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29 March 2011 By Stephen
Lendman A personal note. Writing about
America's political prisoners is essential to defend
freedom, justice, and other democratic values,
especially wrongfully persecuted Muslims for political
advantage. I communicate directly with five notable
victims, all of whom I greatly respect, including: -- attorneys Lynne Stewart and
Paul Bergrin; -- Yassin Aref; -- Dr. Rafil Dhafir; and -- Shukri Abu-Baker. I've also written about them all,
discussed them on the Progressive Radio News Hour, and
am committed to help achieve justice so far denied
them. This article concerns Abu-Baker,
after Rafil Dhafir emailed me the following from Terre
Haute, IN federal prison Communications Management
Unit's (CMU) segregation section where Muslims receive
excessively punitive treatment: "Last night Shukri Baker, here in
CMU, got a call from his family that his daughter
Sanabil is dying in the hospital. She has cystic
fibrosis, Thalassemia major and diabetes. She is not
eligible for lung transplant. She is only 24 who has
only 2 months left to finish college. He is distraught. With tears in
his eyes he kept asking: 'What did I do to this country to
deny me enough time to talk to my dying daughter by
phone? Why am I not allowed to hug my baby in her last
days of her life? Who is going to council my young
daughters and their mother in this hour of grief and
uncertainty?' He asked for extra phone calls to
straighten things out. He was given the run around.
The Chaplain claimed that he is new and does not know
the procedure for approval. Those who can be talked to
are no where to be found. It was late Friday when he
learned of his daughter's condition. It broke my heart to see this
great man who helped save the lives of millions in
places far away from here, who never hurt anyone
intentionally, and who dedicated his life to saving
and relieving children and needy people be denied the
right of a human being to see his dying daughter off
and to help his own children. It is cruel to imprison one for
providing relief but it is far worse in cruelty to
deny such person the comfort of talking to his dying
child. Would one then wonder why these calamities
befall the world all over?" Dr. Rafil Dhafir's Wrongful
Conviction for His "Crime of Compassion" Activist Katherine Hughes
explained Dhafir's case in her 2006 article by that
title. A Muslim American of Iraqi descent, he
practiced oncology until wrongfully convicted for
violating Iraqi Sanctions Regulations (IEEPA), using
his own funds and what his Help the Needy charity
raised to bring desperately needed aid to Iraqis in
the 1990s. Yet, he was convicted on 59 of 60
bogus charges, including tax fraud, money laundering,
mail and wire fraud, imprisoning him for 22 years.
Like Shukri Baker and other Muslims, he's incarcerated
at Terre Haute's infamous CMU. More on it below. Shukri Abu-Baker: President and
CEO of the Holy Foundation (HLF) Charity A previous article explained his
case, accessed through the following link: http://sjlendman.blogspot.com/2008/12/criminal-injustice-against-holy-land.html A later article followed the
sentencing of HLF's five principles. Abu-Baker and
Chairman Ghassan Elashi each got 65 years for
providing: -- financial aid to needy and
impoverished families; -- a sponsorship program for
orphaned children; -- various social services; -- educational services; -- medical and other emergency
work; and -- community development,
including help to rebuild Palestinian homes on their
own land in their own country that Israel lawlessly
destroyed. They, in fact, described their
work as follows, saying - "We gave: -- books, not bombs; -- bread, not bullets; -- smiles, not scars; -- toys, not tanks; -- peace, not terror; -- liberty, not poverty; -- hope, not despair; -- love, not hate; (and) -- life, not death. So we ask: If (over six decades
of occupation) obviously shatters lives, while charity
builds them and charity feeds children, while
occupation kills them, why is a charity organization -
not occupation - paying the price?" They, in fact, broke no laws,
committee no crimes, but were targeted for their
faith, ethnicity, prominence, activism and charity,
the two main principles getting a de facto life
sentence for being Muslims at the wrong time in
America, like many others wrongfully imprisoned. They provided essential relief to
Palestinian refugees in Occupied Palestine, Lebanon
and Jordan, as well as to needy recipients in Bosnia,
Albania, Chechnya, Turkey and America. Three other principles,
included: -- volunteer Mufid Abdulqader -
20 years; -- New Jersey office director
Abdulrahman Odeh - 15 years, and -- California office director
Mohammad El-Mezain - 15 years. They were convicted on most or
all 108 counts, including supporting a terrorist
organization, money laundering and tax fraud. They
also incurred a $12.4 million fine, impossible to pay
nor should they. Communications Management Unit
(CMU) Imprisonment A previous article explained its
lawlessness, accessed through the following link: http://sjlendman.blogspot.com/2009/03/treatment-of-imprisoned-muslims-at.html It's for so-called "high-security
risk" Muslim and Middle Eastern prisoners in violation
of federal law, prohibiting severely limiting or
cutting them off entirely from other inmates, as well
as outside contacts and communications. Segregating prisoners by race,
national origin, or language violates the Supreme
Court's February 2005 Johnson v. California decision,
affirming 14th Amendment protection against racial
discrimination. Specifically, the Court: "rejected the notion that
separate can ever be equal-or 'neutral' - 50 years ago
in Brown v. Board of Education" repudiated it. This
court "refuses to resurrect it today." US Prison Bureau regulations also
stipulate that "staff shall not discriminate against
inmates on the basis of race, religion, national
origin, sex, disability, or political belief
(including) administrative decisions (involving)
access to work, housing and programs." Nonetheless, the Bush
administration instituted these practices. Under Obama,
they continue unabated at Terre Haute, IN and Marion,
IL federal prison Communications Management Units
(CMU). Perhaps additional federal and state facilities
will follow for other wrongfully persecuted Muslims. They're to assure they get fewer
rights and privileges than other prisoners, including
allowable communications. Also: -- poorer food quality, amount,
or that conforms to a strict Muslim diet; -- proper medical care; and -- virtually everything else,
prison authorities given much latitude to do as they
please, including violating Bureau of Prisons
regulations and US law. As a result, emergency medical
care takes days or longer to receive. Essential care
can take weeks, months or be denied. Other
mistreatment includes harassment, intimidation, food
rationing, the serving of forbidden-to-eat kinds,
frequent "shake-downs," and removal or theft of
personal possessions. Also rejection of simple
requests, delay or denial of mail and other
communications, as well as restricting them
altogether. In other words, Muslims are fair
game to be treated any way prison authorities wish.
They take full advantage against glorious men like
Dhafir, Abu-Baker, and many others deserving honor,
not prison. Instead, they're out of sight and
mind, wrongfully denied justice by a lawless nation,
withholding it from innocent victims targeted at home
and abroad. Stephen Lendman lives in
Chicago and can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.
Also visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com and
listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished
guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the
Progressive Radio Network Thursdays at 10AM US Central
time and Saturdays and Sundays at noon. All programs
are archived for easy listening.
http://www.progressiveradionetwork.com/the-progressive-news-hour/. |
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