June 7, 2015
http://www.newtrendmag.org/ntma1605.htm
At 7am on Tuesday, June 2, a black Muslim man, Usaama Rahim, 26, was shot by Boston FBI and police in front of the CVS in Roslindale, a relatively nice area of Boston. His brother, Ibrahim Rahim, who is an imam in California, stated that Usaama was waiting for the bus to go to work when police and FBI approached him for "questioning." The police claim he wielded a knife, which left them no choice but to shoot him dead.
Not a single community organization in Boston from the Green Rainbow Party to the Muslims have made any kind of immediate attempt at organizing a demonstration or making a statement as one would expect. The news reports that the man was "under investigation" (as we all are). This alone is enough for them to say the authorities killed a "terrorism suspect." There are some reports the man had made some statements online supporting the Islamic Caliphate. He had been trailed by government agents for the past 6 days 24/7 and was said to be visibly nervous.
This event is even more alarming than your average police shooting because, like the case of Ibrahim Todashev, who was killed by Boston police and FBI in his Florida home in 2013, the murder appears to be premeditated. Todashev is also said to have lunged at officers, which somehow resulted in him being hit in every major organ and a final kill shot to the back of the head.
"CNN already has the black Muslim killed by Boston police convicted as "part of terror network" - a "source" said so!" opined Glenn Greenwald that day. "1) Police kill a black US Muslim on the street; 2) anonymously claim he follows ISIS on social media; 3) case closed."
Local clergy were invited to view the videotape of the event. Imam Farooq Abdullah, who is a highly respected local African American leader, stated that the footage was very distant and inconclusive as to whether or not the man had brandished a knife but it was true that the police backed up several yards before shooting him in the chest. He was not, as his brother Ibrahim was told by their father, shot in the back, nor was he talking on a cell phone at that moment.
Nevertheless, there was no need to kill him. The story about him planning to behead a police officer sounds far-fetched, though if true, would indicate that he was either mentally unstable or just making a joke about smoking pigs. If the authorities actually had any evidence of this plot, they could have easily obtained a warrant for his arrest. Approaching him in the street to intimidate him was certainly not the appropriate way to deal with either a dangerous terrorist or a mentally ill person. They could have left their card at his house or called him.
The most worrying aspect of this entire story is the complete silence of the usual activist crowd.
What is the matter with this town? They stopped traffic when police killed a black man elsewhere, but when it happens here at home they don't care? Why, because he is Muslim? I posted a comment expressing concern on Mayor Walsh's Facebook page and was deluged by hateful comments, mostly from Irish people, who are convinced the police must have been justified in killing a terrorist and that by killing him, they saved a lot of taxpayer's money.
Most likely, public sentiment against Muslims has been stoked by the Boston Marathon Bombing trials, which are all winding down this month. On Tuesday, June 2, Dias Kadyrbayev, the Kazakh friend who threw away the backpack, was sentenced to 6 years by Judge Woodlock after agreeing to plead guilty. Azamat Tazhayakov of Kazakhstan and Robel Phillipos of Ethiopian heritage, who both plead innocent but were found guilty, and Khairullozhon Matanov of Kyrgyzstan, who agreed to plead guilty because he knew he would not get a fair trial in Boston, will be sentenced within the week. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's official sentencing is scheduled for June 24. Dias, Azamat and Khairullozhon are expected to be deported after serving out their sentences. Stephen Silva, who sold Dzhokhar the gun, got 7 years. Silva is being held in general population and Robel is under house arrest while the Asian kids are all in solitary confinement. After sentencing they will be moved to other prisons. I pray they will be safe.
Showing posts with label terrorism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label terrorism. Show all posts
Sunday, March 13, 2016
Marathon Bombing Case: They Forgave the killer of 9 in Charleston, but not Dzhokhar.
On Wednesday, June 24, 2015, Dzhokhar "Jahar" Tsarnaev finally spoke.
"I would like to begin in the name of Allah, the exalted and glorious, the most gracious, the most merciful, "Allah" among the most beautiful names. Any act that does not begin in the name of God is separate from goodness."
The victims, the jury, nobody was expecting this religious sermon.
"He did crack up and pause a few times, it sounded like he was trying to compose himself," stated a courtroom observer.
Before thanking his attorneys, he invoked the name of Muhammed. He thanked those who testified on his behalf, he thanked the jury for their service, and even the Court.
"The Prophet Muhammed, peace and blessings be upon him, said that if you do not show mercy to Allah's creation, then Allah will not have mercy on you, so I'd like to apologize now to the victims, to the survivors. Now, I am sorry for the lives that I've taken, for the suffering that I've caused you, for the damage that I've done. Irreparable damage."
What he said satisfied neither the victims nor those who continue to believe that he was framed.
"Immediately after the bombing, which I am guilty of - if there's any lingering doubt about that, let there be no more. I did do it, along with my brother."
Those who were hoping he would 'do a Tarek Mehanna' political speech got instead a speech on forgiveness that sounded at once sincere yet highly scripted, but answered nobody's questions like why? or how?
"Now, I am a Muslim. My religion is Islam. The God I worship, besides whom there is no other God, is Allah. And I prayed to Allah to bestow his mercy upon the deceased, those affected in the bombing, and their families. Allah says in the Quran that with every hardship is relief. I pray for your relief, for your healing, for your well-being, for your strength. I ask Allah to have mercy upon me and my brother and my family. I ask Allah to bestow his mercy upon those present here today. And Allah knows best those deserving of His mercy."
This convoluted sort of apology left everyone scratching their heads.
Why would he wait until AFTER he was found guilty and sentenced to death to apologize? And why, how, what the heck - and how is it that he is suddenly speaking with a thick Arabian accent? Not a Russian accent. He sounded Middle Eastern, two different observers told New Trend. It really was him, they said, but strangely out of character. He used to talk like "Yo what's up."
The most bizarre part of it is that not only Carmen Ortiz the lead prosecutor, but Judge O'Toole made public statements condemning Jahar's interpretation of his own religion.
"You did it on purpose... It is tragic, for your victims and now for you, surely someone who believes God smiles on and rewards the killing of innocents believes in a cruel god. This is not and cannot be the god of Islam," said the judge right before condemning Jahar to death. So is he being executed for murder or for a politically incorrect interpretation of Islam?
U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz, whose office prosecuted Tsarnaev, said she was "struck more by what he didn't say.
"He didn't renounce terrorism, he didn't renounce violent extremism, and he couched his comments in line with Allah and Allah's view, which gave it a religious tone, and there was nothing...about this crime that was Islam-associated."
Tsarnaev adhered to a radicalized version of Islam was not in line with the faith's "peaceful and loving" roots, Ortiz explained.
"The youth will not stay quiet while America is killing the innocent Muslims. As my sons there will be many many many inshallah! And I will die with my love towards them," texted Jahar's mother to a supporter.
"Your country kills the brothers and sisters and those good hearted and beautiful souls like my sons who love their ummah cannot see the conspiracies of your government towards our ummah and things like that happen! For example if someone kills my brother or my sister I will not blink and destroy whoever killed them - why?? Because I love them...Everything is by Allah's will... Allah knows the intention and the purity of it and what was the intention for!" concluded Jahar's mother.
I am worried that they are going to execute Jahar before we learn the true story. His statement created as many questions as it answered. This is quite a decade, quite a century, already. However, Jahar has been moved to a prison in Florence, Colorado. It is nearby but not the same place where Imam Jamil al-Amin is being held in Supermax.
"I would like to begin in the name of Allah, the exalted and glorious, the most gracious, the most merciful, "Allah" among the most beautiful names. Any act that does not begin in the name of God is separate from goodness."
The victims, the jury, nobody was expecting this religious sermon.
"He did crack up and pause a few times, it sounded like he was trying to compose himself," stated a courtroom observer.
Before thanking his attorneys, he invoked the name of Muhammed. He thanked those who testified on his behalf, he thanked the jury for their service, and even the Court.
"The Prophet Muhammed, peace and blessings be upon him, said that if you do not show mercy to Allah's creation, then Allah will not have mercy on you, so I'd like to apologize now to the victims, to the survivors. Now, I am sorry for the lives that I've taken, for the suffering that I've caused you, for the damage that I've done. Irreparable damage."
What he said satisfied neither the victims nor those who continue to believe that he was framed.
"Immediately after the bombing, which I am guilty of - if there's any lingering doubt about that, let there be no more. I did do it, along with my brother."
Those who were hoping he would 'do a Tarek Mehanna' political speech got instead a speech on forgiveness that sounded at once sincere yet highly scripted, but answered nobody's questions like why? or how?
"Now, I am a Muslim. My religion is Islam. The God I worship, besides whom there is no other God, is Allah. And I prayed to Allah to bestow his mercy upon the deceased, those affected in the bombing, and their families. Allah says in the Quran that with every hardship is relief. I pray for your relief, for your healing, for your well-being, for your strength. I ask Allah to have mercy upon me and my brother and my family. I ask Allah to bestow his mercy upon those present here today. And Allah knows best those deserving of His mercy."
This convoluted sort of apology left everyone scratching their heads.
Why would he wait until AFTER he was found guilty and sentenced to death to apologize? And why, how, what the heck - and how is it that he is suddenly speaking with a thick Arabian accent? Not a Russian accent. He sounded Middle Eastern, two different observers told New Trend. It really was him, they said, but strangely out of character. He used to talk like "Yo what's up."
The most bizarre part of it is that not only Carmen Ortiz the lead prosecutor, but Judge O'Toole made public statements condemning Jahar's interpretation of his own religion.
"You did it on purpose... It is tragic, for your victims and now for you, surely someone who believes God smiles on and rewards the killing of innocents believes in a cruel god. This is not and cannot be the god of Islam," said the judge right before condemning Jahar to death. So is he being executed for murder or for a politically incorrect interpretation of Islam?
U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz, whose office prosecuted Tsarnaev, said she was "struck more by what he didn't say.
"He didn't renounce terrorism, he didn't renounce violent extremism, and he couched his comments in line with Allah and Allah's view, which gave it a religious tone, and there was nothing...about this crime that was Islam-associated."
Tsarnaev adhered to a radicalized version of Islam was not in line with the faith's "peaceful and loving" roots, Ortiz explained.
"The youth will not stay quiet while America is killing the innocent Muslims. As my sons there will be many many many inshallah! And I will die with my love towards them," texted Jahar's mother to a supporter.
"Your country kills the brothers and sisters and those good hearted and beautiful souls like my sons who love their ummah cannot see the conspiracies of your government towards our ummah and things like that happen! For example if someone kills my brother or my sister I will not blink and destroy whoever killed them - why?? Because I love them...Everything is by Allah's will... Allah knows the intention and the purity of it and what was the intention for!" concluded Jahar's mother.
I am worried that they are going to execute Jahar before we learn the true story. His statement created as many questions as it answered. This is quite a decade, quite a century, already. However, Jahar has been moved to a prison in Florence, Colorado. It is nearby but not the same place where Imam Jamil al-Amin is being held in Supermax.
Last Chance Hearing for Albanians Framed by FBI
Albany, New York: On Wednesday, January 6, 2016, relatives and supporters of the Fort Dix Five held a vigil outside the US Courthouse in Camden, NJ during the appeal hearing of Albanian Americans Eljvir, Dritan, and Shain Duka. A higher court ordered this hearing to determine whether the Duka brothers received a fair trial and effective representation from their lawyers. The Duka brothers, who were convicted of plotting to 'kill U.S. soldiers' at Fort Dix, NJ insisted they were barred from testifying at their 2008 terrorism trial and asked a judge to throw out their life sentences.
The issue of law enforcement entrapment of suspects on terrorism charges is now back in the spotlight. The vigil called attention to the outrageous government entrapment of the Duka brothers, which destroyed their families, including six children, as well as the family roofing business on which the Duka brothers and their parents depended for support. The U.S. Attorney who prosecuted the case was Chris Christie, now governor of New Jersey and candidate for U.S. president.
The case has been cited by New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a Republican presidential candidate, as one of the two "biggest terrorism cases in the world" during his time as US Attorney. But critics believe FBI informants entrapped the men and say the sentence reflects overzealous efforts to protect the country after the 2001 terrorist attacks.
US District Judge Robert Kugler, who presided at trial, will rule after reviewing written briefs due next month. This is the boys' last chance of being spared the life sentences as they exhausted their appeals when the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear their case. They have been in prison since May 2007.
According to Project Salam, the group was "convicted in 2008 of conspiracy to attack Fort Dix, even though no plans had been made to attack anything... Thus the Duka brothers were convicted for essentially vacationing while Muslim and given life sentences plus 33 years for a plot they literally had never heard of."
What happened was that in January 2006, the young men videotaped themselves target shooting at a public shooting range and shouting, "Allahu Akbar!" They brought their Pocono vacation videotape to a Circuit City store clerk for duplication for their families. The clerk, feeling "troubled" by the images of the young men horsing around, sent it to the FBI.
"The FBI responded by sending two agents provocateur to entrap the Duka brothers in criminal activity. The agents showered attention on them and used money and manipulation to try to create interest in jihad. They asked the men to download jihadist videos, taunted them for their lack of resolve to take action, and followed them around with hidden tape recorders to record every word spoken. One agent talked alone in general terms with a relative of the brothers, Mohammed Shnewer, about how one might theoretically attack the Fort Dix army base. In response to the agent's repeated demands, another defendant, Serdar Tatar, gave the agent a map of the Fort Dix base, which his father had used to deliver pizza there. (Tatar thought that the agent was suspicious and reported him to law enforcement, who said not to worry about it.) The other agent then persuaded the Duka brothers to buy some guns, supposedly for more target shooting in the Poconos, so they would not have to wait in line at public shooting ranges."
The three immigrant brothers "hoped to tell the jury they bought assault weapons from an FBI informant for target practice, not to harm anyone," writes Maryclaire Dale for Associated Press.
Defense attorneys at trial claimed the men may have made anti-American statements but had no plans to attack anything. Paid informant Mahmoud Omar infiltrated the group and spent months goading them.
"The Duka brothers assert in court papers that they never agreed to kill soldiers at the Burlington County military base, that incriminating statements made in secretly taped conversations were not meant to be taken seriously and that the primary advocate for a terrorist action was an FBI informant. Two of the brothers also contend an attempt to buy illegal weapons, including machine guns, was meant for recreational purposes," reports Jim Walsh in the Courier-Post.
It is a case that has been called one of the biggest terrorism prosecutions of Islamic radicals but now also perhaps among the most criticized post-9/11 entrapment examples, reports Al Jazeera.
D
"The fact that the court granted a hearing in this case is unusual and suggests maybe the court is troubled by the outcome. The outcome is clearly unjust. So we're hoping that this is a signal that the court would like to take another look at the case," said Steve Downs, a civil liberties attorney in Albany, New York.
http://newtrendmag.org/ntma1636.htm
The issue of law enforcement entrapment of suspects on terrorism charges is now back in the spotlight. The vigil called attention to the outrageous government entrapment of the Duka brothers, which destroyed their families, including six children, as well as the family roofing business on which the Duka brothers and their parents depended for support. The U.S. Attorney who prosecuted the case was Chris Christie, now governor of New Jersey and candidate for U.S. president.
The case has been cited by New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a Republican presidential candidate, as one of the two "biggest terrorism cases in the world" during his time as US Attorney. But critics believe FBI informants entrapped the men and say the sentence reflects overzealous efforts to protect the country after the 2001 terrorist attacks.
US District Judge Robert Kugler, who presided at trial, will rule after reviewing written briefs due next month. This is the boys' last chance of being spared the life sentences as they exhausted their appeals when the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear their case. They have been in prison since May 2007.
According to Project Salam, the group was "convicted in 2008 of conspiracy to attack Fort Dix, even though no plans had been made to attack anything... Thus the Duka brothers were convicted for essentially vacationing while Muslim and given life sentences plus 33 years for a plot they literally had never heard of."
What happened was that in January 2006, the young men videotaped themselves target shooting at a public shooting range and shouting, "Allahu Akbar!" They brought their Pocono vacation videotape to a Circuit City store clerk for duplication for their families. The clerk, feeling "troubled" by the images of the young men horsing around, sent it to the FBI.
"The FBI responded by sending two agents provocateur to entrap the Duka brothers in criminal activity. The agents showered attention on them and used money and manipulation to try to create interest in jihad. They asked the men to download jihadist videos, taunted them for their lack of resolve to take action, and followed them around with hidden tape recorders to record every word spoken. One agent talked alone in general terms with a relative of the brothers, Mohammed Shnewer, about how one might theoretically attack the Fort Dix army base. In response to the agent's repeated demands, another defendant, Serdar Tatar, gave the agent a map of the Fort Dix base, which his father had used to deliver pizza there. (Tatar thought that the agent was suspicious and reported him to law enforcement, who said not to worry about it.) The other agent then persuaded the Duka brothers to buy some guns, supposedly for more target shooting in the Poconos, so they would not have to wait in line at public shooting ranges."
The three immigrant brothers "hoped to tell the jury they bought assault weapons from an FBI informant for target practice, not to harm anyone," writes Maryclaire Dale for Associated Press.
Defense attorneys at trial claimed the men may have made anti-American statements but had no plans to attack anything. Paid informant Mahmoud Omar infiltrated the group and spent months goading them.
"The Duka brothers assert in court papers that they never agreed to kill soldiers at the Burlington County military base, that incriminating statements made in secretly taped conversations were not meant to be taken seriously and that the primary advocate for a terrorist action was an FBI informant. Two of the brothers also contend an attempt to buy illegal weapons, including machine guns, was meant for recreational purposes," reports Jim Walsh in the Courier-Post.
It is a case that has been called one of the biggest terrorism prosecutions of Islamic radicals but now also perhaps among the most criticized post-9/11 entrapment examples, reports Al Jazeera.
D
"The fact that the court granted a hearing in this case is unusual and suggests maybe the court is troubled by the outcome. The outcome is clearly unjust. So we're hoping that this is a signal that the court would like to take another look at the case," said Steve Downs, a civil liberties attorney in Albany, New York.
http://newtrendmag.org/ntma1636.htm
Sunday, March 22, 2015
FBI Ensnares Facebook User
Judge Puts Defendant in Mental Institution for Rant
In another heartbreaking story coming out of Raleigh, North Carolina, a young Muslim man with no criminal record, Abdul Basit Sheikh, is being prosecuted by the same US attorney as Ziyad Yaghi faced, Jason Kellhoffer. Sheikh is accused of providing material support for a Foreign Terrorist Organization because he attempted to travel to Lebanon with the intention of training to join Al-Nusra Front. His parents described the 29-year-old Pakistani immigrant to the US as “depressed” and said he spent most of his time in front of the internet. Sheikh had contributed many religious and political comments to discussions on Facebook. He posted a number of gory videos of things like pro-Assad soldiers being executed, Mullah Omar of the Taliban and other famous Islamic preachers calling for the destruction of America, and had praised the Islamic fighters against Assad and the Islamic Caliphate.
In 2013, the FBI created a page in support of Islamic militants. Sheikh joined and thus began an online friendship with an FBI agent, who encouraged him to go to Syria and join al-Nusra and facilitated his travel arrangements. Sheikh booked a one-way ticket to Turkey for 9/5/13 but had second thoughts and failed to show up at the airport. He then informed the FBI agent that in November 2012, he already traveled to Turkey in order to join the Free Syrian Army but had become disillusioned with them because all they wanted was money, thus he became more interested in supporting the Caliphate. Via Facebook private message, the FBI agent offered to put Sheikh in touch with “a trusted brother with JAN (Jabhat al-Nusra),” who was in actuality an Online Covert Employee.
Sheikh then began to correspond via Skype with this FBI employee, saying, “I want to help the mujahideen, in any way I can.” He stated his belief that al-Nusra was the most disciplined group fighting Assad. The employee asked him if he would be willing to fight, and encouraged him to travel to Northern Lebanon for training before going to Syria.
On November 1, 2013, Sheikh bought a ticket to Beirut via Canada and Turkey. On November 2, upon his arrival at the airport gate, after being allowed to check in his bag and go through security, he was arrested by law enforcement. On November 12, the US government charged him with “Material support for a Foreign Terrorist Organization.”
What the indictment fails to mention was that the FBI agent who communicated with him on Facebook was posing as a Syrian nurse, and that their messages contained romantic content. A large part of his motivation for traveling was marriage.
“The Sheikh case points out the hypocrisy of prosecuting people who support an anti-Assad group the government judged as terrorists while the Obama administration favors other fighters in the same bloody conflict,” said Jeff Addicott, director of the Center for Terrorism Law at St. Mary's University in San Antonio.
On March 5, 2014, Sheikh told Federal Judge Terrence Boyle that he wanted to replace his government-appointed lawyer Joseph Gilbert with an attorney hired by his family, and stated that he was being “physically and morally abused” in prison.
"I am concerned about his competence," Gilbert said.
Prosecutor Jason Kellhoffer told Boyle that he saw no need for a psychiatric exam at this time, and Boyle did not order one. In June 2014, Sheikh was declared mentally competent to stand trial.
However, nearly a year later, on January 7, 2015 Judge Boyle suddenly ordered him to be involuntarily committed to a mental institution about seven minutes into the competancy hearing, when Sheikh interrupted the proceedings, telling the judge he was ready to tell a jury his story that day and it was a story a US jury should hear.
He was not only concerned about his arrest at the Raleigh-Durham International Airport in 2013 when he was attempting to leave the country. Sheikh also argued that the United States should pay reparations for war deaths in Pakistan, his native country, Afghanistan and other parts of the Middle East – “100 camels worth of monetary compensation,” reported Anne Blythe in the News Observer.
“In a series of run-on sentences, he talked about cluster bombs, the pain he felt for Pakistanis killed in the conflict, President Barack Obama, the US attorney general, his family, the government and his desire to be released from custody.”
“If you’re trying to make a record that you’re not competent, you’re doing an excellent job,” said Judge Boyle.
“No, I’m competent,” Sheikh exclaimed. “I have a right to travel the world!”
Boyle ordered Sheikh to be involuntarily committed in a hospital for 120 days for psychiatric treatment. He told Sheikh he faced the possibility of the involuntary administration of psychiatric drugs so that he might better understand the seriousness of the charges against him.
“No thanks, no thanks,” said Sheikh. “I am perfectly all right. My belongings should be returned to me and I should be allowed to leave this country.”
In August of 2013, Thomas Walker the US Attorney for North Carolina’s Eastern District said he “made changes in his staff” after a federal appeals said it was concerned with the conduct of prosecutors. Judges on the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals have publicly complained the offices did not turn over evidence to defense attorneys.
While the heads of government departments were “transferred out,” lower rung prosecutors such as Kellhoffer continue to engage in overzealous prosecution of idealistic Muslims who pose no threat to the United States.
This should serve as a warning to be very careful about anyone you meet online that seems to agree with all your opinions.
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.
Sunday, October 12, 2014
Supreme Court Rejects Tarek Mehanna’s appeal
No Justice for Muslim Political Prisoners.
Supreme Court Rejects Tarek Mehanna’s appeal;
Ziyad Yaghi, Abdul Razak Ali also denied appeal
by Sis. Karin Friedemann [Boston]
On Monday, October 6, 2014 the US Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal from Tarek Mehanna, a Massachusetts resident who is serving a 17 1/2 year sentence for translating ancient Arabic texts on jihad for the Islamic website At Tibyan.
Mehanna claims he 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. The government alleges that Mehanna “intended” to go to Iraq to take up arms against the US, although there is no evidence. Mehanna is guilty of nothing more than saying in passing that Iraqis have a right to defend themselves.
“I’m disappointed to see even the highest court still submissive to the executive branch’s fabrication of charges,” Mehanna’s father, Ahmed Mehanna, 64, said. “It’s clearly the First Amendment [at issue], and they refused to even look at it.”
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.”
Boston FBI Agent Vincent Lisi in charge of framing the case against Mehanna stated, “From his travel to Yemen to receive training to kill American soldiers to his material support for terrorism at home, it was clear Mr. Mehanna trained to be a terrorist.”
Prosecutors say Mehanna traveled with Ahmad Abousamra to Yemen in 2004 to join a terrorist training camp, while Mehanna insists he traveled there to learn Arabic. He had expressed some light-hearted interest to a friend in checking out the famous al Qaeda training camps, but they don’t really exist as tourism adventure spots anymore in this decade now that Reagan is no longer president. Mehanna never did go to any camp to participate in any weapons training, and even if he had, that is not the same thing as signing up for a war against the US. Mehanna’s lawyers said he didn’t give any tangible support to al-Qaida, and his online activities were protected free speech.
“We are disappointed that the Supreme Court declined to hear the case,” a lawyer for Mehanna, P. Sabin Willett told ABC News.
Mehanna’s father 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.”
“Everybody agrees that Mehanna supported al-Qaida’s cause; At Tibyan is a fairly popular terrorist forum, and Mehanna translated its content with the clear intention of swaying opinion toward the jihadist cause. But 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?” writes Mark Joseph Stern in Slate.
“Where, exactly, does free speech end and unlawful terrorist coordination begin?”
Mehanna had no idea his actions were criminal. He possessed the self-confidence and outspoken attitude of a relatively affluent, American born male.
“A major issue that seems to remain open as a result of the Court’s decision is the extent to which a defendant must “coordinate” his or her activities with the FTO [Foreign Terrorist Organization] in question in order to be convicted under § 2339. The Court had previously held in Holder v. Humanitarian Law Project, 130 S. Ct. 2705 (2010), that § 2339 “reaches only material support coordinated with or under the direction of a designated foreign terrorist organization” (emphasis added),” writes Alex Ely in lawfareblog.com.
Andy Wang of lawfareblog explains, “The 1996 “material support” provision, 18 U.S.C. § 2339, criminalizes the providing of “material support or resources” to a foreign terrorist organization (FTO). Providing “material support or resources” can mean the providing of “any property... or service” to the FTO... The government succeeded in convicting him under the material support provision, and the First Circuit affirmed the conviction.”
“Mehanna’s petition opens with a statutory argument—that his actions were not criminal under any reasonable definition of the word “coordination.” Noting that he only translated the texts—at his own discretion—and that the translations were not committed, directed, paid for by, performed in concert with, or presented to any FTO, Mehanna argues that he could not possibly have “coordinate[d]” with any FTOs... he merely translated the texts at his own discretion and disseminated them to other users on the internet.”
Mehanna concludes, “If the government’s low bar for what actions and speech constitute “coordination” is allowed to stand, it would impose unconstitutional sanctions for merely talking or associating with people on the internet.”
However, Mehanna’s vacation to Yemen, the government argued, was enough to let the conviction stand, brushing aside the issue of whether translations alone can constitute sufficient coordination and material support.
This week the Supreme Court also denied appeal to Ziyad Yaghi, another American-born Muslim found guilty of suspicious vacationing after he went to Egypt in search of a bride and tried to make a stop in Jerusalem; and Guantanamo inmate Abdul Razak Ali.
Supreme Court Rejects Tarek Mehanna’s appeal;
Ziyad Yaghi, Abdul Razak Ali also denied appeal
by Sis. Karin Friedemann [Boston]
On Monday, October 6, 2014 the US Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal from Tarek Mehanna, a Massachusetts resident who is serving a 17 1/2 year sentence for translating ancient Arabic texts on jihad for the Islamic website At Tibyan.
Mehanna claims he 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. The government alleges that Mehanna “intended” to go to Iraq to take up arms against the US, although there is no evidence. Mehanna is guilty of nothing more than saying in passing that Iraqis have a right to defend themselves.
“I’m disappointed to see even the highest court still submissive to the executive branch’s fabrication of charges,” Mehanna’s father, Ahmed Mehanna, 64, said. “It’s clearly the First Amendment [at issue], and they refused to even look at it.”
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.”
Boston FBI Agent Vincent Lisi in charge of framing the case against Mehanna stated, “From his travel to Yemen to receive training to kill American soldiers to his material support for terrorism at home, it was clear Mr. Mehanna trained to be a terrorist.”
Prosecutors say Mehanna traveled with Ahmad Abousamra to Yemen in 2004 to join a terrorist training camp, while Mehanna insists he traveled there to learn Arabic. He had expressed some light-hearted interest to a friend in checking out the famous al Qaeda training camps, but they don’t really exist as tourism adventure spots anymore in this decade now that Reagan is no longer president. Mehanna never did go to any camp to participate in any weapons training, and even if he had, that is not the same thing as signing up for a war against the US. Mehanna’s lawyers said he didn’t give any tangible support to al-Qaida, and his online activities were protected free speech.
“We are disappointed that the Supreme Court declined to hear the case,” a lawyer for Mehanna, P. Sabin Willett told ABC News.
Mehanna’s father 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.”
“Everybody agrees that Mehanna supported al-Qaida’s cause; At Tibyan is a fairly popular terrorist forum, and Mehanna translated its content with the clear intention of swaying opinion toward the jihadist cause. But 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?” writes Mark Joseph Stern in Slate.
“Where, exactly, does free speech end and unlawful terrorist coordination begin?”
Mehanna had no idea his actions were criminal. He possessed the self-confidence and outspoken attitude of a relatively affluent, American born male.
“A major issue that seems to remain open as a result of the Court’s decision is the extent to which a defendant must “coordinate” his or her activities with the FTO [Foreign Terrorist Organization] in question in order to be convicted under § 2339. The Court had previously held in Holder v. Humanitarian Law Project, 130 S. Ct. 2705 (2010), that § 2339 “reaches only material support coordinated with or under the direction of a designated foreign terrorist organization” (emphasis added),” writes Alex Ely in lawfareblog.com.
Andy Wang of lawfareblog explains, “The 1996 “material support” provision, 18 U.S.C. § 2339, criminalizes the providing of “material support or resources” to a foreign terrorist organization (FTO). Providing “material support or resources” can mean the providing of “any property... or service” to the FTO... The government succeeded in convicting him under the material support provision, and the First Circuit affirmed the conviction.”
“Mehanna’s petition opens with a statutory argument—that his actions were not criminal under any reasonable definition of the word “coordination.” Noting that he only translated the texts—at his own discretion—and that the translations were not committed, directed, paid for by, performed in concert with, or presented to any FTO, Mehanna argues that he could not possibly have “coordinate[d]” with any FTOs... he merely translated the texts at his own discretion and disseminated them to other users on the internet.”
Mehanna concludes, “If the government’s low bar for what actions and speech constitute “coordination” is allowed to stand, it would impose unconstitutional sanctions for merely talking or associating with people on the internet.”
However, Mehanna’s vacation to Yemen, the government argued, was enough to let the conviction stand, brushing aside the issue of whether translations alone can constitute sufficient coordination and material support.
This week the Supreme Court also denied appeal to Ziyad Yaghi, another American-born Muslim found guilty of suspicious vacationing after he went to Egypt in search of a bride and tried to make a stop in Jerusalem; and Guantanamo inmate Abdul Razak Ali.
Friday, October 10, 2014
UK Terror Case against Moazzam Begg Collapses
TMO
On October 1, 2014 the UK dropped all seven charges against Moazzam Begg, Outreach Director of the Muslim prisoner advocacy organization CAGE, due to “lack of evidence.” The judge, Mr. Justice Wilkie, then “entered a formal verdict of not guilty” and “ordered that Begg be set free immediately.”
CAGE has insisted all along that Begg’s arrest last February was politically motivated, targeting him for his work on exposing complicity between the Asad regime and illegal torture and rendition in Syria. His arrest took place the day before his research report on Syria was to be released to the public. This was the second time that a major Western country has held Moazzam Begg without trial and so serious questions must be asked about why this has been allowed to happen for a second time.
Andy Worthington wrote that “it was impossible to believe that Begg, one of the most scrutinized Muslims in the UK, would have engaged in any activities that could be construed as terrorism.”
Begg says he suspects the explanation for his wrongful imprisonment probably embraces incompetence, Islamophobia, maliciousness and fear. “I think we will know the answer one day and it will be very embarrassing.”
The “new information” which emerged just in time for his pre-trial hearing includes the minutes of meetings that MI5 had neglected to hand over to police and prosecutors, in which Begg had explained that he was planning to visit Syria in part to investigate the agency’s involvement in kidnapping a man in Syria and bringing him to Libya for torture. MI5 told him they would not stop him.
The Crown Prosecution Services issued a statement that said: “If we had been made aware of all of this information at the time of charging, we would not have charged.”
West Midlands police officers are reportedly furious that MI5 had withheld the minutes of its meetings with Begg for so long. They said that MI5 had pressured local police to arrest him.
It has also emerged in court that not long after that meeting with MI5, Begg’s car was bugged for more than a year. Begg says it is inevitable that he will be bringing civil proceedings against MI5 and the government.
He told the Guardian he “feels cheated” by the prosecutors’ decision to abandon the case against him. “I wanted my day in court; I was spoiling for the fight. I wanted to challenge every allegation in the case against me. I believe that if I had put my case before a jury I would have been acquitted.”
Begg told the Guardian that the Belmarsh high-security prison in south London where he was detained without bail was much more pleasant than the three years he spent in Guantanamo, where he was hooded, handcuffed in stress positions, kicked in the head by US soldiers who threatened his family members with harm.
Nevertheless, he is still “bewildered” that so many British Muslims have faced arrest and imprisonment after returning from Syria. Some, he says, spent no more than a couple of weeks there, during which many were deeply disturbed by the brutality of Isis.
“People returned specifically because they did not want to be part of that … they wanted to come back,” said Begg.
“In Denmark and Germany they are not arresting returnees from Syria. We need to find another way. Not to take young men, some as young as 19, and put them away for 15 years because they made a misjudgment about the way the British government would view them.”
While in Syria, Begg helped to run a training camp in the countryside near Idlib, north-west Syria, where opponents of the regime could undergo military- style physical exercise training and acquire the rudiments of first aid. This, Begg insists, was not an act of terrorism, but an attempt to help people defend themselves against war criminals.
The charges against him involved claims that he attended a terrorist training camp in Syria “knowing or believing instruction or training was provided there for the purposes of terrorism” between October 9, 2012 and April 9, 2013 and that he possessed documents for a purpose connected to terrorism and terrorist funding.
“I was never afraid to go to court. Any right-minded person on a jury would have seen very early on that I am not the terrorist here,” he says.
Amandla Thomas-Johnson, spokesperson for CAGE, said, “Moazzam Begg and his family have suffered over the past 7 months not only because of his incarceration but also because of the financial sanctions imposed upon him, as a result of which his bank accounts (including joint accounts) were frozen or shut down. His wife was unable to pay her utility bills that were held in their joint names without receiving a license from the Treasury, and it became a criminal offense to even try and support his family with money and food during this period. Our thoughts are with his family and we share in the joy of receiving him home again.”
“We call on the CPS to review all ongoing Syria-related terrorism trials to review the evidence and drop charges. We believe many of these trials and the campaigns against Muslim charities and individuals working in Syria are politically motivated fishing expeditions using the wide scope of terror laws and Prevent policy to criminalize Muslims.”
“We also ask that the British state reviews its policies of harassment intimidation and politically motivated prosecutions of Muslims involved in the Syria crisis.”
Mirza Begg, brother of Moazzam Begg, told CAGE, “We are just so happy to have Moazzam home with us in time for Eid.”
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