Vol. 76/No. 29      August 6, 2012

Stewart had appealed a ruling from July 2010 that increased her sentence from 28 months to 10 years, arguing that it penalized her for comments she had made and thus violated her First Amendment rights.

Judge Robert Sack, presenting the unanimous verdict for the three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals Second Circuit, dismissed Stewart’s arguments.

“From the moment she committed the first act for which she was convicted, through her trial, sentencing and appeal, Stewart has persisted in exhibiting what seems to be a stark inability to understand the seriousness of her crimes,” wrote Sack.

Stewart was sentenced in 2005 to 28 months in jail on charges of “conspiracy to provide material aid to terrorist activity.” She was one of the lawyers for Sheik Omar Abdel-Rahman, a blind Muslim cleric who was found guilty of “seditious conspiracy” in 1995 for allegedly plotting to blow up the United Nations headquarters and other structures. No physical evidence was presented by the prosecution.

Abdel-Rahman was sentenced to life. U.S. officials also imposed a draconian ban, prohibiting him from most communications with people outside the prison. His lawyers were required to abide by Special Administrative Measures that shut him off from the world.

Stewart’s conviction was based on the fact that she released a press statement on behalf of Abdel-Rahman, which the government said was a violation of the administrative restrictions. Much of the evidence was based on wiretaps and video recordings of her meetings with Abdel-Rahman in prison, trampling on the constitutional right of meaningful access to legal counsel and freedom of speech.

An appeal by Stewart was rejected in November 2009. In addition, the appeals court ruled that the 28-month sentence imposed by Judge John Koeltl in 2005 was too light and instructed a re-sentencing. On July 15, 2010, Koeltl increased Stewart’s sentence to 10 years on the pretext that she showed a “lack of remorse.”

Ralph Poynter, spokesperson for the Lynne Stewart Defense Committee, said in a phone interview that Stewart wasn’t surprised by the ruling and will keep fighting to throw the whole case out.

“The next step is the full appeals court,” Poynter said. “We’ll go all the way to the Supreme Court if we have to. We’re defending the Bill of Rights amendments one, four and six. They’re all affected by Lynne’s case.”

Poynter said Stewart is reaching out for support from lawyers’ organizations and others, and urged people to follow the Justice for Lynne Stewart website at: www.lynnestewart.org.  
 
 
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