MASSACHUSETTS
Palestinian activist Jubran wins release
By Elijah Crane
Boston
After 17 days of illegal detention at the prison ACI
Cranston in Rhode Island, a federal immigration judge ordered
Amer Jubran freed on bond on Nov. 21. Judge Leonard Shapiro
said there were no grounds for the illegal detention of Jubran,
a leader in the Palestinian and anti-war movements.
In releasing Jubran on bond, the judge acknowledged the
dozens of letters he had received from Jubran's supporters
attesting to his character and community involvement fighting
for justice for all. His supporters packed the courtroom and
the entire lobby and corridor outside.
But the INS's effort to deport Jubran on baseless
allegations of violating INS technicalities continues. The
judge set the next hearing date in the case for Feb. 20, 2003.
Supporters are continuing to send letters to the INS and the
judge demanding the charges be dropped.
Immediately following the hearing, Jubran's
supporters--including the Amer Jubran Defense Committee, the
New England Committee to Defend Palestine, the ANSWER coalition
and others--held a spirited picket line outside the building,
demanding freedom for Palestine and an immediate end to the
frame-up against Jubran.
These committees see the hand of 'homeland security' behind
the illegal detention and proceedings against Jubran. On Nov.
4, INS and FBI agents illegally raided his home. He was told he
would be home by noon if he cooperated with the FBI, or else he
would "rot for 50 years."
The INS told his lawyer it was their intention to detain him
indefinitely, but gave no justification or grounds for doing
so.
A strong people's movement immediately went into action,
sending letters, holding pickets at the INS, and protesting
this illegal frame-up. The INS is attempting to use a
smokescreen of baseless allegations of INS technicalities to
try to deny Jubran his right to stay in the country. But the
real issue is his refusal to cooperate with the FBI in
attacking the anti-war movement and his outspoken activism in
defense of the rights of the Palestinian nation.
Just two days before the raid on his home and Jubran's
arrest, he had led a march through the streets of Boston past
the Israeli consulate in defense of Palestinian rights. The
march was sponsored by the New England Committee to Defend
Palestine, which Jubran co-founded. His detention was an
attempt to chill and intimidate the growing anti-war movement
and movement in defense of Palestine.
This is not the first time the state has tried to silence
him. In June 2001, Jubran was targeted by Brookline police and
arrested for leading a demonstration against the Israeli
Independence Day celebration. A defense committee was quickly
formed out of the offices of the International Action Center,
and after many months of struggle, he finally won justice.
Jubran has worked with the ANSWER coalition on numerous
protests against the brutal and genocidal Israeli occupation of
Palestine, including a march of 2,500 on April 6 in Boston, and
a march June 9 to protest the Israeli Day festival.
Jubran's release was forced by the struggle in the streets.
Countless, nameless others are being illegally detained on
racist, frame-up charges in prisons across the U.S. because
they do not have the benefit of organized defense committees.
Working to free Jubran is also working to free others like
him.
This attack on Amer Jubran is part of a broader attack on
the anti-war movement as a whole. But a united movement can
resist the Bush administration's three-prong strategy of
incarceration, intimidation and disinformation. It can win Amer
Jubran's unconditional freedom.
Demands that the charges be dropped immediately can be sent
to USINS District Director Steven J Farquharson, Room 1700, JFK
Federal Building, Boston, MA 02203. A copy should be sent to
USINS Commissioner James W. Ziglar, Immigration and
Naturalization Service, 425 I Street, NW, Washington, D.C., and
to the Amer Jubran Defense Committee, P.O. Box 755, Jamaica
Plain, MA 02130.
To sign an online email letter to the INS District Director
and for updated information on how to support the case, go to
www.iacboston.org/amerjubran.
Reprinted from the Dec. 5, 2002, issue of
Workers World newspaper
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