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==================================================== 1. 8/12/04, 6:10-6:30 am: Tribute to Farouk on WBAI 2. 8/12/04, 7 pm: Memorial for Farouk in Philadelphia 3. City Paper (Philadelphia), 7/29/04-8/04/04 ==================================================== 1. 8/12/04, 6:10-6:30 am: Tribute to Farouk on WBAI There will be a tribute to Farouk on WBAI's "Wake-Up Call" on Thursday morning between 6:10-6:30 (99.5 FM in New York City). ==================================================== 2. 8/12/04, 7 pm: Memorial for Farouk in Philadelphia Join Philadelphia Anti-War Forum & SUSTAIN In Memory of Farouk Abdel-Muhti Palestinian Freedom Fighter 1947-2004 Thursday, August 12 7PM The Friends Center 1501 Cherry St (15th & Cherry), Philadelphia, PA Please bring a donation for Farouk's family Fundraiser for Farouk Join us for an evening celebrating the life of Palestinian freedom fighter Farouk Abdel-Muhti --a discussion of Farouk's work --a film about Palestine --a reading from Farouk's work --testimonials Bring poems, statements, or memories of Farouk and his work to share. Bring literature to share. If possible, please plan to make a donation for Farouk's family. We will discuss Farouk's life and work, and talk about how to carry on his work for a free Palestine, and to end detentions in the US. Co-Sponsored by Philadelphia SUSTAIN, Philadelphia Anti-War Forum, Philadelphia ANSWER, & PA Abolitionists United Against the Death Penalty (list in formation) ==================================================== 3. City Paper (Philadelphia), 7/29/04-8/04/04 The City Paper (Philadelphia) July 29-August 4, 2004 city beat A Well Spent Last Breath A FIGHTER UNTIL THE END: Abdel-Muhti speaks during a Socialist Party USA protest last month. He died after a speech in Philadelphia last week. : Courtesy of freethedetainees.org Palestinian activist Farouk Abdel-Muhti died moments after giving a passionate speech at the Ethical Society last week. by Deborah Bolling When Farouk Abdel-Muhti arrived in Philadelphia last week, it was just a single stop in an ambitious travel itinerary that had been planned since he was released from prison this spring. In the days following Sept. 11, Abdel-Muhti, like many others of Arab descent, was targeted in a government immigration sweep. In April 2002 he was arrested in New York City on a 1995 visa violation; he was detained for 16 months at various prisons in New Jersey, then transferred to the county prison in York, Pa., where he spent eight consecutive months in solitary confinement. After two years, Abdel-Muhti was finally released. He was never charged with committing a criminal offense. Last Wednesday, when he made a rousing speech focusing on the plight of Palestinians living in the West Bank and the importance of civil rights for people all over the world, no one in the audience at the Philadelphia Ethical Society ever imagined it would be his last public appearance — but it was. FREEDOM: Abdel-Muhti (center), with his son Tariq and his fiance Sharin Chiorazzo, spent two years in jail but was never charged with a crime. : Courtesy of freethedetainees.org Just before Abdel-Muhti delivered that final address to his friends and supporters, he enjoyed a leisurely stroll through Rittenhouse Square. Taking in the summer evening breeze, he sat on a park bench and went over his notes. A highly respected Palestinian human rights activist who never turned down an invitation to speak on behalf of the oppressed, Abdel-Muhti seemed in good health that night. He was energetic and anxious to deliver his lecture at a forum devoted to the ills of detentions and torture. But at the end of his 15-minute speech, amid rising applause from the standing-room-only crowd, Abdel-Muhti slumped over at the table where he was seated. Less than three hours later, he was pronounced dead at Thomas Jefferson Hospital. "Nobody really noticed at first," says Sharin Chiorazzo, Abdel-Muhti's fiancee, who was with him that night and recounted the details. "It looked like he had just put his head down. I noticed and I called out to him, but he was already unconscious. The reaction in the room was slow, but no one ever panicked. Farouk never regained consciousness." George Zahr, an old acquaintance of Abdel-Muhti's who attended the event, says that he had planned to speak to his friend at the end of the presentation, but never got the chance. "During the speech, it didn't look like he was in trouble," Zahr says. "I saw no signs of anything being wrong. He was animated and the people in the room were attentive. And when he finished talking, it just looked like he was relaxing. It's shocking to see someone die in front of you. It's the first time in my life anything like that has happened." Chiorazzo says that although doctors diagnosed Abdel-Muhti's death the result of a massive heart attack, to her knowledge, he had no history of heart disease. However, having been released from prison just three months earlier, after serving just under two years — 718 days in total — the toll on his health had been severe. "It didn't seem to me that he was ailing at all," Chiorazzo says. "I don't think he realized himself that he was in such bad condition. He spoke so forcefully that night. Whatever breath he had left in him, he gave it in that speech." "Farouk was sweet, verging on goofy," says Shane Kadidal, an attorney at the Center for Constitutional Rights in New York City, who represented Abdel-Muhti in his effort to be released from jail. "There was absolutely no anger there. It was extraordinary." Kadidal says that Abdel-Muhti had a long history of immigration problems since arriving here 30 years ago. Born in Ramallah in 1947, he left the West Bank at the age of 13 and never returned. An illegal alien since the 1970s, his name was a familiar one on the Immigration and Naturalization Services rolls. Notwithstanding that, Kadidal says that Abdel-Muhti was fearless and never shied away from any political rally that spoke to his convictions. Abdel-Muhti gained even more notoriety two years ago when he became a regular on-air commentator for WBAI, the progressive Pacifica radio station based in New York. "He still had ties to people in the West Bank and he was really outspoken. Perhaps that's what brought him to the attention of law enforcement," Kadidal says. "But he definitely was not hiding." Abdel-Muhti left Palestine in 1960 — seven years before the country came under Israeli rule and all Palestinians living in the occupied territories were issued identification papers. As a result, Abdel-Muhti never existed under Israeli law and thus never acquired the proper documents to prove he had been a citizen of that country. In the end, despite his visa violations, the courts were unable to deport Abdel-Muhti, having nowhere to send him. Despite his unexpected death, Kadidal says Abdel-Muhti's court case will continue. At this point, his lawyers want the York prison officials to explain why the 57-year-old Abdel-Muhti was kept in isolation for so long. His lawyers contend that those decisions contributed directly to his medical problems and ultimately to his death. "It's definitely clear that his health deteriorated in the two years he was in prison," Kadidal says. "His medical problems were significant. He suffered from high blood pressure and hypertension. Heart attacks tend to sneak up on people." Kadidal adds, "As an inmate, Farouk organized a number of hunger strikes. We believe they wanted to keep him away from the other prisoners, so they put him in rough conditions to punish him." Abdel-Muhti's 26-year-old son, Tariq, says that he visited his father often while he was in jail. He, too, was concerned about his father's health and living conditions. "The immigration detention center was a septic environment," Tariq Abdel-Muhti says. "It was unsanitary and depressing. He complained to me about the lack of cleanliness, the lack of proper nutrition, the isolation, beatings and harassment and the lax medical treatment. Those of us who went to visit him would only get a small taste of it. But he had to live in those circumstances all the time." Tariq says that since his father's release, they spent time together nearly every day. For him, the loss is significant. "He was a great role model for me because he stood up for what he believed in," he says. "Wherever he saw injustice, he would oppose it and criticize it. He had a get-the-job-done-attitude, at any cost — even if the cost was his health." Sharin Chiorazzo and Farouk Abdel-Muhti had planned to marry in an Islamic ceremony before the end of the summer. They had begun working on his autobiography and were in the midst of getting a Manhattan apartment. "We found each other late in life, but I thought we'd have 20 or 30 more years together," she says. "We had plans to do a lot of great work. And even though right now I'm beside myself, I know he'd just want us all to carry on — so that's what we'll do."
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Committee for the Release of Farouk Abdel-Muhti PO Box 20587, Tompkins Square Station, New York, NY 10009 Phone: 212-674-9499 * Email freefarouk@yahoo.com Websites: www.freefarouk.org * freefarouk.netfirms.com ========================================================= |
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