QUEENS, N.Y.
Palestinian activist arrested at home
By John Catalinotto
New York
It happened in the early morning of April 26. Three New York
Police Department detectives and one Immigration and
Naturalization Service agent, all in civilian clothes, and a
group of uniformed police officers arrested Faruk Abdel-Muhti
in Corona, Queens, at the apartment he shares with Bernard
McFall.
Abdel-Muhti is a well-known Palestinian community activist
in New York. He has recently contributed to Pacifica/ WBAI's
radio coverage of the Israeli assault on occupied Palestine. It
was the second time in three weeks that agents had come to his
home.
This time the cops knocked loudly and said they wanted to
ask Abdel-Muhti some questions about Sept. 11. McFall asked if
they had a warrant. They claimed they did not need a warrant
and that they believed there were weapons and explosives in the
apartment.
Reportedly, police threatened to break the door down and
became verbally abusive. At that point, McFall called attorney
Gilma Camargo of the American Association of Jurists. Advised
by counsel to open the door to keep police from breaking in,
McFall did so.
The agents asked Abdel-Muhti to present his identification.
When he showed it to them they announced that he was under
arrest for being in the United States illegally, handcuffed him
and threatened him with deportation.
They did not search the apartment.
Bernard McFall and Tarek Abdel-Muhti--Faruk Abdel-Muhti's
son--were in the apartment and witnessed the arrest. INS agents
reportedly said one reason for his arrest was Abdel-Muhti's
criticism of Israel's policies toward Palestinians.
This most recent arrest comes amid racist roundups by police
and INS agents across the United States against immigrants from
the Middle East, South Asia and Northern Africa under the cover
of the so-called war on terror.
The Coalition for the Human Rights of Immigrants, an
immigrant-rights activist group that has worked with
Abdel-Muhti, is supporting him in his case.
Abdel-Muhti's supporters are asking people to call or fax
Andrea Quarantillo, the district director of the INS in New
Jersey, and demand that the agency release Faruk Abdel-Muhti
immediately. Phone (973) 645-4421 or fax (973) 297-4848. Also
call the deputy commissioner of the New York Police Department
to protest its collaboration with the INS on this and other
arrests of immigrants. Phone (646) 610-5420 or fax (646)
610-8482.
For more information, contact the Coalition for the Human
Rights of Immigrants at (212) 254-2591.
Reprinted from the May 9, 2002, issue of
Workers World newspaper
This article is copyright under a Creative
Commons License.
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