The Militant (logo)  
   Vol. 67/No. 7           March 10, 2003  
 
 
N.Y. rally protests moves to deport Palestinian
 
BY JOHN STUDER  
NEW YORK--More than 100 people rallied to oppose the deportation of Farouk Abdel-Muhti at the Winston Unity Center here on February 8. The event raised funds for his defense campaign. The outspoken Palestinian activist has been held in detention by the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) since April 2002.

The INS has announced that it plans to deport Abdel-Muhti. The Palestinian points out that because he was born on the West Bank before Israel was formed, he is a stateless person and cannot be deported to Israel or Jordan, and he does not hold a passport from the Palestinian Authority. He also notes that he would face victimization by the Israeli authorities should he be sent back.

Excerpts from a documentary on Farouk’s fight now in production were shown to start the meeting.

"By fighting back against his detention Farouk represents all the people held in detention who do not have any champion," New York attorney Lynne Stewart, the first speaker, told the crowd. Stewart is facing federal charges of passing on information to "terrorist" groups for her work serving as defense counsel for Sheik Omar Abdel-Rahman, who is imprisoned on charges related to the first bombing of the World Trade Center.

Róger Calero, the associate editor of Perspectiva Mundial magazine who is facing INS efforts to deport him, spoke and extended his solidarity with Abdel-Muhti’s fight.

Other speakers included Martha Cameron of Justice for Detainees, which organizes opposition to the government’s "special registration" program, which has led to the arrest of hundreds of immigrants, and Errol Maitland, a producer on New York’s WBAI radio. Maitland told how Abdel-Muhti had helped on the station’s programs about the struggle of the Palestinian people against Israeli occupation.

Joe Kupferman, Abdel-Muhti’s attorney, reported that Abdel-Muhti has been told by the INS that they are considering moving him to another detention facility--a move that he opposes.

David Wilson from the Palestinian activist’s defense committee read a message from Abdel-Muhti. "The INS detainees are not criminals," said the statement. "They are all victims."

For more information on Abdel-Muhti’s fight, contact the Committee for the Release of Farouk Abdel-Muhti, PO Box 20587, Tompkins Square Station, New York, NY 10009, or at www.freefarouk.org.  
 
 
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