Abouazza in Canada
Boston struggle wins release of Palestinian activist
By Frank Neisser
Boston
After 41 days of illegal detention, Palestinian activist
Jaoudat Abouazza is now free in Canada. Abouazza was arrested
May 30 by Cambridge police as part of a national wave of
arrests targeting Palestinian activists. He was held in the
custody of the Immigration and Naturalization Service where he
was subjected to extreme conditions to the point of forcibly
extracting several of his teeth.
Abouazza stood up for his principles and retained his
personal integrity in the face of enormous pressure. A strong
public defense campaign involving hundreds of letters to INS
officials, protests and visits and investigations has finally
led to Abouazza's voluntary exit to Canada, where he is a
citizen.
On the evening of May 30, Abouazza had been stopped by
Cambridge, Mass., police on the pretext of a minor traffic
violation. Without being charged with a crime or read his
rights by the arresting officers, he was handcuffed and brought
to the Cambridge police station. Within hours, Abouazza would
find himself in jail being interrogated by the FBI for
suspicion of "terrorism."
During his time in custody, Abou azza was subjected to
intense interrogation without a lawyer present, to repeated
beatings and arbitrary lockdowns and solitary confinement, as
well as the forcible extraction of several teeth from his mouth
on June 16.
Subsequently, the jail barred the executive director of the
Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts and Abou azza's state
court lawyer from the jail, as well as defense committee
members.
Abouazza had a hearing before an immigration judge on June
27, which he attended by video conferencing. Over 100
supporters demonstrated outside and then packed the court. The
judge ruled that he be allowed to leave the country and return
to Canada voluntarily rather than be deported. Abouazza is a
Canadian citizen of Palestinian origin.
Since the judge gave the INS 30 days to appeal, and denied
bond, the prisoner remained at the mercy of continuing
mistreatment in INS custody at Bristol County Jail, where
Sheriff Thomas Hodgson is well known for having tried to bring
chain gangs back to Massachusetts.
A prison rebellion occurred at the jail in early July
because Sheriff Hodgson had begun to charge inmates $5 rent a
day, to be deducted from their canteen funds. The debt
accumulates as a negative canteen balance and is kept on the
books even after prisoners are released in case they return
within two years.
The mass pressure on the INS and the jail after the
extraction of Abou azza's teeth resulted in antibiotics and
pain killers finally being provided, and in an announcement by
the INS on July 3 that it would not appeal the judge's
voluntary exit order.
But Abouazza's ordeal was not over. He was removed from
Bristol County Jail to another jail and kept incommunicado in
isolation in a bare cell without furniture or clothes for 24
hours. He was then kept in lockdown for 23 hours a day until
his departure. He was not allowed to make any calls.
Before that, members of his defense committee had received
collect calls from Abouazza several times a day--the only
communication allowed him. From July 3 to July 8 they received
no information on his condition or whereabouts and were
seriously concerned. Finally the Canadian Consulate announced
that he would be flown to Canada on July 9.
He is now in Canada and has spoken by phone to many members
of the defense committee.
Catch 22 charges persist
But the struggle for justice for Jaoudat Abouazza is not
over. While he was in INS custody, the agency defied a habeas
corpus order from the district court requiring it to produce
him for a trial on the original arrest, which involved vehicle
registration issues. Because Abouazza wasn't present in court,
the judge, over the defense's strenuous objections, found him
in default and issued a warrant for his arrest.
This default and warrant would prevent Abouazza from
entering the U.S. in the future. He would be considered a
fugitive through no fault of his own, strictly because the INS
barred him from participating in his own trial, even via video
conferencing, which is available in the jail.
What happened to Abouazza may be happening to many more who
are being held behind closed doors without public
knowledge.
The Jaoudat Abouazza Defense Committee and the International
ANSWER coalition have said they will continue to resist the new
Cointelpro-like policies and detentions and USA Patriot act
abuses, including secret evidence, searches without warrants,
and suppression of civil rights and liberties, until all
detainees are released and full rights are restored to
everyone.
Reprinted from the July 25, 2002, issue of
Workers World newspaper
This article is copyright under a Creative
Commons License.
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