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| Report on visits to Farouk (May
2-3, 2003)
Roger Calero Update Write to Rabih Haddad Several friends and supporters of New York-based Palestinian activist Farouk Abdel-Muhti visited him at the York County Jail in York, Pennsylvania, on May 2 and May 3. The following are excerpts from their reports. Several more people have visited Farouk since then, and we hope to send out their reports in the near future. From Bernie McFall: Farouk's son Tarek Abdel-Muhti, Marty Goodman, and Bernie McFall drove to York on May 2. Regulations allow a total of one hour of visiting, which we were to allocate among ourselves by mutual agreement. Visitors are allowed into a special area where they can see the inmate through a glass partition and talk to him/her through a telephone. Two visitors per inmate are allowed in the area at any one time, but only one can be talking through the telephone at any one moment. The afternoon hours are 1:00-3:30 pm, and our visit was from approximately 1:40-2:40 pm. Tarek went in first for about one half-hour, and Bernie and Marty shared the second half-hour. Farouk was dressed in an orange prison uniform with handcuffs on his wrists and shackles on his ankles. Marty brought a small camera and a small recorder with him, and he took quite a few pictures and recorded some of the conversation. Marty got good shots of the handcuffs, and tried to get Farouk to situate himself so that he could get a shot of the shackles. Farouk was in remarkably good condition and spirits, considering the treatment he has been getting. He is locked down for 23 hours 15 minutes per day, during which time he is in what is called "the hole." He hasn't seen the sun for more than 60 days, the time since his transfer to York. There is no recreation or exercise. The 45 minutes relief from the hole includes a quick shower, telephone time, shopping (at the commissary), etc. As compared with the jail at Passaic, the York prison is cleaner, but the attitude of the guards is much worse. They treat him as a sort of scapegoat for the supposed evil suffered by Americans from "evil" Arabs and Muslims. His patience is being tried, and he says that he doesn't know how much longer he can take it. He seems convinced that, if only his case were made known to the public, and especially to such organizations as Amnesty International, etc., he would be set free. Under the circumstances, he would gladly accept deportation to some other country, if only it could be arranged. After the visit, we learned that Farouk was busy with other visitors. "Farouk has another visit now in progress," a prison official told us, "and these two visitors came from a long distance like you. Furthermore, their visit is of an official nature, not a personal one." We waited in the area until 3:30, at which time all visiting time expired, and those other two visitors were still visiting Farouk at that time. They turned out to be government agents who wanted to question Farouk on various matters. Six people drove to York on May 3, including Bernie, Tarek, Sharin Chiorazzo and three other friends, including two who are lawyers. The two lawyers visited first. Their visit was of an entirely different nature and in an entirely different place. They passed through metal-detectors into the prison area proper, and I think that they were not subject to the same time constraints. They visited first, and we waited until they were done. Our visit started at 1:20, and the prison officials were kind enough to let us have all the time from then to 3:30. It would be impossible for us to know whether this generosity was due to the personality of the individuals concerned, the availability of space due to what was a relatively small number of other visitors, or simply a fluke. What was clear, however, was that the guards in general, or at least the one guard who was stationed to monitor us in the waiting room, were impressed that we had come from such a long distance to visit Farouk. These two visits came at a great cost to us in both time and money. Indeed, the government has made it costly in order to discourage such visits. I feel that the visits accomplished two objectives: 1. We showed the government that Farouk has friends who are willing to make a significant sacrifice in time and money in order to visit him, and 2. We showed Farouk a large measure of solidarity and support. From Sharin Chiorazzo: My visit [on May 3] was pretty much not out of the ordinary. I got there at 2:30, partly to let everyone else have a chance to go in. Farouk was in pretty good spirits, but slightly shaken up. As usual, he had a lot of things to discuss, things he wanted us to do and people he wanted us to contact. However, his slightly shaken-up state was due to a visit with two government agents the day before. He also was in handcuffs, and leg shackles, which I found to be slightly excessive, since he is behind a glass wall that separated him from us. The other detainees, I noticed, were not in handcuffs. So, it seems that his treatment is rather unfair. The place was clean enough, and the man at the desk was extremely nice to all of us, to the point of commenting about what good friends we were to come and see Farouk, and asking about how he was doing and what was going to happen to him. We told him the Farouk was being held on no charges, and that we were hoping to see him get released as soon as possible. He ended by telling us what was in the area in terms of places to eat and such. Farouk has been in York County Prison for approximately 68 days, and he mentioned that he would like for us to try to further publicize his case. Other than this, there was not too much more said, except that we (and he) still do not know what they plan to do with him. He says he really cannot take it anymore; at this point, he seems almost to welcome deportation, as long as he can have his freedom. He looks as if he is becoming extremely distraught, which is so understandable under the circumstances. He seems to just want to know his fate at this point. I don't think he can stay in there much longer without there being adverse effects on his health and on his physical and emotional well being. In spite of being really fed up and distraught over the situation, he was in good spirits, asked about people, about how the event went, and even cracked a couple of jokes. But the look in his eyes was pleading, even though he was trying to hide his desperation. From Marty Goodman: Imprisoned Palestinian Activist Cuffed and Shackled [a shorter version of this appears in the May 2003 edition of Socialist Action, along with a photograph. You can contact Socialist Action at 415-821-0458 or socialistactionsnews@yahoo.com. The photo is also currently on the WBAI website, http://www.wbai.org] Palestinian activist and political prisoner Farouk Abdel-Muhti displays handcuffs during a May 2nd interview in York County Prison, Pennsylvania. On his feet are leg shackles. No other prisoner was similarly restrained during our visit. Prison authorities are subjecting Abdel-Muhti to many forms of "psychological warfare" which include poor food, 24-hour lights, constant interrogations and allegations of "terrorism." During Farouk's move from a Middlesex NJ prison last July a guard laughed as she pointed a gun in his face with her finger on the trigger. Abdel-Muhti has been imprisoned without charges since April 26, 2002. A well-known Palestinian activist in the New York City area, his commentary and telephone hook-ups with activists in the Occupied Territories became a regular feature on the Pacifica radio station WBAI. One month later he was swept up in the post 9-11 racist dragnet of Palestinians, Muslims and South Asians. Since his imprisonment Abdel-Muhti has led hunger strikes and protests. Abdel-Muhti's case has prompted demonstrations organized by the Committee for the Release of Farouk Abdel-Muhti. To write to Farouk: Farouk Abdel-Muhti #75122 York County Prison 3400 Concord Street York, PA 17402. Róger Calero Defense Committee Box 761 Church St. Station New York, NY 10007 May 15, 2003 Dear friends: This morning, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) delivered Róger Calero’s permanent resident green card, good through 2010, and his Nicaraguan passport, to Calero’s attorney. This marks another step in cementing the victory registered when the government moved May 1 to terminate efforts to exclude him from the country. In another development in Calero’s fight, Newark Immigration Judge William Strasser informed the DHS on May 5 that the motion they filed to drop the deportation proceedings requires “additional explanation.” The termination motion filed by the government was one sentence long, and contained no legal argument. It pointed to two regulations of the Immigration and Naturalization Service allowing termination if a deportation case is begun "improvidently" or if "circumstances" have changed so the prosecution is "no longer in the best interest of the government." But these are the political reasons why the government decided to end the fight. Because Calero fought and fought well, continuing the effort to expel him became the wrong fight at the wrong time. The judge is telling them to do their job and provide him with sufficient legal reason for bringing the case to a close. On May 12 the government responded by filing a Supplemental Motion to Terminate. Now that they have had time to review Calero’s file, the DHS motion states, the INS correctly waived consideration of Calero’s plea bargain conviction for selling marijuana to an undercover cop in high school in 1989 and properly granted him a permanent residence green card in 1990. Therefore, there was no reason for the prosecution in the first case, and the proceeding should be terminated. If the judge accepts this motion and terminates the case, it will strengthen the Calero victory, explicitly stating that his permanent residence is legal today. It will strengthen his right to travel internationally. Claudia Slovinsky, Calero’s attorney, is urging the Judge to sign the motion and close the file. Calero and his supporters look forward to launching his victory tour. Ongoing developments will be posted on the Róger Calero Defense Committee web site, calerodefense.org. Attached are copies of the Judge’s order directing the government to provide legal explanation for its motion to terminate, and the DHS response. In solidarity, John Studer Coordinator, Róger Calero Defense Committee. Date: Fri, 16 May 2003 13:22:54 -0700 (PDT) From: A2 Area Committee for Peace <philliseng@yahoo.com> Reply-To: A2 Area Committee for Peace <philliseng@yahoo.com> To: "Peace Events" <peace-events@listserver.itd.umich.edu> Hello friends, Many of you are familiar with the story of Rabih Haddad -- a local Muslim teacher, fundraiser, and father of four young children who has been jailed since December 14, 2001, on a technical visa violation. The AAACP has advocated for due process and the civil liberties of Haddad since the beginning. While government-created innuendos and rumors about Haddad and his charity, Global Relief, have been widely circulated, no criminal charges have ever been filed. Last fall, after many protests (by the AAACP and others) and a lawsuit (by Haddad, the ACLU, John Conyers, and several media outlets), Haddad was granted an open hearing before a new immigration judge. An Orwellian affair it was -- some parts of the hearing were "closed" and security guards at the gate turned away some who wished to attend (myself included), insisting the hearings were closed. The court transcript reveals that the questions posed throughout the hearing -- mostly by the judge -- were petty and mean-spirited and the testimony of well-respected character witnesses was belittled and dismissed. Haddad remains an INS prisoner in the Monroe County Jail. About a month ago, jail officials confiscated his property -- including his personal correspondence, address book, and books that friends had sent him. Lately they have been denying his children the right to visit. And earlier this week, Haddad's appeal to be released on bond was denied. He is, essentially, in INS limbo. While the AAACP doesn't take a position on the supposed immigration violation, many of us in the community have befriended the Haddad family and feel that Haddad has been treated unfairly. Letters from community members would go a long way toward lifting Rabih's spirits. His address is: Rabih Haddad 100 E. 2nd St. Monroe, MI 48161 Include articles, too, so he'll have more things to read. And if you wish to send books, you can do so through an online bookseller or a publisher. (You can't send books directly.) If you wish to complain to Attorney General John Ashcroft about the treatment of Rabih Haddad, the phone number for his public comment line is 202-353-1555. Peace, PHILLIS ENGELBERT [This message is from the Ann Arbor Area Committee for Peace. For questions about the message or the group, please reply to Phillis Engelbert at <philliseng@yahoo.com>. To subscribe to this list, send a blank message to peace-events-request@umich.edu, with the word "subscribe" in the subject line.] |