The Militant (logo)  

Vol. 73/No. 27      July 20, 2009

 
Washington protest condemns
‘terror’ frame-ups
 
BY GEORGE CHALMERS  
WASHINGTON—Supporters and family members of several Muslim men who have been held for years on frame-up charges of terrorism rallied outside the Convention Center here July 3. Mauri Saalakhan from the National Alliance of Indigenous Muslims chaired the gathering of about 100 people.

Burim Duka appealed for justice for his three older brothers, who were convicted last December along with two others on charges of “conspiring” to attack soldiers at Ft. Dix in New Jersey. The five young men—Eljvir, Dritan, and Shain Duka, Mohamad Shnewer, and Serdar Tartar—are from Cherry Hill, New Jersey. They were entrapped by paid government informants and sentenced in April to extremely harsh terms ranging from 33 years to life plus 30 years.

Lynne Jackson spoke on behalf of Project Salam, an organization that is defending Yassin Aref and Mohammed Hossain. They were set up by a government agent provocateur and are serving 15-year sentences.

Project Salam also organizes support for Rafil Dhafir, a doctor from Syracuse, New York. Dhafir is serving 22 years. When the government could not prove that Dahfir’s fund-raising for Iraqi children was “financing terror,” he was charged and convicted of Medicare fraud, Jackson said.

Ali al-Arian spoke for his father, Sami al-Arian, who was a professor of computer science at the University of South Florida. The father successfully beat back terrorism charges after serving six and a half years in prison. He was released in September 2008. He now faces charges of criminal contempt for refusing to testify before a federal grand jury investigating a Virginia-based Islamic organization.

Faisal Hashmi said his brother, Fahad Hashmi, has been held in solitary confinement for two years in New York. His trial on charges of providing material support to terrorism is scheduled for October. The evidence in the case is luggage containing ponchos and socks left in Hashmi’s apartment by a friend. The government claims the luggage was later turned over to al-Qaeda.

Sharmin Sadequee discussed the case of her brother, Shifa Sadequee, who has been held in solitary confinement for three years in a federal prison in Atlanta. He is charged with “conspiracy” to support terrorism. His trial is set for August 3.

After the rally about 40 people attended a town hall meeting at the Washington Historical Society. The meeting was a further step in sharing information and planning common activities to defend these victims of government frame-ups.

Further information on these cases is available on the Web sites ProjectSALAM.org, freefahad.com, and freeshifa.com.  
 
 
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