Atlanta meeting demands
Repeal Patriot Act, release Dr. Al-Arian!
By Dianne Mathiowetz
Atlanta
The Justice Department's persecution of a
Florida professor under the USA Patriot Act has outraged many
communities, who see it as a political attack on civil
liberties and the right of dissent.
On Sept. 20 a diverse audience of more than 150 people
attended a program at Georgia State University here that
highlighted the case of Dr. Sami Al-Arian. He is being held in
maximum security at Coleman Federal Penitentiary in
Florida.
They heard from a panel of prominent speakers that included
Kellie Gasink, coordinator of the National Coalition to Repeal
the USA Patriot Act; Beth Corrie, cousin of Rachel Corrie, who
was killed by an Israeli soldier in occupied Palestine; Laila
Al-Arian, daughter of the imprisoned Florida professor; Robert
Jensen, professor of journalism, author and lecturer; and
Cynthia McKinney, former Georgia representative in
Congress.
The event was initiated by the International Action Center
and Atlanta Palestine Solidarity.
Dr. Al-Arian was arrested in the early morning hours on Feb.
20 at his Tampa, Fla., home. The Bush administration was
preparing to invade Iraq and was building a bogus case for it
in the media. Attorney General John Ashcroft, at a news
conference in Washington, D.C., declared Al-Arian's arrest a
victory in the "war against terrorism."
This respected professor and Muslim leader was charged with
being a leader of the Islamic Jihad in the United States. He
was refused bail.
In maximum security, his small cell remains brightly lit all
the time. With no clocks, it is very difficult for him to
maintain his regimen of prayer. Loud noises often disturb his
sleep and concentration. He is shackled hand and foot whenever
taken out of his cell.
Al-Arian is allowed one 15-minute phone call a month to his
family. His access to legal counsel has been severely limited.
Even his requests for paper and pencils to use in working on
his defense have been stonewalled.
Prison authorities stopped his lawyers from bringing more
than half an inch of documents with them when they came to
discuss his case, even though the indictment alone is over one
inch thick.
Citing "national security," the government at first refused
to allow Al-Arian and his lawyers to hear the over 20,000 hours
of taped phone conversations that form the basis of the
charges--until ordered to do so by a judge.
Federal prosecutors have said they won't have their case
ready for trial until January 2005. That will be almost two
years after Al-Arian's arrest.
Many of these violations of constitution al rights are
allowed under the USA Patriot Act. Passed just two weeks after
Sept. 11, 2001, it was a congressional rubber stamp of Bush
administration legislation.
Al-Arian's supporters believe his real crime was being
determined to educate the U.S. public about the realities of
the brutal oppression the Palestinian people suffer under
Israeli military occupation. He spoke about Palestine around
the country. He lobbied Congress to outlaw the use of "secret
evidence." And he helped found research organizations as well
as religious and community groups in the Tampa area.
In particular, he warned of the dangers of the USA Patriot
Act and its purpose: to silence dissent, discussion and
association.
The government's allegations that Al-Arian supported and
raised funds for Islamic Jihad were completely refuted in a
court proceeding held last year to prevent the University of
Southern Florida from firing the tenured professor.
Not deterred by lack of evidence, the Ashcroft justice
department is using the Patriot Act to hold Al-Arian under
inhuman conditions in an attempt to break him physically and
mentally.
All the panel members at Georgia State urged the audience to
speak up and organize to repeal the USA Patriot Act and to end
racist attacks on immigrants and Muslims. Financial and
political support are critically important to stop this
injustice. Funds for Dr. Al-Arian's legal defense can be made
through the National Liberty Fund, P.O. Box 22580, Alexandria,
VA 22304. More information is available at
www.nationallibertyfund.org.
Reprinted from the Oct. 2, 2003, issue of
Workers World newspaper
This article is copyright under a Creative
Commons License.
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