Vol. 74/No. 27      July 19, 2010

Stewart, 70, is a well-known criminal defense attorney who often took unpopular cases and defended political activists and working people who could not afford a lawyer.

In a move to intimidate other attorneys considering defense of those charged with “terrorism,” U.S. prosecutors argue that the court should apply a “terrorism enhancement” to Stewart, which would subject her to up to a 30-year jail term.

The charges against Stewart stem from her work as one of the lawyers for Sheik Omar Abdel-Rahman, a blind Muslim cleric who was found guilty on frame-up charges of “seditious conspiracy” for allegedly plotting to blow up the United Nations headquarters, the Lincoln and Holland tunnels leading into New York City, and other buildings. No physical evidence linking Abdel-Rahman to any crime was presented during the trial.

Not content with sentencing Abdel-Rahman to life in prison, U.S. officials also imposed extreme restrictions, banning him from sending or receiving any messages and limiting communication with friends and family. Lawyers representing him were required to agree to abide by these Special Administrative Measures.

In 2002 federal prosecutors accused Stewart of releasing a press statement on behalf of Abdel-Rahman to Reuters in 2000 in violation of these restrictions, two years after the alleged “crime.”

U.S. agents “had used wiretaps carried on for over 13 years. They were listening in on telephone conversations, fax and email,” Stewart noted after she was charged. “Worse, they violated the attorney-client privilege by listening to conversations between my client and myself at the jail.”

When Stewart appealed her 2005 conviction, the federal appeals court rejected it and ruled that the 28-month sentence imposed by Judge John Koeltl was too light and ordered that the judge resentence her in a way that reflects the “seriousness” of the charges. The appeals tribunal also instructed Koeltl to consider whether or not Stewart committed perjury during the trial.

Prosecutors claim Stewart committed perjury when she argued that lawyers frequently violate the undemocratic Special Administrative Measures because this is necessary to adequately defend their clients.

Letters in support of Stewart for the resentencing hearing can be sent to the judge, but they must be submitted by Stewart’s lawyers. Address letters to: Honorable John G. Koeltl, United States District Judge, Southern District of New York, 500 Pearl Street, New York, NY 10007, but mail them to the Lynne Stewart Defense Committee, 350 Broadway, Suite 700, New York, NY 10013.  
 
 
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