The Obama administration finally yielded to a lengthy campaign to secure the British resident Shaker Aamed's release, after Guantanamo journalist Andy Worthington wrote an open letter to President Obama for Independence Day, which was signed by nearly a hundred celebrities, including Roger Waters, Sting, Patrick Stewart and London's Mayor Boris Johnson.
As a result, President Obama discussed the decision to move Aamer, whose case has become a cause celebre among rights groups in Britain, with Prime Minister David Cameron in a phone call. On November 11, 2015, a beautiful photo and statement from the brother was released by friends.
"I can't tell you how much I want to speak to all of you and stand with all of you, carrying on the struggle for justice for everybody who has been oppressed and needs our help. If there is one thing we can do to save the whole world it is to fight for justice. We will work hard together to close Guantánamo and every unlawful facility run by any government worldwide. Justice has no colour or religion or race.
"I promise all of you good people — those whose names I know, and those whose names I do not know — that my heart and my spirit feel your thoughts of justice. I care for you all.
Yours sincerely,
Shaker Aamer ISN 239"
PHOTO
AndyWorthington.co.uk/2015/11/11/a-photo-and-a-mesage-from-shaker-aamer-to-his-supporters/#sthash.JxodaWEp.dpf
Clive Stafford Smith predicted in the Guardian last September that when Shaker Aamer is free from Guantanamo, the slurs will start.
"My maternal grandmother once gave me some advice that has never left me: when someone does you wrong, bizarrely, they will invariably hate you for it. This stems from a very human desire not to admit mistakes. Therefore if you want to salvage a relationship with the person who wronged you, you must go out of your way to be kind to them."
Shaker Aamer, the last British resident in Guantánamo Bay has been done a terrible wrong - held for almost 14 years without charges, tortured over and over. He has never met his youngest son Faris, who was born on the very day he arrived in the notorious US military base.
"And why has he been held so long? Because not only was Aamer a victim of abuse but he also witnessed the torture of others, most catastrophically Ibn Sheikh al Libi, who "confessed" falsely that al-Qaida was in league with Saddam Hussein on weapons of mass destruction. This was repeated by President George W Bush himself as a reason to go to war in Iraq - so here we are, tens of thousands of dead people later, and we know it was false. Al Libi merely told his torturers what they wanted to hear, to try to end the pain," writes Smith.
There is one matter that is beyond all doubt: The US military and the UK intelligence services will start briefing against Aamer. They will do this because they know they have done him wrong, and they hate him for it. They feel a very human urge to prove that they were justified and, in their distorted morality, that can only be true if he is a very, very bad man indeed. They always do this.
"In Aamer's case, the defamation has already begun. The moment the 30-day notice was given, Texas Congressman Mac Thornberry sent a statement to the Washington Post that Aamer was far too dangerous to be released - apparently forever," reports Worthington.
You do not publish devastating rumours about a person who has no way to defend himself, without checking and double-checking your source - even when it concerns a powerless person held incommunicado for more than a decade, like Aamer.
"Those who wish to prove that they were right to indulge in a spot of torture are very sad and misguided people."
http://newtrendmag.org/ntma1628.htm
Sunday, March 13, 2016
Obituary for a Syrian Journalist
Syria
Very Young Journalist connected to New Trend Killed in Russian Air strike.
Obituary and last interview.
Obituary for Mahmoud Alloz
On October 21, Mahmoud Alloz posted on facebook a photo of his martyred brother Khalid, who was a media activist killed in Russian airstrikes. Mahmoud was interviewed by New Trend on October 23, 2014. That same day in 2015, Mahmoud followed his brother in martyrdom. In commemoration of his life, I present our full interview.
Mahmoud Allouz, born in 1992 in Homs, was a journalist and a former student at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering (He could not complete an education because of the war). A media activist from the beginning of the revolution, he was killed while covering the front lines of the Free Syrian Army, three days after his brother.
Earlier this year, Mahmoud got a severe head injury from an Assad barrel bomb. He lay in the hospital wearing a headband bearing the Shahada. Miraculously, he lived to return to his media activism, only to be killed by Russia.
Mahmoud Alloz (MA): hi
Karin Friedemann (KF): hi, thank you for your time
MA: thank you
KF: Are you in Homs right now?
MA: yes
KF: what is the situation like there right now? First of all, is any of the city still standing with life going on, or is it all ruins with fighters running around?
MA: Do you have enough info on the status of Homs ?
KF: I know that it has been a site for protests and that the Syrian government attacked the protesters, since then there was fighting, and the regime bombed a lot if not everything. I do not know the ins and outs of each group who they are what they believe.
MA: Do you have inform the geographical on the nature of Homs? I mean geographical situation and regions of the control of Assad regime and armed opposition and ongoing war?
KF: no, is there a map?
MA: Mediates the Syrian cities, Homs is the capital of the Syrian revolution. Strategic importance of the system is very large.
At the beginning of the revolution protests permeated the city of Homs and its countryside
for example, the campaign the first was on the neighborhood of baba amer even dominated after it was destroyed, and then a vigorous campaign on the Homs the old and the failure of the imposition of the siege which continued to nearly two years
And a military campaign on the southern countryside lasted for several months and got violent battles and dominated by the help of the Lebanese Hezbollah after it was destroyed
KF: thank you
MA: The countryside north of Homs are still under the control of the rebels.
There is Al waer densely populated area and besieged and subjected to daily shelling.
Gets the daily massacres
This is a summary of the situation in the field.
Do you have questions ?
HEZBOLLAH
KF: Did Hezbollah retreat or are they still active on the ground?
MA: Still is on top of any military campaign
And also present in some areas
KF: they are being paid by Lebanon but answering orders of Assad?
MA: Sorry I did not understand your question
KF: who is paying the Hezbollah? or are they volunteers
MA: Hezbollah works on the orders of the party leadership
KF: why do they want to serve Assad instead of their own country?
MA: hTey want to service their project which is sectarian Shiite
They are Fighting and they brutally destroy and commit crimes
IRAN
There are fighters from Iran also taking part in the ranks of the Assad regime
KF: why do shiite support alawite
MA: Sorry I did not understand your question
KF: Assad is not Shiite so what are they gaining?
also, do you know anything about opium fields on syria lebanon border? to what extent is the war about drugs, about oil, about land, or what other factors?
MA: Assad, Iran and Hezbollah interests are on one common list on a sectarian basis. Assad is a spoiled child with Iran and Hezbollah
The fall of the Assad regime is the demise of the interests of Iran and Hezbollah from Syria
HAMA
MA: In the countryside of Hama, there are battles. But the city of Hama is under the control of the Assad regime, and there being many cases of arrests and violations.
[At this point the discussion switches to a photo of a rocket which hit Assad's death squads known as shabeeha near Homs]
Chat Conversation Start
You're friends on Facebook
Student طالب جامعي
Lives in Homs, Syria
10/25/2014 7:01PM
KF: what is the story of this photo? [photo unknown]
10/25/2014 8:44PM
MA: Unfortunately not be aware of your question
I see a rocket. who is shooting the rocket at whom, and where
The Grad missiles 'Corps Homs' launch on gatherings shabeeha in Homs in response to the massacres of the regime in the neighborhood of the forest
The Grad missiles 'Corps Homs' launch on gatherings shabeeha in Homs in response to the massacres of the regime in the neighborhood of the waer
missiles are launched by rebels?
what is the meaning of shabeeha
Homs Corps is the largest faction of the Free Army in Homs
what are shabeeha gatherings?
Shabeeha groups of mercenaries fighting in the ranks of the Assad regime, mostly of the Alawite sect, have committed several massacres in Syria and Homs
so they have a camp or where is the missile going to hit
Rebels firing rockets at gatherings shabeeha in camps and neighborhoods in the occupied city of Homs
did they hit anyone
What ??
did they destroy anyone or anything or it was just a cute rocket
Yes, it is destroying the camps that are stationed where the thugs, and thugs fired all kinds of shells toward the neighborhood Al waer
did that stop them or invigorate them to retaliate?
Shabeeha not stop bombing and criminality, but this is an attempt by the rebels to stop the bombing as much as possible and with available weapons
http://newtrendmag.org/ntma1629.htm
Very Young Journalist connected to New Trend Killed in Russian Air strike.
Obituary and last interview.
Obituary for Mahmoud Alloz
On October 21, Mahmoud Alloz posted on facebook a photo of his martyred brother Khalid, who was a media activist killed in Russian airstrikes. Mahmoud was interviewed by New Trend on October 23, 2014. That same day in 2015, Mahmoud followed his brother in martyrdom. In commemoration of his life, I present our full interview.
Mahmoud Allouz, born in 1992 in Homs, was a journalist and a former student at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering (He could not complete an education because of the war). A media activist from the beginning of the revolution, he was killed while covering the front lines of the Free Syrian Army, three days after his brother.
Earlier this year, Mahmoud got a severe head injury from an Assad barrel bomb. He lay in the hospital wearing a headband bearing the Shahada. Miraculously, he lived to return to his media activism, only to be killed by Russia.
Mahmoud Alloz (MA): hi
Karin Friedemann (KF): hi, thank you for your time
MA: thank you
KF: Are you in Homs right now?
MA: yes
KF: what is the situation like there right now? First of all, is any of the city still standing with life going on, or is it all ruins with fighters running around?
MA: Do you have enough info on the status of Homs ?
KF: I know that it has been a site for protests and that the Syrian government attacked the protesters, since then there was fighting, and the regime bombed a lot if not everything. I do not know the ins and outs of each group who they are what they believe.
MA: Do you have inform the geographical on the nature of Homs? I mean geographical situation and regions of the control of Assad regime and armed opposition and ongoing war?
KF: no, is there a map?
MA: Mediates the Syrian cities, Homs is the capital of the Syrian revolution. Strategic importance of the system is very large.
At the beginning of the revolution protests permeated the city of Homs and its countryside
for example, the campaign the first was on the neighborhood of baba amer even dominated after it was destroyed, and then a vigorous campaign on the Homs the old and the failure of the imposition of the siege which continued to nearly two years
And a military campaign on the southern countryside lasted for several months and got violent battles and dominated by the help of the Lebanese Hezbollah after it was destroyed
KF: thank you
MA: The countryside north of Homs are still under the control of the rebels.
There is Al waer densely populated area and besieged and subjected to daily shelling.
Gets the daily massacres
This is a summary of the situation in the field.
Do you have questions ?
HEZBOLLAH
KF: Did Hezbollah retreat or are they still active on the ground?
MA: Still is on top of any military campaign
And also present in some areas
KF: they are being paid by Lebanon but answering orders of Assad?
MA: Sorry I did not understand your question
KF: who is paying the Hezbollah? or are they volunteers
MA: Hezbollah works on the orders of the party leadership
KF: why do they want to serve Assad instead of their own country?
MA: hTey want to service their project which is sectarian Shiite
They are Fighting and they brutally destroy and commit crimes
IRAN
There are fighters from Iran also taking part in the ranks of the Assad regime
KF: why do shiite support alawite
MA: Sorry I did not understand your question
KF: Assad is not Shiite so what are they gaining?
also, do you know anything about opium fields on syria lebanon border? to what extent is the war about drugs, about oil, about land, or what other factors?
MA: Assad, Iran and Hezbollah interests are on one common list on a sectarian basis. Assad is a spoiled child with Iran and Hezbollah
The fall of the Assad regime is the demise of the interests of Iran and Hezbollah from Syria
HAMA
MA: In the countryside of Hama, there are battles. But the city of Hama is under the control of the Assad regime, and there being many cases of arrests and violations.
[At this point the discussion switches to a photo of a rocket which hit Assad's death squads known as shabeeha near Homs]
Chat Conversation Start
You're friends on Facebook
Student طالب جامعي
Lives in Homs, Syria
10/25/2014 7:01PM
KF: what is the story of this photo? [photo unknown]
10/25/2014 8:44PM
MA: Unfortunately not be aware of your question
I see a rocket. who is shooting the rocket at whom, and where
The Grad missiles 'Corps Homs' launch on gatherings shabeeha in Homs in response to the massacres of the regime in the neighborhood of the forest
The Grad missiles 'Corps Homs' launch on gatherings shabeeha in Homs in response to the massacres of the regime in the neighborhood of the waer
missiles are launched by rebels?
what is the meaning of shabeeha
Homs Corps is the largest faction of the Free Army in Homs
what are shabeeha gatherings?
Shabeeha groups of mercenaries fighting in the ranks of the Assad regime, mostly of the Alawite sect, have committed several massacres in Syria and Homs
so they have a camp or where is the missile going to hit
Rebels firing rockets at gatherings shabeeha in camps and neighborhoods in the occupied city of Homs
did they hit anyone
What ??
did they destroy anyone or anything or it was just a cute rocket
Yes, it is destroying the camps that are stationed where the thugs, and thugs fired all kinds of shells toward the neighborhood Al waer
did that stop them or invigorate them to retaliate?
Shabeeha not stop bombing and criminality, but this is an attempt by the rebels to stop the bombing as much as possible and with available weapons
http://newtrendmag.org/ntma1629.htm
Boston Marathon Bombing Court Appeals Begin: Public Donating For Tsarnaev Funds.
On Tuesday, December 1, 2015, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's attorneys brought up a number of arguments at Moakley Federal Courthouse in Boston. I watched the hearing on the screen in the overflow room. The first order of business was an attempt to reduce the number of charges against the young man. He was convicted of 30 counts, several of which are more than sufficient to result in the death penalty. His attorneys argued that the sheer number of counts against him overwhelmed the jury and caused them to be influenced in favor of the death penalty.
They would like to have a retrial in a different city because the locals of Boston are likely to be driven by revenge since they were personally affected by the tragedy. In their motion, they mentioned that the people on the jury were actively exposed to coverage and opinions about the bombing on Facebook during the trial, and that many of their Facebook friends were Bostonians. Some of the jurists actually made or were exposed to prejudiced comments even before evidence of the crime was presented.
Defense attorneys spent a lot of time bringing up technicalities that in my opinion were not very forceful arguments. Attorney William Fick said many of the charges were unconstitutional because they mentioned "violent physical force." They said the government "conflates the ability to cause injury with violent force." They claimed that setting the bomb down was not technically the use of violent force any more than arson, which is not considered a violent crime even if people are hurt in the process. Regarding the charge of "malicious bombing of property," they argued that the word "malicious" refers to a mental state resulting in "intentional and reckless" behavior but does not imply violent force was used. The carjacking took place because of intimidation - no violence was involved.
Naturally, the government disagreed that the counts needed to be vacated and stated that the decision should be left to the Supreme Court.
In the second part of the hearing, the fiery Attorney Miriam Conrad argued forcefully against the Special Administrative Measures (SAMs) against Tsarnaev. She said there was "no valid argument to justify" having a federal agent monitor attorney visits with Tsarnaev's sisters in prison. In an earlier court hearing "in the shadow of litigation," the court had ruled that the agent would be from a different state and not part of the government prosecution team. He was not to relay information to the prosecutors about their conversations due to "attorney client privilege."
However, in a recent email to the defense lawyers, the government lawyers said that they no longer plan to abide by that agreement and that they want access to the defense's information file. They want to know who visits Tsarnaev and what they talked about. Defense lawyers said the government cannot just unilaterally decide to revoke an agreement, that litigation is far from over and that attorney client privilege still holds. It is not at all normal for prosecutors to get access to defense attorney's private files whether before, during, or after litigation. The government should not decide whether meetings should take place, nor see documents, Conrad argued. The agreement does not say that the information is only private until after the verdict. She said that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is not being treated like any other defendant. There are far more restrictions on his lawyers' ability to defend him, even though he is not just serving a sentence, he is awaiting the death penalty.
The government argued that the presence of Tsarnaev's sisters invalidates attorney-client privilege and that the agreement is not enforceable because the government needs to know if there were visitors who were not expert witnesses, so they can investigate these persons because the government "needs to know if they've ever had problems before." They mentioned Sister Helena, the nun that testified that Tsarnaev was sorry for his actions. They didn't think she should be visiting Tsarnaev because she is not an expert witness.
Conrad replied that listening to the government talk is like Alice looking through the looking glass. The government should have modified the agreement not just send an email saying we aren't following it anymore. Sister Helena was cleared under the heavy restrictions of the SAMs and there is no reason that the government needs to know what she said to him.
As usual, Judge O'Toole mumbled that he would not rule at this time.
The next issue that was discussed was how much money would be taken out of Tsarnaev's commissary to go towards "Mass Fund" which gifted 57 victims with restitution money. The court ruled that Tsarnaev would have to pay $25 per quarter ($100/year), an amount that would be adjusted based on availability. This seems to be aimed at discouraging supporters to donate money in fear that the government will take it. In the past, Tsarnaev received so many donations that the government threatened not to provide him with a free lawyer as he had too much money. Now, nobody is even allowed to send him books. His attorneys were not even allowed to give him a family photo.
Finally, the court discussed the unsealing of documents. As of now, Tsarnaev's trial is unprecedented in terms of how much of the proceedings has gone on under the veil of secrecy. "We are anxious on behalf of a lot of people to unseal the documents," said O'Toole. He ruled that for starters, both defense and prosecution would decide which of their own documents they wished to unseal. After that would come a future discussion on which of the other party's documents the parties would agree to unseal, before arguing about the remaining documents. Clearly the judge is in no hurry for the proceedings to become transparent to the public.
The Tsarnaev case, as with most cases where the defendant is a Muslim, continues to elements and types of issues that normally do not arise in other cases, even when the defendant, who is not Muslim, has committed a mass murder. For example, the fellow who shot up the church got a speedy trial and was not sentenced to death, whereas the Boston Bombing trial went on for years and there is no end in sight.
http://newtrendmag.org/ntma1631.htm
She Wanted to Avenge the Honor of the Prophet
Interview with Fatima LaRose [Jihad Jane]
2015-12-13
http://newtrendmag.org/ntma1632.htm
Fatima LaRose, the woman who was arrested for conspiring to kill the Swedish cartoonist who drew a picture of Mohammed with a dog's body, has allowed New Trend to interview her. She pled guilty in 2010 to "Conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists, conspiracy to kill in a foreign country, false statement to a government official, and attempted identity theft."
She had posted online as Jihad Jane: "When our brothers defend our faith their homes, they are terrorist. Fine, then I am a terrorist and proud to be this."
The plot began in January 2009, when someone online called Eagle Eye claiming to be a Pakistani from al Qaida asked the recent White American Muslim convert to become a martyr. He claimed to have participated in the 2008 Mumbai attacks, according to NBC News. She pledged to use her blonde hair, green eyes and white skin to "to achieve what is in my heart." After she agreed to meet him in Amsterdam for marriage, the online man then instructed her to go to Sweden and shoot the cartoonist six times in the chest. She vowed to do it or die trying. U.S. authorities won't admit the whereabouts of Eagle Eye, or Abdullah, another man who had promised to train her in the use of firearms in Amsterdam. I am suspicious because I never heard of any Pakistanis calling themselves "al Qaeda." Al-Qaeda are Arabs. She had no idea.
On December 4, 2015, Fatima wrote: "When my Brother (in Islam) told me to get out of America, my boyfriend had no idea all that or really any of what I was involved in. It was like I was living a double life. In my home I was one person but online I was someone else. I finally gave into my online life and went for broke. No one in my life knew what I was into. I just always was online talking to my Ummah and all I thought about was jihad. If you wonder if I regret my actions - I only regret hurting my loved ones but I don't regret agreeing to do what ultimately got me put in prison.
"I feel the Brother that gave me the assignment gave me an honour because Sisters never get assignments like that. I tell you my dear Sister I Love my Brother and I will always love him. People tell me he used me to do what he wanted done and people blame him for my predicament. But I say NO he did not use me and he is not to blame for me being in prison. I am responsible for my actions and I knew what I was doing when I agreed to do what he asked me to do. My Brother never wanted me to come to any harm. I don't know if he is even still alive. My lawyer thinks he is either dead or he was an agent for the FBI. I know for certain my brother was not any kind of agent for the FBI or any other American agency. I will always love my Brother no matter what anyone says about him." All we know is that he was never arrested, despite being the "mastermind" behind the conspiracy to assassinate the vile cartoonist.
LaRose never made it to Amsterdam, though she did spend some time in Ireland staying with Ali Damache, an Algerian calling himself Black Flag, who also lured another white American woman Jamie Ramirez and her son to come live with him. Both women thought they were going there to be trained for jihad, but once they got there, they realized the Muslim man had just been boasting. He used Ramirez, whom he married the day she arrived, to cook and clean and would not even give her a key to the house, although LaRose was allowed to go in and out as she pleased. It was weird, but not terrorism. Damache successfully contested the illegal police search of his Waterford apartment. Irish authorities have refused to extradite him to the U.S.
"Jihad Jane is a perfect figure in some ways because it's like a soap opera," says her intended victim, cartoonist Vilks. "This is today's most interesting part of terrorism -- the amateurs."
Vilks says he believes LaRose has served enough time already. "They should let her go."
The cartoonist's calm attitude towards a woman that intended to kill him creates an awareness of the moral complexities of any given situation. He considers her as a victim of her past.
"I survived a lot of things that should have rightfully killed me," LaRose said of the terrible things she lived through, including being repeatedly raped by her father, running away and becoming a teenage prostitute, growing up White in Detroit.
"I also thought there was a purpose for me to be alive and then when I found Islam, I thought... 'This is why I have lived so long.'"
LaRose always has a patient attitude in all of her letters. In June, 2010, she wrote to me from the SHU in Philadelphia as she awaited sentencing.
"Mashallah ukhti (my co-defendent) is in G.P. (General Population) so we have a separation and I rather be the one to be in the SHU." She signed her letter "Fatima LaRose AKA Jihad Jane."
By July 2015 she had become more introspective, talking about her new life in General Population, after she got moved out of SHU, where she spent four years in solitary.
"I guess my kindness is my weakness. I am always trying to be a people pleaser. I just like to see people happy so when people ask me for something I usually try to get them what they ask for. But when I want something I am ignored. Also I am quiet and I observe people and I see so much that I can't believe others don't see what I do."
She turned 52 this year. No longer living in isolation she shares a cell with a "goth girl" who she describes as a fantastic artist. "My friends give me a birthday party. That's the first birthday party I've had since I was a child. I was happy and felt like I am loved. The girls decorated my bed in flowers and butterflies they made."
Working on her GED, she struggles with math. "I was taken out of school when I was a kid by the 7th grade. But I had quit going to school by grade 5. I believe that's the last grade I completed. I sure never did any geometry or algebra so the math is all new to me. I did a lot of drugs while I was growing up and I believe that all those drugs did a lot to mess up my mind. My memory is shot. I get confused real easily when I'm trying to concentrate on math. Anyways by the time I get out of prison I will be 55 years old and I intend to be a housewife. I'm not going to get a job. Who would want to hire a 55-year-old ex-con over a younger kid with no record."
2015-12-13
http://newtrendmag.org/ntma1632.htm
Fatima LaRose, the woman who was arrested for conspiring to kill the Swedish cartoonist who drew a picture of Mohammed with a dog's body, has allowed New Trend to interview her. She pled guilty in 2010 to "Conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists, conspiracy to kill in a foreign country, false statement to a government official, and attempted identity theft."
She had posted online as Jihad Jane: "When our brothers defend our faith their homes, they are terrorist. Fine, then I am a terrorist and proud to be this."
The plot began in January 2009, when someone online called Eagle Eye claiming to be a Pakistani from al Qaida asked the recent White American Muslim convert to become a martyr. He claimed to have participated in the 2008 Mumbai attacks, according to NBC News. She pledged to use her blonde hair, green eyes and white skin to "to achieve what is in my heart." After she agreed to meet him in Amsterdam for marriage, the online man then instructed her to go to Sweden and shoot the cartoonist six times in the chest. She vowed to do it or die trying. U.S. authorities won't admit the whereabouts of Eagle Eye, or Abdullah, another man who had promised to train her in the use of firearms in Amsterdam. I am suspicious because I never heard of any Pakistanis calling themselves "al Qaeda." Al-Qaeda are Arabs. She had no idea.
On December 4, 2015, Fatima wrote: "When my Brother (in Islam) told me to get out of America, my boyfriend had no idea all that or really any of what I was involved in. It was like I was living a double life. In my home I was one person but online I was someone else. I finally gave into my online life and went for broke. No one in my life knew what I was into. I just always was online talking to my Ummah and all I thought about was jihad. If you wonder if I regret my actions - I only regret hurting my loved ones but I don't regret agreeing to do what ultimately got me put in prison.
"I feel the Brother that gave me the assignment gave me an honour because Sisters never get assignments like that. I tell you my dear Sister I Love my Brother and I will always love him. People tell me he used me to do what he wanted done and people blame him for my predicament. But I say NO he did not use me and he is not to blame for me being in prison. I am responsible for my actions and I knew what I was doing when I agreed to do what he asked me to do. My Brother never wanted me to come to any harm. I don't know if he is even still alive. My lawyer thinks he is either dead or he was an agent for the FBI. I know for certain my brother was not any kind of agent for the FBI or any other American agency. I will always love my Brother no matter what anyone says about him." All we know is that he was never arrested, despite being the "mastermind" behind the conspiracy to assassinate the vile cartoonist.
LaRose never made it to Amsterdam, though she did spend some time in Ireland staying with Ali Damache, an Algerian calling himself Black Flag, who also lured another white American woman Jamie Ramirez and her son to come live with him. Both women thought they were going there to be trained for jihad, but once they got there, they realized the Muslim man had just been boasting. He used Ramirez, whom he married the day she arrived, to cook and clean and would not even give her a key to the house, although LaRose was allowed to go in and out as she pleased. It was weird, but not terrorism. Damache successfully contested the illegal police search of his Waterford apartment. Irish authorities have refused to extradite him to the U.S.
"Jihad Jane is a perfect figure in some ways because it's like a soap opera," says her intended victim, cartoonist Vilks. "This is today's most interesting part of terrorism -- the amateurs."
Vilks says he believes LaRose has served enough time already. "They should let her go."
The cartoonist's calm attitude towards a woman that intended to kill him creates an awareness of the moral complexities of any given situation. He considers her as a victim of her past.
"I survived a lot of things that should have rightfully killed me," LaRose said of the terrible things she lived through, including being repeatedly raped by her father, running away and becoming a teenage prostitute, growing up White in Detroit.
"I also thought there was a purpose for me to be alive and then when I found Islam, I thought... 'This is why I have lived so long.'"
LaRose always has a patient attitude in all of her letters. In June, 2010, she wrote to me from the SHU in Philadelphia as she awaited sentencing.
"Mashallah ukhti (my co-defendent) is in G.P. (General Population) so we have a separation and I rather be the one to be in the SHU." She signed her letter "Fatima LaRose AKA Jihad Jane."
By July 2015 she had become more introspective, talking about her new life in General Population, after she got moved out of SHU, where she spent four years in solitary.
"I guess my kindness is my weakness. I am always trying to be a people pleaser. I just like to see people happy so when people ask me for something I usually try to get them what they ask for. But when I want something I am ignored. Also I am quiet and I observe people and I see so much that I can't believe others don't see what I do."
She turned 52 this year. No longer living in isolation she shares a cell with a "goth girl" who she describes as a fantastic artist. "My friends give me a birthday party. That's the first birthday party I've had since I was a child. I was happy and felt like I am loved. The girls decorated my bed in flowers and butterflies they made."
Working on her GED, she struggles with math. "I was taken out of school when I was a kid by the 7th grade. But I had quit going to school by grade 5. I believe that's the last grade I completed. I sure never did any geometry or algebra so the math is all new to me. I did a lot of drugs while I was growing up and I believe that all those drugs did a lot to mess up my mind. My memory is shot. I get confused real easily when I'm trying to concentrate on math. Anyways by the time I get out of prison I will be 55 years old and I intend to be a housewife. I'm not going to get a job. Who would want to hire a 55-year-old ex-con over a younger kid with no record."
American Torture: American Justice
African Americans & Puerto Ricans often not treated as "human beings."
http://newtrendmag.org/ntma1633.htm
BOSTON, MA: On Saturday December 12, 2015, a workshop was held at Roxbury Community College entitled "American Torture: American Justice: Human Rights American Style," organized by the City School and Jericho Boston in commemoration of International Human Rights Day. The date also coincided with the 66th birthday of Arnold King, who has been in prison since he was 18 and has not been released on parole after 42 years despite the unanimous recommendation of the parole board. His brother, Kazi Toure chaired the event, saying, "With whatever gains Black and Brown people may feel were earned during the civil rights movement, equality was not one of them. Until Black people, people of African descent are viewed as "human beings," equality and full citizenship are an illusion."
Some very high profile people were represented in the panel discussions. During the lunch break, the speakers were all available to anyone that wanted to talk to them personally. Two of them, Fred Hampton Jr. and Luis Rosa expressed interest in speaking before a Muslim audience if invited, to counteract racism and to create links between our communities.
Chairman Fred Hampton Jr. of Black Panther Cubs and Prisoners of Conscience, whose father Fred Hampton, chairman of the Black Panther Party, was murdered by the Chicago police and FBI, spoke about the need to heighten consciousness, to be able to distinguish between what is normal and what is abnormal. He said the first step towards political freedom is like the first step of Alcoholics Anonymous: Recognize that you have a problem. "It's embarrassing to be oppressed. It's embarrassing to admit your father is in prison." Mental colonization hurts. People get involved in a people's revolution because of Inspiration, Aspiration, or Desperation. He said the masses are intelligent. They may not have a fancy term for it, but if they hear that a police officer shot a man 16 times in the back, they will say without hesitation, "They wrong."
Luis Rosa, a former Puerto Rican prisoner who was given amnesty by President Clinton, spoke of how sad he was to leave his comrade, Oscar Lopez Rivera behind in prison. Rivera, 72, is the longest-held political prisoner in Puerto Rican history, for his participation in the Puerto Rican independence movement. Rosa spoke of how he was freed despite a 100 year sentence for "seditious conspiracy." Take nothing for granted, he advised supporters of prisoners. In order to free Rosa, the Puerto Rican activists had three people inside the White House pushing for his freedom, Nobel Prize winners requesting his release, the Japanese Congress inquired about the political prisoners. "Don't neglect the religious community." Learn how to articulate and know your audience so that you can ask them to support the release of political prisoners. "We need to have dossiers ready. Know their cases and be able to speak about their history and current status.
Rosa recommended organizing regular contact between one penpal and one prisoner. Then, the penpals would have regular meetings in which they update each other on all the prisoners. This would maximize prisoner outreach while providing socialization for the activists, which will encourage them to continue. To build community we need love and unity.
"Fight for those who fight for us!" Rosa said. "They are not criminals or terrorists. They fought for what our communities enjoy. They are part of us and we are part of them. Engrave those names in your mind and heart."
Marquette Peltier, daughter of imprisoned American Indian Movement leader Leonard Peltier spoke of her father's tireless efforts for the sake of his community. "If he didn't do it, who would?" she said. "If he can get up and shower every day, we have to get up every day and do what we have to do." Peltier has been in prison for 38 years, accused of shooting an FBI officer during a raid on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. Please download letters to support his release at WhoIsLeonardPeltier.info
It is hoped that President Obama will grant him clemency because as a Senator, Obama promised to help. "Show me the support," he had said to the small group of activists. Maybe now it is time for American Indians to lead us.
Ray Luc Levasseur, who spent 20 years in solitary confinement for his involvement with a leftist anti-war group said it's easy to get discouraged. Behind bars, you can wonder, "Was my sacrifice worth it?" He spoke of a coral reef. Countless tiny creatures give their lives, and in so doing, create an ecosystem which has the power to change the course of the ocean.
Levasseur mentioned his comrade Tom Manning, who is serving a life sentence for bombing an IBM office to protest apartheid in South Africa, as well as returning fire and killing a police officer. "Everything that goes on in client states is exported from here. We've seen it all." Manning was body slammed, breaking his hip. He has been beaten in handcuffs, breaking his shoulders. He has been repeatedly stun gunned, denied medication and surgery, tear gassed, stripped naked while his cell is wrecked, his genitals threatened by a German Shepherd. Now an old man, he is in a wheelchair in solitary confinement at Coleman with an untreated leg infection.
Dr. Lana Habash, who is Palestinian, updated the status of Palestinian activist Amer Jibran, who was well known in Boston for participating in protests against Israel, gathering the ire of the Zionists, who targeted the young student for prosecution. After being arrested then released in Boston, he was deported then re-arrested in Jordan and sentenced to ten years. Habash linked Black Lives Matter movement to the Palestinian struggle by mentioning that police are sent to Israel for training in how to respond to the American public as an enemy population.
Also speaking was Russel Maroon Shoaz, Jr., whose father was a Black Panther Party activist, who has been held in isolation for over 23 years. Shoaz is dedicated to raising awareness about his father. The son of Herman Bell, a former Black Panther who is serving a life sentence for killing two police officers, sang an inspiring song for the audience. Herman Bell has spent the past 42 years in prison. He is going to the New York state parole board in February 2016.
Please email freehermanbell@gmail.com with a message of support for his release, with Subject Line: Herman Bell, 79C-0262.
http://newtrendmag.org/ntma1633.htm
BOSTON, MA: On Saturday December 12, 2015, a workshop was held at Roxbury Community College entitled "American Torture: American Justice: Human Rights American Style," organized by the City School and Jericho Boston in commemoration of International Human Rights Day. The date also coincided with the 66th birthday of Arnold King, who has been in prison since he was 18 and has not been released on parole after 42 years despite the unanimous recommendation of the parole board. His brother, Kazi Toure chaired the event, saying, "With whatever gains Black and Brown people may feel were earned during the civil rights movement, equality was not one of them. Until Black people, people of African descent are viewed as "human beings," equality and full citizenship are an illusion."
Some very high profile people were represented in the panel discussions. During the lunch break, the speakers were all available to anyone that wanted to talk to them personally. Two of them, Fred Hampton Jr. and Luis Rosa expressed interest in speaking before a Muslim audience if invited, to counteract racism and to create links between our communities.
Chairman Fred Hampton Jr. of Black Panther Cubs and Prisoners of Conscience, whose father Fred Hampton, chairman of the Black Panther Party, was murdered by the Chicago police and FBI, spoke about the need to heighten consciousness, to be able to distinguish between what is normal and what is abnormal. He said the first step towards political freedom is like the first step of Alcoholics Anonymous: Recognize that you have a problem. "It's embarrassing to be oppressed. It's embarrassing to admit your father is in prison." Mental colonization hurts. People get involved in a people's revolution because of Inspiration, Aspiration, or Desperation. He said the masses are intelligent. They may not have a fancy term for it, but if they hear that a police officer shot a man 16 times in the back, they will say without hesitation, "They wrong."
Luis Rosa, a former Puerto Rican prisoner who was given amnesty by President Clinton, spoke of how sad he was to leave his comrade, Oscar Lopez Rivera behind in prison. Rivera, 72, is the longest-held political prisoner in Puerto Rican history, for his participation in the Puerto Rican independence movement. Rosa spoke of how he was freed despite a 100 year sentence for "seditious conspiracy." Take nothing for granted, he advised supporters of prisoners. In order to free Rosa, the Puerto Rican activists had three people inside the White House pushing for his freedom, Nobel Prize winners requesting his release, the Japanese Congress inquired about the political prisoners. "Don't neglect the religious community." Learn how to articulate and know your audience so that you can ask them to support the release of political prisoners. "We need to have dossiers ready. Know their cases and be able to speak about their history and current status.
Rosa recommended organizing regular contact between one penpal and one prisoner. Then, the penpals would have regular meetings in which they update each other on all the prisoners. This would maximize prisoner outreach while providing socialization for the activists, which will encourage them to continue. To build community we need love and unity.
"Fight for those who fight for us!" Rosa said. "They are not criminals or terrorists. They fought for what our communities enjoy. They are part of us and we are part of them. Engrave those names in your mind and heart."
Marquette Peltier, daughter of imprisoned American Indian Movement leader Leonard Peltier spoke of her father's tireless efforts for the sake of his community. "If he didn't do it, who would?" she said. "If he can get up and shower every day, we have to get up every day and do what we have to do." Peltier has been in prison for 38 years, accused of shooting an FBI officer during a raid on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. Please download letters to support his release at WhoIsLeonardPeltier.info
It is hoped that President Obama will grant him clemency because as a Senator, Obama promised to help. "Show me the support," he had said to the small group of activists. Maybe now it is time for American Indians to lead us.
Ray Luc Levasseur, who spent 20 years in solitary confinement for his involvement with a leftist anti-war group said it's easy to get discouraged. Behind bars, you can wonder, "Was my sacrifice worth it?" He spoke of a coral reef. Countless tiny creatures give their lives, and in so doing, create an ecosystem which has the power to change the course of the ocean.
Levasseur mentioned his comrade Tom Manning, who is serving a life sentence for bombing an IBM office to protest apartheid in South Africa, as well as returning fire and killing a police officer. "Everything that goes on in client states is exported from here. We've seen it all." Manning was body slammed, breaking his hip. He has been beaten in handcuffs, breaking his shoulders. He has been repeatedly stun gunned, denied medication and surgery, tear gassed, stripped naked while his cell is wrecked, his genitals threatened by a German Shepherd. Now an old man, he is in a wheelchair in solitary confinement at Coleman with an untreated leg infection.
Dr. Lana Habash, who is Palestinian, updated the status of Palestinian activist Amer Jibran, who was well known in Boston for participating in protests against Israel, gathering the ire of the Zionists, who targeted the young student for prosecution. After being arrested then released in Boston, he was deported then re-arrested in Jordan and sentenced to ten years. Habash linked Black Lives Matter movement to the Palestinian struggle by mentioning that police are sent to Israel for training in how to respond to the American public as an enemy population.
Also speaking was Russel Maroon Shoaz, Jr., whose father was a Black Panther Party activist, who has been held in isolation for over 23 years. Shoaz is dedicated to raising awareness about his father. The son of Herman Bell, a former Black Panther who is serving a life sentence for killing two police officers, sang an inspiring song for the audience. Herman Bell has spent the past 42 years in prison. He is going to the New York state parole board in February 2016.
Please email freehermanbell@gmail.com with a message of support for his release, with Subject Line: Herman Bell, 79C-0262.
Mobilization for Sister Aafia Siddiqui
Brother Mauri Saalakhan has informed New Trend that there are mobilizations planned for March 2016, to bring public attention to the case of Dr. Aafia Siddiqui in Boston, New York, DC, and Fort Worth, Texas. Please urge everyone to invite the entire community to participate.
Sister Aafia in many ways is like the patron saint of the Islamic Movement, even though she did not choose that role. "If the US isn't doing anything about it, if the Pakistanis don't do anything about it, people like Daesh (the Islamic State) will exploit the case," her sister told the Pakistan Tribune. Aafia was a very vibrant and enthusiastic student activist at MIT and Brandeis, who was obsessed with helping other Muslims. She organized a campaign to collect winter boots for Bosnia. The winter boots campaign was initiated by Benevolence International Foundation, whose founder Enaam Ernaout is currently facing loss of citizenship after serving 8 years in prison after the charity was targeted by Donald Rumsfeld and John Ashcroft in the Bush years.
This woman is very close to my heart because at the time, I too was collecting winter boots for Bosnia. I was going door to door asking for donations of boots and winter clothing. My local mosques were stacked to the ceiling with donations, which we then trucked over to Chicago.
I believe Sister Aafia was targeted by the Zionists for all kinds of wild accusations because she appeared in the Boston Globe, speaking for her Islamic Students' Association, saying: "Islam is such a beautiful religion that if Americans learned about it, they would all want to become Muslims." The Jews twisted her into someone who was trying to impose Shariah on America.
Is it a coincidence that a short time later, she and her children were abducted from a taxi in Pakistan in 2003? They just disappeared. Aafia was then imprisoned at Bagram, a US run prison, where she was raped and brutalized.
Nobody knew anything about her whereabouts until the day there was a Taliban attack on Bagram Prison. A suicide bomber exploded the entranceway of the prison, killing security guards. Hundreds of prisoners were released back into their community. They were all telling the same story. There is a woman prisoner among the men, and they could hear her constantly wailing for her children, who had been taken from her by the soldiers. The baby is presumed dead. It was extremely emotionally disturbing to listen to, even for these hardened men.
A British official, Lord Nazir Ahmed was alerted as to the situation by his constituents. I ran into him visiting a mosque in the Boston area and talked to him about it. After the UK inquiry as to the identity of this woman, a few days later Aafia was said to be "found wandering around Afghanistan" totally disoriented, then re-arrested by the United States.
"She was dropped off in Ghazni (Afghanistan) and reunited with her son in 2008, near the governor's compound; later taken back into custody and shot by an American soldier while awaiting re-interrogation," Mauri Saalakhan explained.
An eyewitness said that Aafia, when she saw the US soldiers, thought that they were here to save her. So she started walking towards them. However, she was shot in the stomach. In order to clean up their story, the US Army claims that she attacked the soldier. She was sentenced to 86 years in prison for the crime of being shot by a US soldier. They left the bullet inside her for months. Then, when she finally got surgery, it never properly healed. She went from being the prettiest girl in the world to a bent over old lady in a very short span of time.
Now, nobody even knows if she is alive or dead. She is imprisoned at Federal Medical Center Carswell, the same place where environmental activist Marie Mason and Attorney Lynne Stewart were held before her release, praise God.
"When Aafia left, couple of hours or so later, there was a knock at the door. My mom walked to the gate and asked 'who is it?'" Fowzia Siddiqui, Aafia's sister told AFP.
"He... said something like: 'If you say anything or report this to the police, you will have four dead bodies'."
Fowzia Siddiqui is a medical doctor. She has not been granted permission to visit with her sister or even to speak with her on the phone. This is very unusual prison treatment for an incarcerated person in the United States. We need to step in.
The Jericho Movement is also trying to get an independent doctor to determine the health status of various political prisoners. The system so far is preventing it. As prisoners age and experience decades of incarceration, it is vital that we are able to send our own doctors in to check on them.
http://newtrendmag.org/ntma1634.htm
Sister Aafia in many ways is like the patron saint of the Islamic Movement, even though she did not choose that role. "If the US isn't doing anything about it, if the Pakistanis don't do anything about it, people like Daesh (the Islamic State) will exploit the case," her sister told the Pakistan Tribune. Aafia was a very vibrant and enthusiastic student activist at MIT and Brandeis, who was obsessed with helping other Muslims. She organized a campaign to collect winter boots for Bosnia. The winter boots campaign was initiated by Benevolence International Foundation, whose founder Enaam Ernaout is currently facing loss of citizenship after serving 8 years in prison after the charity was targeted by Donald Rumsfeld and John Ashcroft in the Bush years.
This woman is very close to my heart because at the time, I too was collecting winter boots for Bosnia. I was going door to door asking for donations of boots and winter clothing. My local mosques were stacked to the ceiling with donations, which we then trucked over to Chicago.
I believe Sister Aafia was targeted by the Zionists for all kinds of wild accusations because she appeared in the Boston Globe, speaking for her Islamic Students' Association, saying: "Islam is such a beautiful religion that if Americans learned about it, they would all want to become Muslims." The Jews twisted her into someone who was trying to impose Shariah on America.
Is it a coincidence that a short time later, she and her children were abducted from a taxi in Pakistan in 2003? They just disappeared. Aafia was then imprisoned at Bagram, a US run prison, where she was raped and brutalized.
Nobody knew anything about her whereabouts until the day there was a Taliban attack on Bagram Prison. A suicide bomber exploded the entranceway of the prison, killing security guards. Hundreds of prisoners were released back into their community. They were all telling the same story. There is a woman prisoner among the men, and they could hear her constantly wailing for her children, who had been taken from her by the soldiers. The baby is presumed dead. It was extremely emotionally disturbing to listen to, even for these hardened men.
A British official, Lord Nazir Ahmed was alerted as to the situation by his constituents. I ran into him visiting a mosque in the Boston area and talked to him about it. After the UK inquiry as to the identity of this woman, a few days later Aafia was said to be "found wandering around Afghanistan" totally disoriented, then re-arrested by the United States.
"She was dropped off in Ghazni (Afghanistan) and reunited with her son in 2008, near the governor's compound; later taken back into custody and shot by an American soldier while awaiting re-interrogation," Mauri Saalakhan explained.
An eyewitness said that Aafia, when she saw the US soldiers, thought that they were here to save her. So she started walking towards them. However, she was shot in the stomach. In order to clean up their story, the US Army claims that she attacked the soldier. She was sentenced to 86 years in prison for the crime of being shot by a US soldier. They left the bullet inside her for months. Then, when she finally got surgery, it never properly healed. She went from being the prettiest girl in the world to a bent over old lady in a very short span of time.
Now, nobody even knows if she is alive or dead. She is imprisoned at Federal Medical Center Carswell, the same place where environmental activist Marie Mason and Attorney Lynne Stewart were held before her release, praise God.
"When Aafia left, couple of hours or so later, there was a knock at the door. My mom walked to the gate and asked 'who is it?'" Fowzia Siddiqui, Aafia's sister told AFP.
"He... said something like: 'If you say anything or report this to the police, you will have four dead bodies'."
Fowzia Siddiqui is a medical doctor. She has not been granted permission to visit with her sister or even to speak with her on the phone. This is very unusual prison treatment for an incarcerated person in the United States. We need to step in.
The Jericho Movement is also trying to get an independent doctor to determine the health status of various political prisoners. The system so far is preventing it. As prisoners age and experience decades of incarceration, it is vital that we are able to send our own doctors in to check on them.
http://newtrendmag.org/ntma1634.htm
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
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