating factor which should bear strongly on whether I should be immediately considered for parole,” he argues.
Peltier is now 70 years old and losing his vision. This year’s letter reading was particularly moving because it sounded like he doesn’t have much time left to live. Still, he is trying to stay positive.
“In here, I am able to focus on the simple things in life. You have no idea how cool it is, just to get a new pair of socks,” Peltier wrote. “In the past few months, I have really been feeling my age, and I am so very thankful for all the support you have given to me. I won’t lie, it has been a rough time, lately, but I am hopeful that is changing. My people have always had a deep connected relationship with the sun, and I realized the other day just how much I miss the sun. When I had the sun’s light upon me, I felt stronger. These walls hold out the sun’s energy, and it weakens me.”
Peltier stressed that personal visits and even the smell of the fiber in the paper his letters are written on helps him feel “a bit of the sunshine again.” He said that his point is that “we may find the things we need in places that we might not expect.”
“I can always pray. This can never be taken away from me. And through that prayer, I can keep the sun, and hope alive. On this day, Thanksgiving, I shall choose to be thankful, and not to celebrate tyranny. And I’ll also pray for you, and with you. I pray for each and every one of you, whether you support me or not. I pray that your lives will be full of meaning, and that you will find new ways to learn. I pray for your strength, and that you will always stand up for the things that you know are right. I pray that each one of you find a way to protect our Mother Earth. She is crying out for us to hear her. I pray that you will listen to your inner wisdom, let it guide you to make choices that will help each other and that you will be examples of those still learning their way in this life. I pray that you will be present with the moment you have, and enjoy the simple things of life, like the sun, the dirt, the air, the water, and that you would protect them as you would your own children.
“I pray that you will look for opportunities to lift up your sisters and brothers, and not bring them down. I pray that you will grow and enjoy good, natural food. I pray that you savor the attention of your loved ones, and that you build bridges of peace to those you oppose. I pray that when others make bad choices, that you would help them find positive solutions. I pray for understanding in times of misunderstanding.
“And yes, I pray very deeply and honestly that I can go home, go home for a little while, before I cross over, cross over to the spirit world.”
At this point many people in the audience of about 300 persons began to weep.
“I am with you always, and I feel your prayers too. I am always grateful for your support, your love, your friendship, your letters and contact you give me with life. It is harder for me to physically see well enough to write letters these days, so please forgive me if I I don’t write back. It’s not that I don’t want to. Know that I am often sitting and thinking of you and being thankful for you, all of you. Your old, thankful friend and brother. In the spirit of Crazy Horse, Leonard Peltier.”
A red blanket with gold fringe was carried through the crowd to collect donations for Peltier’s legal fund, so that he can continue to fight for his release (see leonardpeltier.info).
The group then performed their traditional march through town, past Plymouth Rock, chanting among other things, “Free Leonard Peltier!” singing tribal songs and beating drums. After a prayer and burning of sage at the town square where the head of the rebellious Wampanoag chief Metacom, also known as King Philip, was displayed on a stake for twenty years by the Puritans in front of First Parish Church in the late 1600’s, the crowd enjoyed a turkey dinner inside the church, provided by the United American Indians of New England (UAINE).
Despite his imprisonment, Peltier is widely recognized for his remarkable contributions to humanitarian causes. He “has played a key role in getting people from different tribes, with a history of animosity, to come together in peace.” He has worked with various communities to improve health care on US reservations, stimulate reservation-based businesses, organized an emergency food drive for Mexico, and developed prisoner art programs. Peltier counsels other Native American prisoners to rehabilitate themselves by advocating a drug- and alcohol-free lifestyle upholding the beauty of their tribal heritage and customs.

British Muslims Receive 12+ Years for Syria Travel

December 11, 2014 by  


Editor’s note: Karin Friedemann is a TMO Columnist. Any opinions expressed here are her own.
2014-12-07T155240Z_1589559533_GM1EAC71TEH01_RTRMADP_3_MIDEAST-CRISIS-FOOD
A lack of funds has forced the United Nations to stop providing food vouchers for 1.7 million Syrian refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, Iraq and Egypt, the World Food Programme (WFP) said on December 1.   REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed
Mohammed Ahmed and Yusuf Sarwar, both 22, were arrested at Heathrow Airport in January 2014 as part of a government crackdown on “radicalized jihadists.” These days, this term could mean anyone who went to Syria including for humanitarian reasons. In May, the two pled guilty to one count of engaging in conduct in preparation of terrorism acts contrary to Section 5 of the Terrorism Act. 
Ironically, the Guardian reports that police did not know the men had travelled to Syria, where they spent eight months, until one of their mothers contacted detectives in May last year, shortly after the pair had left, reporting her son missing. She had found a note written by her son saying he had gone to fight and wished to “die as a martyr.” Instead of receiving help in locating her son, police raided her home and arrested her son when he tried to return home.
The mother of Yusuf Sarwar, in a press release distributed by CAGE, insisted that her son had “not committed any offenses, killed anyone or fought against any armed forces. He has simply secured areas, dug graves, fasted and given food to areas which were in need of dire help… I feel prison is not the answer, neither is my son radicalized neither is he a terrorist.”
Farooq Siddiqui, of the Prevent programme, is calling for the UK to stop criminalizing young Muslims who travel to Syria to fight against Bashar al-Assad. Mr Siddiqui asked why the government has threatened to arrest British Muslims who return from Syria while it allows young people to fight for Israel and other countries with impunity. And yet there is no enforcement of prison for those British that join IDF.
“They willingly, enthusiastically and with a great deal of purpose, persistence and determination embarked on a course intended to commit acts of terrorism,” Judge Michael Topolski said. “Both of these defendants are fundamentalists who are interested in and deeply committed to violent extremism.”
In an interview with Sky TV, former Guantanamo Bay detainee Moazzam Begg said the pair had been branded “terrorists” despite having “no intention of harming anyone.” He also believes the two appear “bewildered by their situation” and that they probably went to Syria out of a feeling of moral duty to help. In the end, Begg said that they came back because they were frustrated by all the infighting amongst the rebel groups.
“I spent several months in prison with these two men and I do not consider them to be a threat to the British public in any way, just in the same way the police that arrested them said they posed no threat whatsoever,” Begg stated in the interview. He also questioned Ahmed and Sarwar’s sentence and accused the judge of maintaining a double standard when handling cases involving Muslims and terrorism. “How can it be that former soldier Ryan McGee, who was found with a bomb with 187 pieces of shrapnel and evidence of a hate ideology was given 2 years and described as a misguided teenager, while these men have been given over 12 years and branded as terrorists despite them having no intention of harming anyone,” asked Begg, who has demanded that the case be appealed.
British security forces have stepped up surveillance and arrests of terrorism suspects in recent months, and lawmakers are set to toughen anti-terrorism laws in a bid to stem the flow of Britons joining Islamic State (IS) jihadists fighting in Syria and Iraq. An estimated 500 Britons are reported to have travelled abroad to become jihadists and officials fear the return of battle-hardened and radicalized fighters.
The controversial anti-terrorism powers, which are being widely used to harass and gather intelligence on Muslims traveling to and from the UK, are being challenged by several human rights organizations. Schedule 7, which forms part of the Terrorism Act 2000, allows police to hold someone at a UK port for questioning for up to nine hours about whether they have been involved with acts of terrorism. Anyone detained must “give the examining officer any information in his possession which the officer requests” or face arrest. Police need to have no reasonable suspicion to stop, interrogate or detain anybody.

Friday, November 28, 2014

Matanov Gets New Lawyer, New Prison

 


Editor’s note:  Karin Friedemann is a TMO columnist.  Her opinions are her own.

The imprisoned Quincy, Massachusetts cabdriver from Kyrgyzstan, Khairullozhon Matanov prevailed in a motion hearing to fire his attorney on November 20, 2014. Judge Young kindly granted his request for permission to retain his former immigration attorney to represent Matanov, as he faces trial in June 2015 on charges of lying to the FBI and obstructing justice. The attorney switch went smoothly and politely between Edward Hayden, who was his court-appointed attorney, and Paul Glickman, his replacement, because Hayden agreed to step down voluntarily. Judge Young had denied an earlier request from Matanov to retain Glickman, but accepted the request upon appeal.
Glickman explained to reporters after the hearing that he was not originally appointed because he is not on the “CGA List.”
“I am on the appeals list but not the general list.”
However, pubic sympathy may have also softened the judge’s heart towards the defendant, who made headlines in October after being kicked in the head and teargassed by prison guards at the Plymouth County Correctional Facility, who played the US National Anthem repeatedly and called him “Muslim terrorist.”
“Matanov has told supporters in letters that he has been beaten by corrections officers, ridiculed and harassed, and he watched another inmate attempt suicide,” reported Milton Valencia in the Boston Globe.
“Some guards were trying to say that National Anthem of USA was not played at all, thankfully some brave inmates said indeed it was played for three times. I want the video of I am getting beat up should be released for public, so this way everybody know about their crimes. Already two more people told me about their torture and I am sure once it is gonna come out, there are a lots of people whom themselves experienced such a thing, will speak up,” wrote Matanov in his most recent letter to a supporter.
Several people wrote letters to the judge asking for mercy, which ended up in his docket. Some letters mentioned that the government asked the young immigrant to become an informant in exchange for his freedom but he refused.
Matanov was suddenly moved to Wyatt, a federal prison in Central Falls, Rhode Island, shortly before he appeared in court.
Entering the courtroom, Matanov kept his eyes downcast but did not look terrified or despairing as he had appeared in previous hearings, shortly after he was arrested by a SWAT team that came to his home. Despite having no history of violence, political activism or any criminal record, he has been kept in solitary confinement since May 2013. His hair is now longer, and he appeared somewhat unkempt, with beard stubble. He looked both tired and tired of this long ordeal. His head is likely still throbbing from the concussion, which he claims has not received adequate medical attention. Matanov wore olive green prison clothes, which were thin like hospital garments.
Judge Young began by saying to Matanov: “I don’t want a discussion of what happened between Hayden and you, or the charges against you: Why don’t you want Hayden as your attorney?”
“I have been working before with Glickman. I felt more confident while working with him,” answered Matanov.
“Mr. Matanov has been a perfect gentleman during these difficult times at prison. He has been respectful and appreciative despite the circumstances. I couldn’t do anything to alleviate his conditions,” explained Hayden humbly. He called Matanov a “star client.”
Judge Young asked Hayden why there has been no progress on this case. Hayden had not filed any motions or seemingly done much of anything to prepare for trial.
“Mr. Matanov was not a problem client. This is not a complex case. It is not difficult to get ready for this case,” said Hayden. “Because of the high notoriety of this case, I had to go to Plymouth two or three times to put out fires.”
Judge Young seemed to sympathize with the defendant. “This young man has the right to a speedy trial. I am ready to give him a prompt trial.”
Young asked Glickman, who was in attendance in the courtroom, if he would take the case. Glickman agreed. He assured the judge that he has been following the case and that there would be no delay if he were to take over the job.
“There can only be one attorney,” said Judge Young to Hayden. “I do thank you for everything you have done under these unique circumstances.”
Hayden said he did not oppose the assignment of a new lawyer.
At that point the judge allowed Matanov’s motion to withdraw his attorney. “I mean no disrespect. You have been ably defending your client.”
“The Plymouth conditions are deplorable. I think it’s fair to say that he may not have been treated well. There have been three suicides. The information the client gave is not unreasonable,” Glickman told reporters after the hearing, assuring them about how prepared he was for trial and implying the lack of any behind the scenes plea deal.
Matanov is not accused of playing any role in the April 15, 2013, Boston Marathon bombing but he had dinner with Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev the night of the bombing. He faces up to 15 years for downplaying his relationship with them, after he went to the police to identify the Tsarnaev brothers when their faces came on television.
Judge Young presided over the trial of the notorious “shoe bomber,” Richard Reid in 2003.

Palestinian Woman’s US Citizenship Revoked

 


Karin Friedemann is a TMO columnist.  Her opinions are her own.
rasmeaodeh
“When she was 21, in 1969, Rasmea Odeh was arrested in the middle of the night by Israeli soldiers at her home, and for twenty-five days her interrogators tortured her,” Charlotte Silver reports in the Nation. “She was beaten from head to toe with sticks and metal bars; her body, including genitalia and breasts, was subjected to electric shocks after she was forced to watch a male prisoner tortured to death in this very way. All the while, she was told she would die if she did not confess. But it was not until they brought in her father, threatening to force him to rape her, that she agreed to sign a confession stating that she had helped orchestrate two explosions in West Jerusalem that killed two civilians. Even then, her torturers raped her with a thick wooden stick.
“Standing before a military court less than one month later, Odeh renounced the confession. But the panel of judges ignored that, and Odeh was sentenced to ten years plus life in prison. Ten years later, she was released in a prisoner exchange, along with seventy-five other Palestinians.”
45 years later on October 22, 2013, Odeh, 67, was arrested by Homeland Security at her suburban Chicago home. She was accused in federal court later that day of responding incorrectly to a question on her naturalization application ten years ago. In front of a courtroom packed full of supporters on November 10, after just two hours of deliberation, the jury declared Odeh guilty of “unlawful procurement of citizenship.”
The case against Odeh centers on her failure to disclose on her US immigration papers her 1969 conviction in an Israeli military court. The US Judge Gershwin Drain absolutely refused to allow the jury to hear Odeh mention the circumstances of her false conviction by torture. Odeh insisted that she’d always believed questions she’s been accused of answering falsely were asking about her time in the US, not Palestine.
“If I knew it was about Israel, I would have said, “ Odeh explained. “It’s not a secret that I’ve been in jail. Even the embassy knows.” The US embassy in Israel became involved in the initial arrests because her father was a US citizen.
Odeh was then detained as a “flight risk” awaiting sentencing to take place on March 10, 2015. Her attorneys refuted the government attorneys’ assertions that she was a flight risk. Odeh rejected a plea deal that would have seen her deported without serving jail time. She chose to fight to remain in the US where she has strong community ties.
University of Illinois-Chicago (UIC) professor Nadine Naber, who first met Rasmea back in 2006, testified to Rasmea’s work changing the lives of hundreds of Arab immigrant women by creating a collective space for them. She testified about Rasmea’s character, a truthful person and community mentor.
Judge Drain told Odeh she would not be allowed to speak about her Israeli torture experience, stating he did not want to “retry the case” of 1969.
“It’s my life. I have a right to talk about the things that happened to me!” she responded.
The judge restated that testimony referring to torture or her forced confession was inadmissible. Rasmea nevertheless delivered a heartfelt testimony to the court, detailing her family’s history through the Catastrophe of 1948, the 1967 war, and the 1969 raid on her home. But when Odeh told the court that she spent 45 days in an “interrogation center, prosecutor Jonathan Tukel objected. Judge Drain sustained the objection.
Defense attorney Deutsch asked her if she was convicted.
She answered, “They convicted me falsely.”
The government objected and the judge sustained the objection. Judge Drain barred Rasmea from using post-traumatic stress disorder as a defense.
Hatem Abudayyeh, executive director of the Arab American Action Network (AAAN) told the Electronic Intifada, “This was not a full or fair trial.”
“Palestinian people around the world are doing effective work; we’re getting stronger and stronger and Israel is on the ropes. And when Israel is on the ropes, the US government cracks down,” he added.
This horrifying, targeted federal prosecution seems to be linked to a federal investigation of Chicago area Palestinian and Colombian human rights activists led by Assistant US Attorney Barry Jonas in 2010, in which the FBI conducted simultaneous raids on the homes of seven community members in the Chicago area, seizing their computers with search warrants that stated they were looking for hints of “material support for terrorism.” Twenty-three other activists were subpoenaed by grand jury, as well as a subpoena of AAAN records.
Jonas, who also prosecuted the secret government case against the Holy Land Foundation, was seen actively consulting with the assistant US attorney that presented the case against Odeh, reported the Detroit Free Press in an article written by former political prisoner, Angela Davis.
“As a person with first-hand knowledge of the devastation wrought by politically motivated prosecutions — during the era of COINTELPRO, I was falsely charged with three capital offenses — I see Rasmea Odeh’s case as a continuation of the embarrassing history of decades of suppression of social justice activists in the U.S.
The courts are being used to retaliate against Palestinian activism,” wrote Davis.
Odeh told her tear-filled supporters that filled the courtroom: “I don’t want to be weak in this situation. I am strong and I ask you all to be strong.”

Saturday, November 8, 2014

Khairullozhon Matanov Brutalized in Prison

“I feel unsafe in PCCF, and I have a great fear for my life,” wrote Khairullozhon Matanov, 24, in a letter to this author postmarked November 1, 2014. Matanov is awaiting trial for allegedly lying to the FBI in an effort to downplay his relationship with Tamerlan Tsarnaev, accused Boston bomber who was killed by police in April 2013.

Matanov was severely beaten by guards after flooding his cell in protest against the constant Islamophobic harassment at the Plymouth County Correctional Facility (PCCF). The incident was reported in a letter from Matanov to a friend postmarked October 24, 2014 and also by a sympathetic fellow inmate, who has since been moved to another unit. The remaining inmates taunt him in a hostile manner. 

“They harass me so much, I don’t know what to do, they couldn’t see that I was being so peaceful, now even some ignorant inmates say bad things, and when they do it, the guards play the US National Anthem, it is awful,” writes Matanov.

The US National Anthem was also blasting on the night of October 22, when seven correctional officers sprayed tear gas into his cell. Unable to breathe, Matanov tried to get some air from under the door but was sprayed in the face. After allowing them to handcuff him, he collapsed. 

“When I was like half dead not moving at all they jump on me so badly. One of them stick his finger into my right eye (it’s swollen right now full of blood). After, the same person start saying, “You [expletive] Muslim terrorist” and kick my head... I pass out from pain, then I woke up when one of them twist my hand.”

Khair reports that he heard one of them say, “We have to take him out walking.”

“They took me out... the end? No! Horror just started. They put me in that chair with the spray all over my face and hands, left me for two and half hours in one room. I was crying and asking for help with my eye (literally burning with the pain). Ruthless human beings, I thought I am about to die. Fortunately for me it was not my time. I survived with lots of pain... No justice in this place.. If they will have an argument with me, they play national anthem, by the way when they came to get me in their suits they played the national anthem of USA. It is so awful, they are pulling USA down... I could hear and now I see they really really enjoyed this awful terror which they did against me.”

A week later, Matanov wrote, “Trying to get better, after all of this pain, but my eyes and my head is still not good, I can’t see properly, and I can’t read. If I do so my head goes crazy. They did not give me good medical care, even though I was beaten nearly to death.”

A former client of Matanov’s taxi service wrote in an email, “This is unbelievable. Months ago an officer told me the FBI sent him there so he would be safe...yeah right!”

Supporters contacted a number of agencies as well as the Consulate of Kyrgyzstan. It is hoped that the Kyrgyzstan ambassador to the US will visit Matanov as he did last Ramadan, after Matanov mentioned in a letter dated July 8 that he was not given any food for four days.

This is not the first time Matanov was punished for flooding his cell in protest of being singled out for harassment. In a letter postmarked August 21, he described another incident where he was stripped naked and taken to “Q5” - a cold, rubber room usually used for suicidal prisoners. He was left there without clothes, normal food or toilet for four days. 

“Now I told this to my lawyer, guess what, it was better to tell to a wall so I could hear the echo.”

Matanov’s court appointed attorney, Edward Hayden told Boston Magazine that “the injuries did not appear as extensive as what was described in the letter... He had a black eye, he had scrapes, bruises, and that’s what I saw…some of these letters and Tweets make it seem like he was beaten to an inch of his life, and that’s not true.” This was not the first time that Matanov’s lawyer undermined his case.

Bruce Gellerman tweeted on November 6 that Matanov filed a motion to withdraw his attorney Edward Hayden. There will be a closed hearing on November 20.

The government is putting Matanov under intense pressure because they want to break his resolve to maintain his innocence. He was offered his freedom if he would become an FBI informant as he wrote on July 15. When he refused, he was then offered a shorter sentence of seven years if he would plead guilty, he wrote on July 24.

The day after the attack on Matanov, an inmate at the same prison, Marcus Czaja, 32, was found dead in his cell while on November 3, Steven Wayne Roderick, 34, died at PCCF. Both deaths were ruled suicides. 

Friday, November 7, 2014

Government Aggressively Seeks Defendant’s Associates; Defense Fears Intimidation

 

Editor’s note:  Karin Friedemann is a TMO Columnist.  Her opinions are her own.

Demonstrators held signs in front of Boston’s federal courthouse on October 20, 2014 during the last hearing for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who was accused of the Boston Marathon bombings.
Arina Montag of Haverhill, Massachusetts told reporters she believes Tsarnaev and his late brother are being unfairly prosecuted.
“I believe the boys have been set up,” she said. “I haven’t seen any actual evidence against them. I mean I’ve seen circumstantial evidence. Nothing that actually links them to what they are allegedly being accused of doing.”
Elena Teyer, the mother-in-law of Ibragim Todashev, was one of the seven people speaking out against the justice system. Her daughter’s husband was shot seven times and killed in his Florida home by federal agents from Boston in May 2013. Teyer held a collage of his autopsy photographs.
“I am dead because I knew Tsarnaevs. I knew the truth,” her sign read.
Teyer told reporters about the email between FBI agents after they killed Todashev. It says, “Good work. A job well done.” The email congratulated the FBI team for their success! It did not say, “Well that turned uglier than we had planned.” This can only imply that they were sent from Boston to Orlando to murder a potential witness.
“They came from Boston to kill my son-in-law. I know that for sure.”
“We are all here for justice,” said Teyer, detailing to reporters the holes and inconsistencies in law enforcement’s account of Todashev’s death.
The news story of the alleged Todashev confession – that he and Tamerlan Tsarnaev were involved a drug-related 2011 triple homicide in Waltham, Massachusetts – was originally leaked to the media by reporter Michelle McPhee. There is a bloodstained note partially written, never signed. Todashev apparently had refused to continue with this forced confession, and paid with his brains splattered next to his front door.
Government prosecutors mentioned this unsigned confession letter in a previous court filing as if it were indeed undisputed fact. Defense attorneys have since tried repeatedly without success to compel the government to give some more details about these murders, which seem to be unrelated to the Boston Marathon bombing.
On October 24, 2014, four days after the hearing, US prosecutors filed with the court their opposition to Tsarnaev’s Fourth Motion to Compel [Discovery]. In order to avoid having to hand over any evidence to the defense, US prosecutors now suddenly admit:
“The government has no evidence that Tamerlan Tsarnaev actually participated in the Walham murders.”
J.M. Lawrence, who writes for Bloomberg and the Boston Globe, tweets: “If US ‘has no evidence’ Tamerlan murdered 3 in Waltham, was the Todashev ‘confession’ in FL false? Lots of unanswered questions.”
McPhee’s most recent article in Newsweek entitled “Twisted Sisters” took heat inside the courtroom. The Islamophobic article painted a negative picture of the Tsarnaev family and contained a number of factual errors. McPhee’s article states that she was tipped off by a high ranking law enforcement official. McPhee is also the source of other erroneous stories related to the Boston Marathon bombing like the “note in the boat.”
Media leaks are very serious, because the TV version of events is extremely absent from the actual court proceedings – but heavily weighs the jury’s mindset against the defendant. Tsarnaev’s motion to address leaks “requests that the Court hold a hearing, and direct government counsel to produce the supervising law enforcement officers with access to information about this case including both federal and state supervising agents or officers – to testify about their instructions and efforts to investigate and stop unauthorized communications with news media.” 
The other big issue is the government intimidation of witnesses. The government wants the defense to reveal the names of Jahar’s old friends and relatives long before the trial. This is something that is not normally done, and the defense is not going along with it, because they fear for the safety of these people and they also fear that these people once the FBI starts harassing them, will cease to become defense witnesses.
“Defense counsel have described the unusual and severe obstacles they have encountered in their efforts to interview and secure testimony from potential witnesses who knew the defendant, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, and other members of his family prior to April 15, 2013… A substantial part of these difficulties stems from the aggressive, persistent and pervasive law enforcement presence in the lives of many potential defense witnesses, and the atmosphere of fear and intimidation that has necessarily followed…”
“Given the virtual certainty that the FBI will descend on each of the non-expert witnesses to interview them (and in most cases, to re-interview them), the defendant has a well-founded concern that in the very unusual context of this case, defense witnesses whose identities are disclosed to the government prior to trial will quickly cease to be defense witnesses. For this reason, the defense does not agree to a witness disclosure requirement that is not mandated by statute or rule.”
1,000 potential jurors will be screened for Tsarnaev’s trial, District Judge George O’Toole said at Monday’s hearing. The process of picking the 12 jurors and six alternates who will hear the case against Tsarnaev is expected to begin on November 3, 2014.

Wednesday, November 5, 2014

Exciting Developments in Tsarnaev Case

"The government has no evidence that Tamerlan Tsarnaev actually participated in the Walham murders."

http://newtrendmag.org/ntma1574.htm


On October 20, 2014, Tsarnaev's most recent status conference hearing took place. Seven demonstrators spoke to the flock of reporters reminding them about their legal obligation to promote the presumption of innocence.

"I haven't seen any actual evidence against [the Tsarnaev brothers]. I mean I've seen circumstantial evidence. Nothing that actually links them to [the bombings]," stated demonstrator Arina Montag.

Elena Teyer is the mother in law of Ibrahim Todashev, who was shot 7 times in his Florida home by Boston FBI in May of 2013. Elena drove for three days, sleeping in her car in order to be present at this demonstration. Her brave diligence was noted.

Associated Press' Denise Lavoie reported, "Elena Teyer held a placard with photos of son-in-law Ibragim Todashev. 'I am dead because I knew Tsarnaevs. I knew the truth,' the sign read in part."

"'We are all here for justice,' said Teyer, pointing to Ibrahim's autopsy photos, explaining what she believes to be holes and inconsistencies in law enforcement's account of Todashev's death," reported Morgan Rousseau in the Boston Metro.

"They came from Boston to kill my son-in-law. I know that for sure."

Elena mentioned to reporters the email between FBI agents after they killed her daughter's husband. It says, "Good work. A job well done." It did not say, "Well that turned uglier than we had planned." The email congratulated the FBI team for their success! This can only mean that they were sent from Boston to Orlando to murder the potential witness.

Meanwhile, inside the courthouse, defending attorneys complained of media leaks. In particular, a recent Newsweek article by Michelle McPhee, entitled "Twisted Sisters," painted a negatively biased picture of the Tsarnaev family. It was Islamophobic and contained a number of factual errors. McPhee's article states that she was tipped off by a high ranking law enforcement official. McPhee is also the source of other weird stories related to the Boston Marathon bombing like "the note in the boat."

This is very serious, because the TV version of events is extremely absent from the actual court proceedings but heavily weighs the jury's mindset against the defendant. Four days after the courthouse protest, on October 24, attorneys filed three very interesting documents: Tsarnaev's defense team filed their Third Motion for a Hearing to Address Leaks by Law Enforcement, and a Memorandum Regarding Scheduling, which addresses government intimidation of witnesses. The government filed its opposition to Tsarnaev's Fourth Motion to Compel [Discovery].

Tsarnaev's motion to address leaks "requests that the Court hold a hearing, and direct government counsel to produce the supervising law enforcement officers with access to information about this case including both federal and state supervising agents or officers - to testify about their instructions and efforts to investigate and stop unauthorized communications with news media."

The next illuminating document discusses government intimidation of witnesses. The defense argues that they are not legally obligated to disclose the names of Jahar's friends, as the government demands.

"Defense counsel have described the unusual and severe obstacles they have

encountered in their efforts to interview and secure testimony from potential witnesses who knew the defendant, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, and other members of his family prior to April 15, 2013... A substantial part of these difficulties stems from the aggressive, persistent and pervasive law enforcement presence in the lives of many potential defense witnesses, and the atmosphere of fear and intimidation that has necessarily followed. This problem, and the consequent slowing of the pace of the defense mitigation investigation, was one of the reasons why defense counsel sought a continuance of the trial date to September 2015..."

"These same concerns make it impossible for the defense to voluntarily agree to disclose to the government the names of non-expert witnesses long before they are to be called. Given the virtual certainty that the FBI will descend on each of the non-expert witnesses to interview them (and in most cases, to re-interview them), the defendant has a well-founded concern that in the very unusual context of this case, defense witnesses whose identities are disclosed to the government prior to trial will quickly cease to be defense witnesses. For this reason, the defense does not agree to a witness disclosure requirement that is not mandated by statute or rule."

In the government's response to defense requests for more information about Todashev's alleged confession regarding the triple homicide in 2011, in order to avoid having to hand over any evidence to the defense, US prosecutors now suddenly admit:

"The government has no evidence that Tamerlan Tsarnaev actually participated in the Walham murders."

J.M. Lawrence, who writes for Bloomberg and the Boston Globe, tweets: "If US 'has no evidence' Tamerlan murdered 3 in Waltham, was the Todashev 'confession' in FL false? Lots of unanswered questions."

The Todashev confession news leak also came from, surprise! McPhee. Government prosecutors mentioned Ibrahim's confession in an earlier court filing as fact. This is a common practice in shady politics: leak news report, then refer to news report in legal case. But if Todashev is now suddenly considered innocent, why did he write a blood-stained confession note?

1,000 potential jurors will be screened for Tsarnaev's trial, District Judge George O'Toole said at Monday's hearing. The process of picking the 12 jurors and six alternates who will hear the case against Tsarnaev is expected to begin on November 3, 2014.


Thursday, October 30, 2014

Web of Chaos in Syria

 



Shocking photos have been leaked of the Syrian regime’s 215 Intelligence Branch in Damascus, where detainees are sent to die. Many are summarily executed without any formal charges or military trial.
The Violation Documentation Center in Syria has published satellite photography of the regime’s detention centers near Damascus, documenting the growth of cemeteries and “irregular digging.” The report states that “many of the locals testified about the burying operations that required bulldozers and about the arrival of big refrigerated lorries (fruits and vegetables refrigerator trucks).” This led to the VDC’s confirmation of mass graves.
According to VDC collected eyewitness statements on Assad’s detention centers, “most of the death cases happen almost exclusively in the first ten days of the detention.”
A Turkish foreign ministry spokesman denounced the Iranian regime for siding with Assad, saying, “Iran should remain silent out of shame over its support for Damascus which is the true terrorism,” according to the Anatolia News Agency.
Assad forces and Shiite militias fiercely attacked the al-Waer neighborhood in Homs, in order to control the city last week. Al-Waer neighborhood is currently a haven to more than three hundred thousand civilians. The neighborhood, which is crowded with displaced persons who fled there to escape fighting in other neighborhoods of Homs, is experiencing ongoing fierce shelling after the violent attack a week ago. Al-Waer has become a daily target for the missiles, artillery and explosive barrel bombs from Assad forces and allied sectarian militias. Within 3 days last week, more than 24 civilians were killed, most of them women and children.
The western media is focusing only on “Kobanî,” a Syrian town near the Turkish border where armed Kurds, including many women fighters, are battling against ISIS.
“US air strikes have hit ISIS targets near the town in recent days but do not appear to have stopped the militants’ advance,” reports the Independent.
The Free Syrian Army, which reportedly represents 90% of the rebels against the regime, is also present in Kobani. The FSA is at odds with ISIS as well as the Kurds, who are using this situation to split off and form an independent Kurdistan, while the FSA wants to keep Syria as one nation.
However, activists in Homs, condemning the silence of the international community, insist that “people’s lives in Al-Waer are as precious as those of Kobanî.” The residents of Al-Waer have been suffering under siege for more than a year. The activists insisted that the international community should intervene to save civilians regardless of their race or origins.
TMO interviewed 22 year old Mahmoud Allouz in Homs about the situation. The young man, who identifies with the Free Syrian Army, said that “Homs is the capital of the Syrian revolution.”
He explained that the first neighborhood in Homs to be destroyed in 2011 by Assad was Baba Amr. The military campaign continued for months in the southern countryside. The violent battles were “dominated by the help of the Lebanese Hezbollah after [Baba Amr] was destroyed,” stated Allouz. “They want to serve their project [of] sectarian Shiite fighting. They brutally destroy and commit crimes. There are fighters from Iran who are also taking part in the ranks of the Assad regime.”
Although anti-government rebels fought long and valiantly, as of May 2014, the city of Homs is now completely under control of the government, whose snipers continue to shoot civilians including children in a sadistic manner. For example, some video footage was recently released of a dead or dying person, who was just laying in full view on the road, but because of all the sniper shooting, no one could go collect him. Assad’s soldiers take these videos as trophies to brag about their accomplishments.
Al Waer neighborhood “gets the daily massacres,” said Allouz. However, “The countryside north of Homs is still under the control of the rebels,” he explained.
When asked about the rumored opium fields, Allouz stated that they are located mostly in the middle of Syria and are now under the control of ISIS.
“Who do you think ISIS are?” TMO inquired.
Allouz stated that they are a “takfiri criminal gang” whose murders are “working in favor of the Assad regime.” He observed that ISIS is more interested in fighting other rebels than against the regime. “More [ISIS] battles were against the FSA, trying to control the positions held by FSA and the oil fields and assaults on civilians… They are battling the Free Syrian Army, and slaughtering Syrian civilians as does the Assad regime.”
I asked him, “Do you think ISIS is a local movement or are they foreign employees?”
He answered that the gang is not being paid by any country but is “self-financing” through seizure of oil fields, theft of territory and stealing money. They are “trying to lure poor people with money to join them, placing ideas in their mind” about committing “criminality and murder.”
Al Jazeera however put ISIS into context, reporting this week that Mexican drug cartels have murdered exponentially more people than ISIS including 57 journalists and almost 300 Americans visiting Mexico. They have beheaded hundreds of people and displayed mutilated corpses in public squares and on social media in order to intimidate detractors. It is truly astonishing how Americans are more concerned about criminal gangs in Syria than violence happening next door.

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Aafia Siddique’s Appeal Mysteriously Withdrawn

 


aafia_campaign1
On October 9, 2014, Dr. Aafia Siddique’s family announced that US District Judge Richard Berman had without any warning ordered the case closed for the appeal of her conviction. The openly hostile, Zionist activist judge, the same judge who sentenced Aafia in early 2010, denies this. The Nation, Pakistan reported that Berman stated he had “allowed” Dr. Aafia Siddiqui to withdraw what could be the last appeal of her conviction on charges of attempted murder. Berman claimed that Siddiqui, who is serving an 86-year sentence at Carswell prison medical centre in Texas, had ‘clearly and unequivocally’ stated her intent to end the appeal. Berman added that even if the appeal had continued, he likely would have ruled against her.  
Salman Khan of the Free Aafia Movement said the organization had made vehement attempts to protest the racist judge’s inclusion in the appeals process, but they were unable to have him removed from proceedings due to lack of legal funds.
“Just to reopen the trial costs $150,000, and then to remove him it would have cost us a further $100,000,” he said.
Reuters reports that Aafia wrote a statement, “I refuse to participate in this system of total injustice that has punished and tortured me repeatedly, and continues to do so, without my having committed a crime.” She wrote that she wanted to be sent home to Pakistan through diplomacy, not through the legal system.
However, Aafia’s sister, Dr. Fowzia Siddique said mystery shrouds the circumstances. She is convinced that Aafia’s statement was coerced. In their last communication, Aafia said she was “determined to fight her case.”
“This is not Aafia’s decision. I know because my last conversation with her was that she was visited [in her dreams] by our prophet Muhammad, saw, and he was pleased with my efforts and the appeal. She said it is for this reason I consent, and if we don’t connect again DO NOT believe any statement to the contrary on my behalf.”
“Since then we have had absolutely no contact with her. I know she did not withdraw of her own free will. She has been coerced. God knows how much torture [she’s been forced to endure], complete solitary and manipulations…. It horrifies me to even think about what she has been forced to go through.”
Aafia, who is being held in solitary confinement, has not been allowed phone calls to her family in Pakistan since initiating her appeal.
“We have not been allowed [in-person contact] with her at any time. There is a prison rule that she gets to speak to family for 300 minutes per month – as long as the family pays for the call. We did get that order, and the only time that was implemented was when there were worldwide demonstrations – at those times there were calls. But since filing the appeal they have kept Aafia completely incommunicado,” stated her sister.
Mauri Saalakhan of the Peace and Justice Foundation comments, “While Malala Yousafzai is being celebrated for her accomplishments and yet unfulfilled future potential, Aafia Siddique is wasting away in a maximum security prison cell on a military base in the land of ‘liberty and justice for all!’”
Aafia received her university training in America, graduating with honors from MIT and the Jewish university Brandeis, where she was active in Muslim student groups. She was quoted in the Boston Globe as saying that if Americans would know more about the beauty of Islam, they would all want to become Muslims. This innocent statement of youthful idealism caught the attention of the local Zionist organizations.
Soon later, in 2003, Aafia was wanted by the FBI for questioning for possible ties to al Qaeda because she made a debit card purchase at a US army surplus store. She and her children were kidnapped by Pakistani authorities while awaiting a train.  Aafia was placed into one black car and the crying children into another. They were handed over to US agents and held incommunicado in Afghanistan for five years. Aafia’s baby was never seen again. The two older children were rescued from Bagram prison some years later as a result of intervention from the UK and are now living with relatives.
Instead of receiving an apology, this tiny woman, who never did anything more radical than collecting boots to donate to Bosnia, has been named as one of the FBI’s most wanted “terrorists.” Her isolation covers up some dark secrets, the government hopes.
Siddiqui was never even charged with links to terrorism. The FBI agents, US soldiers and interpreters said that as they were about to interrogate her at an Afghan police compound in Ghazni, Afghanistan, she supposedly grabbed a rifle and began shooting at them. None of them were wounded, but she was shot in the abdomen when they “returned fire.” At her trial, Aafia’s lawyer argued that there was no evidence the rifle had been fired.
Aafia approached the US soldiers because she thought they were there to save her from her Afghani captors! Aafia was being raped and tortured at the US military’s Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan. Instead of helping her, the US government committed her to life at Carswell, where she has reportedly been forced to walk on the Quran in addition to other humiliations.
What has been done to this innocent Pakistani woman and her children in the name of the US War on Terror is so sick and so awful that it would turn the stomaches of every citizen of the United States if they knew about it. Popular opinion would instantly turn dead against this criminal use of the American government.
“Had Aafia’s appeal reached its logical end, many hidden facts would have come to light, and many important people unmasked. This just proves Aafia is a victim of international power politics and her captives have a lot to hide and will revert to any length to keep her behind bars,” Fowzia told reporters.

Saturday, October 18, 2014

US Supreme Court Denies Mehanna Appeal

 


supreme_court
Tarek Mehanna’s appeal to the US Supreme Court was rejected on Monday, October 6, 2014. Mehanna of Sudsbury, Massachusetts, is serving a sentence of 17 1/2 years on account of visiting Yemen to study Arabic and later translating Islamic texts for the website At Tibyan, which the government has construed as “supporting terrorism.”
“Where, exactly, does free speech end and unlawful terrorist coordination begin?” commented Mark Joseph Stern in Slate. “Translating, publishing, and praising ideological texts, no matter how morally vile, is generally considered to be a basic free speech activity. Everyone knows that the First Amendment protects translations of Mein Kampf. Why did Mehanna’s translation of jihadist hosannas land him behind bars?”
This question gains weight with the news this week that the Supreme Court also refused to hear appeals from two other Muslim men, who have suffered intolerably for no crime: Ziyad Yaghi, a North Carolina native and Guantanamo inmate Abdul Razak Ali.
“Petitioner raised arguments based solely on issues of undisputed fact: he was arrested in Pakistan, not in Afghanistan, he had nothing to do with the September 11th attacks or terrorism, and he was not engaged in hostilities against the United States or its allies at any time. Petitioner’s “malfeasance” that apparently warrants his life imprisonment without charge was simply an eighteen day stay in the same guesthouse as a man who the government once believed to be affiliated with al-Qaeda, but, as the evidence showed below, is now no longer believed by the government to have been associated with al-Qaeda,” wrote Abdul Razak Alik on August 23, 2014.
“The questions Petitioner asks in his petition are whether he can be held, indefinitely, based simply on the fact that he was staying in the same guesthouse in Pakistan as someone else who happened to once have been accused of being connected with Al-Qaeda, rather than upon actual evidence of Petitioner’s own overt acts hostile to the United States or its allies; and, where, as here, Petitioner was not alleged to have been engaged in an armed conflict against the United States in Afghanistan (or anywhere for that matter) prior to his capture. If the answer to those questions is yes, then Petitioner also asks whether there is any limit to the duration of his detention. It is clear that the government has avoided discussing or answering these questions, because its basis for holding Petitioner is based not on the law, but on its ever-expanding and elastic view of the law.”
As convincing as this argument may seem to loyal Americans, we need to be asking these questions of our government until they listen. This is very frightening, that the Supreme Court’s reaction to an obviously innocent person is to ignore his case because he is Muslim. And this doesn’t even just apply to foreigners.
Tarek Mehanna had no idea his actions were criminal . He possessed the self-confidence and outspoken attitude of a relatively affluent, American born male. His brother gave an interview on WGBH News on September 25, 2014 stating:
“The FBI was approaching my brother since 2004. So, we saw a lead up to something happening. and that kind of peaked in 2007 before we graduated from pharmacy school. He was arrested in 2008, he was let off on bail, and at that point we didn’t know what to expect. So when it happened again in 2009, at that point we didn’t know what to expect… My parents did discourage him from online activities, but his response to them was it’s free speech and it’s protected.”
Mehanna’s lawyers argued that he didn’t give any tangible support to al-Qaida, and his online activities were protected free speech.
However, five years later, Mehanna’s father Ahmed said his family had not even had “one iota of hope” that his son would get a hearing before the high court, in light of the news reports on ISIS.
“Unfortunately, the Supreme Court is affected by such a saga and such media frenzy,” Ahmed Mehanna said. “It is a very, very sad day.”
Mehanna’s prosecutor, US Attorney Carmen Ortiz, is the same one who is pursuing the prosecutions of youths accused in relation to the Boston Marathon bombings. She claims Mehanna was “using the Internet to encourage others to support terrorism.”
“I’m disappointed to see even the highest court still submissive to the executive branch’s fabrication of charges. It’s clearly the First Amendment [at issue], and they refused to even look at it.”
Mehanna was threatened with prosecution after refusing to act as an informant for the FBI. He is accused of support for terrorism, though his support never included picking up a gun or fundraising. The government alleges that Mehanna “intended” to go to Iraq to take up arms against the US, although there is no evidence of this.

Friday, October 17, 2014

Why Was Aafia Siddique's Appeal Withdrawn?

Scholar, teacher: Stripped Naked, Forced to Desecrate the Qur'an. Horrific Injustice. Why Was Aafia Siddique's Appeal Withdrawn? 


"With the attention and celebration that greeted the selection of Pakistan's Malala Yousafzai and India's Kailash Satyarthi for the world's most coveted peace prize, one would think that the American establishment has a special regard for young, accomplished (and committed) Muslim women. An honest review of the record would show that quite the opposite is true," writes Mauri Saalakhan of the Peace and Justice Foundation. "While Malala Yousafzai is being celebrated for her accomplishments and yet unfulfilled future potential, Aafia Siddique is wasting away in a maximum security prison cell on a military base in the land of 'liberty and justice for all!'"

On October 9, 2014, Dr. Aafia Siddique's family issued an announcement that US District Judge Richard Berman, without any warning, had ordered the case closed for the appeal of her conviction.

Aafia's sister, Dr. Fowzia Siddiqui told Al-Jazeera that she is convinced that "coercion tactics" were used to make her withdraw her appeal because according to their last communication, Aafia said she was "determined to fight her case."

 Dr. Aafia Siddique's

Aafia, who is being held in solitary confinement, has not been allowedphone calls to her family in Pakistan since initiating her appeal.

"We have not been allowed [in-person contact] with her at any time. There is a prison rule that she gets to speak to family for 300 minutes per month - as long as the family pays for the call. We did get that order, and the only time that was implemented was when there were worldwide demonstrations - at those times there were calls. But since filing the appeal they have kept Aafia completely incommunicado," stated her sister.

"This is not Aafia's decision. I know because my last conversation with her was that she was visited [in her dreams] by our prophet Muhammad, saw, and he was pleased with my efforts and the appeal. She said it is for this reason I consent,and if we don't connect again DO NOT believe any statement to the contrary on my behalf."

"Since then we have had absolutely no contact with her. I know she did not withdraw of her own free will. She has been coerced. God knows how much torture [she's been forced to endure], complete solitary and manipulations.... It horrifies me to even think about what she has been forced to go through."

Previous reports about her treatment at Carswell included stripping her naked and forcing her to walk on the Quran in order to be allowed to attend hearings - one reason she has held back from the appeal until receiving spiritual permission. Therefore it makes no sense that Aafia would withdraw her appeal now. She has nothing to lose by appealing.

Reuters reports that Aafia wrote a statement, "I refuse to participate in this system of total injustice that has punished and tortured me repeatedly, and continues to do so, without my having committed a crime." She wrote that she wanted to be sent home to Pakistan through diplomacy, not through the legal system.

The openly hostile judge, the very same judge who sentenced her in early 2010, is reported to have ordered the case closed. Even if the appeal had continued, he likely would have ruled against her, he said. The Nation, Pakistan, reported that US District Judge Richard Berman stated he had "allowed" Dr. Aafia Siddiqui to withdraw what could be the last appeal of her conviction on charges of attempted murder. Berman claimed that Siddiqui, who is serving an 86-year sentence in a prison medical centre in Texas, had 'clearly and unequivocally' stated her intent to end the appeal.

According to Salman Khan of the Free Aafia Movement, the ruling came as a shock as they had hoped that the application for a retrial would receive a fair judgment. Despite vehement attempts to protest his inclusion, he said they were unable to have him removed from proceedings.

"Just to reopen the trial costs $150,000, and then to remove him it would have cost us a further $100,000," Khan said.

In 2003, Aafia was wanted by the FBI for questioning for possible ties to al Qaeda and was detained by Pakistani authorities. This tiny woman was named as one of the FBI's most wanted "terrorists." She was handed over to US agents and held incommunicado in Afghanistan for five years.

Siddiqui was never charged with links to terrorism. The FBI agents, US soldiers and interpreters said that as they were about to interrogate her at an Afghan police compound in Ghazni, Afghanistan, she supposedly grabbed a rifle and began shooting at them. None of them were wounded, but she was shot in the abdomen when they "returned fire." At her trial, Aafia's lawyer argued that there was no evidence the rifle had been fired. No bullets, shell casings or bullet debris were recovered.

Before the US brought her captive to the US, Siddiqui's family says Aafia was raped and tortured at the US military's Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan. Aafia has become a popular figure in her home country of Pakistan, which has influenced a wide variety of Islamic fighting groups to attempt to win her release. It is hard to think of any other woman in the world who is so deeply loved by millions of people around the world.

In 2011, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan took a Swiss couple hostage and said they could be freed if Siddiqui were released. In Afghanistan, the Taliban asked for her release as part of a deal to free US Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl. ISIS proposed swapping American journalist James Foley for her, but the US refused and allowed his execution.

http://newtrendmag.org/ntma1572.htm