With little physical evidence, the U.S. government railroaded 10 people to prison based on the words and actions of a well-paid, self-admitted liar. That's the story of the recently concluded New York "terrorism" trial. Found guilty of sedition charges that only "require the government to prove an intention to wage a terror campaign," Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman and nine other defendants may spend the rest of their lives in jail.
The verdict in this case is an outrage and should be condemned by all working people.
There were big stakes riding on the case against Rahman and his followers, who were convicted of planning to wage a "war of urban terrorism." The government put its full weight behind obtaining a conviction, which included paying a snitch a sweet $1 million for his services.
At the same time that Washington's secret police agencies are coming under intense scrutiny because of the Waco disaster, the Ruby Ridge standoff, and other outrageous actions, the U.S. government was out to get a conviction in the New York trial at all costs. They were desperately in need of some victory to try to refurbish the image of the FBI and its similarly sinister siblings.
But the rulers have a problem getting working people to accept the word of their lying informers and cops, that hasn't been solved with the convictions in New York. The revelations surrounding racist cop Mark Fuhrman was the turning point in the O.J. Simpson trial and is giving big- business politicians headaches as they grapple with trying to clean up the image of those who supposedly "serve and protect" - whether they work for the federal government or the local police department. A "new skepticism" is growing up that is extremely disturbing to the big-business class.
Capitalist politicians have temporarily stalled in their plans to push through new "counterterrorism" legislation. The measure at first sailed through the U.S. House and Senate judiciary committees with little opposition. The bill would have given cops broad new authority to plant wiretaps, make it easier to deport immigrant workers, expand the role of the military in maintaining capitalist rule, and limit most death row inmates to one appeal in federal court. Because of a "new distrust of the FBI," notes the New York Times, the push for the law has derailed.
Sedition charges are used to silence critics of U.S. government policy and to intimidate especially those who challenge Washington's plans to launch wars in other parts of the globe.
By tossing out the presumption of innocence and making thought a crime, the capitalist justice system hopes to run roughshod over the democratic rights of working people. Portraying the defendants in the New York trial as Muslim fanatics and international terrorists, the government hopes to convince working people that there are some people, such as immigrants, who have no rights.
The capitalist "justice" system was able to convict Sheik Rahman and his followers for crimes that were never even committed. If allowed to stand it will be a blow to the rights of all. Working people should oppose this assault on our democratic rights.