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07 April 2011 By Stephen
Lendman Many hundreds of wrongfully
convicted men and women languish unjustly in US
federal and state prisons, victims of judicial
unfairness, get tough on crime policies, a guilty
unless proved innocent mentality, three strikes and
you're out, and America's bogus war on terror,
entrapping law-abiding people for political advantage,
especially Muslim's, Washington's target of choice. Russell Defreitas is one of many,
victimized by what the Innocence Project (IP) calls "McJustice
- the crisis of indigent defense," or in Defreitas'
case, FBI entrapment. No wonder IP tries to free "the
staggering numbers of innocent people who remain
incarcerated and to bring substantive reform to the
system responsible for their unjust imprisonment." Prosecutorial misconduct
includes: -- targeting the innocent; -- using bogus charges to
indict; -- coercing false confessions; -- intentionally lying or
misleading jurors; -- withholding or destroying
exculpatory evidence; -- using secret evidence withheld
from defense; and -- entrapping targets lawlessly
with stings and/or criminals induced to cooperate for
better treatment. On June 3, 2007, New York Times
writers Cara Buckley and William Rashbaum headlined,
"4 Men Accused of Plot to Blow Up Kennedy Airport
Terminals and Fuel Lines," saying: "Four men," including Russell
Defreitas, "a onetime airport cargo handler and a
former member of the Parliament of Guyana, were
charged yesterday...." One was arrested in Brooklyn
and two others were detained in Trinidad, (while) the
fourth man was still at large." On June 2, Defreitas, a
naturalized US citizen, was arraigned in federal
court. New York assistant FBI field office director
Mark Mershon said all four men had "fundamentalist
Islamic beliefs of a violent nature," suggesting they
were guilty of being Muslims in America at the wrong
time. On August 2, 2010, Times writer
AG Sulzberger headlined, "2 Men Convicted in Kennedy
Airport Plot," saying: Ending a monthlong trial, "(a)
federal jury found two Guyanese men (Russell Defreitas
and Abdul Kadir) guilty....of conspiring to attack
Kennedy International Airport (by) set(ting) off a
series of explosions along a pipeline that cuts
through New York City." Like numerous other cases, there
was no plot or crime, just "conspiracy" to commit one,
the charge used when clear evidence is lacking. In
fact, conspiring or attempting to blow up Kennedy
Airport is impossible. Other implausible cases charged
plots to attack the Brooklyn Bridge, Statue of
Liberty, Empire State Building, Times Square, Wall
Street, and Chicago's Sears Tower. Also alleged others against US
soldiers at Fort Dix, NJ, US marines at Quantico, VA,
National Guard jets with stinger missiles, Pakistan's
ambassador with a surface-to-air missile, and others
just as preposterous. They include a fake shoe bomber,
fake underwear bomber, an earlier Times Square bomber,
fake shampoo bombers, fake Al Qaeda woman planning
fake attacks, fake Oregon bomber, fake armed forces
recruiting station bomber, fake 9/11 bombers, and
others to stoke fear and enlist public support for the
fake war on terror. All cases entrapped Muslims.
Accusations against them were spurious, yet they were
arrested, charged, convicted and sentenced to long
imprisonments - for their faith at the wrong time, not
conspiracy to commit crimes. Entrapment is commonly used,
occurring when law enforcement officials or agents
induce, influence, or provoke crimes that otherwise
wouldn't be committed. However, it doesn't apply in
cases of willingness to act lawlessly, government
merely aiding, abetting, or facilitating a good chance
to do so. Entrapment involves: -- government officials or agents
initiating the idea; then -- persuading individuals to
discuss, plan or commit actions they otherwise never
intended. To convict, prosecutors must
prove beyond a reasonable doubt no entrapment was
used. In fact, it's a common technique to convict
innocent people, targeted for political or other
reasons. Sulzberger said the alleged JFK
plot "never advanced beyond the conceptual stage (if
that), and the planning sessions, some of which were
recorded by a confidential informant, were alternately
grandiose and absurd....As in (similar) cases, the
threat as officials described it....seemed to exceed
the suspects' capacity," let alone their intent. Moreover, convicted drug
trafficker Steven Francis was the informant, recruited
in return for leniency, again a commonly used scheme,
freed or given reduced sentences for cooperating to
entrap. In fact, they're sometimes paid handsomely for
services rendered. US Attorney Roslynn Mauskopf
called Defreitas a "homegrown terrorist" planning to
cause "unfathomable damage, deaths and destruction."
Kadir, a former Guyanese mayor and parliamentary
member, was described as a secondary figure, one of
several involved in facilitating the plot by providing
advice and contacts. It was untrue. In fact, during trial, entrapment
became clear, Sulzberger saying Francis "played a
somewhat enabling (financial and logistical support)
role in pushing forward the plot," that wouldn't have
existed in any form without him. On February 17, 2011, New York
Times writer Colin Moynihan headlined, "Life Sentence
for Leader of Terror Plot at Kennedy," saying: "Ringleader" Defreitas was
sentenced to life imprisonment (as was Kadir) on
charges Federal District Court Judge Dora Irizarry
called "extremely serious." His lawyer, Mildred Whalen called
him more disagreeable than dangerous, "a man with a
small mind, a big mouth and an ugly imagination." He
and others "were more aspirational than operational.
Until the government got involved, this was talk"
without action, smoke without fire, hyperbole (if
that) with no intent. Prosecutor Marshall Miller
inverted truth saying Defreitas led the conspiracy.
Francis merely followed, not acting as a paid
government provocateur/informant. A February 17 New York Field
Office press release said Defreitis "originated the
idea to attack JFK Airport and its fuel tanks and
pipelines by drawing on his prior experience working
at the airport as a cargo handler. (He) recruited
others (in the) plot during multiple trips to Guyana
and Trinidad." "Between trips, (he) engaged in
video surveillance of JFK Airport and transported (it)
back to Guyana to show Kadir and their
co-conspirators. Kadir, a trained engineer with
(alleged) connections to militant groups in Iran and
Venezuela, provided the conspirators with links to
individuals with terrorist experience, advice on
explosive materials, and a bank account through which
to finance the terrorist attack." In fact, from the start, FBI
operatives orchestrated everything. According to
Defreitis' attorney Whelan: He "can't mastermind his way out
of an on-off-switch on a video camera," let alone plan
an intricate plot. He's, in fact, "a guppy the
government (tried) to pass off as a shark," an
innocent man with a big mouth. Moreover, Francis not
only bought the video camera, but taught him how to
use if, and supplied transportation to entrap. He
created the plot. "I think it's clear these guys
couldn't (and didn't) act on their own...." Kadir's attorney, Kafahni
Nkrumah, said he "never assisted in advancing the
(alleged) objectives of the conspiracy." He was only
on the receiving end of phone calls and visits,
declined to travel with his co-defendants, and never
came to New York. He added that practicing Shia Islam
is no crime. "We live in a dangerous world, but
convicting an innocent man doesn't make us safer." On August 4, 2010, Wilkes
University and University of Scranton Professor Paul
L. Williams headlined, "Would Be Terrorists Become
Victims of Federal Entrapment," saying: "The JFK plot (was) a ploy. (It)
was conceived not by a radical Islamic group but
rather by the Federal Bureau of Investigation." They
engineered it, according to court records, to capture
Adnan el Shukrijumah, "the Most Wanted Terrorist in
the Western Hemisphere." A US citizen, he allegedly was
enlisted to lead a homeland terrorist attack, FBI
Director Robert Mueller and other intelligence
officials calling it "the American Hiroshima," whether
or not true. In 2003, information suggested he
was in Guyana, protected by Rarouk Razac, "a family
friend and well-heeled financier." He was seen at the
Swiss House Cambio, Razac's money exchange. There he
met Imam Humammed Hassan Abrahemi, director of the
International Islamic College for Advanced Studies (ICAS),
allegedly funded by Iran. Abdul Kadir served as ICAS's
assistant director. Defreitas was a Guyanese
parliamentary member and Jamaat ul-Muslimeen leader.
"This new association (lead) to a plot to a botched
FBI sting" and alleged attempt to blow up JFK Airport
fuel lines. On April 2, 2004, two masked men
kidnapped Abrahemi, his body found two days later. No
one was ever caught. "By this time, the FBI had
infiltrated Jamaat ul-Muslimeen," posing as jihadis,
working with Kadir and Dufreitas to find Shukrijumah. Supplying funds and logistical
support, they hatched the JFK scheme, what US Attorney
Mauskoff called "one of the most chilling plots
imaginable," able to cause "unthinkable devastation."
In fact, it's technically impossible to achieve. "Jet
fuel does not produce explosive force, and the
pipelines and fuel tanks that are buried in Queens
have safety valves to prevent any mishap." FBI officials, however,
apparently thought this type plot would lure
Shukrijumah from hiding. It didn't. He never appeared
at Trinidad or Guyana planning sessions. Instead,
Dufreitas, Kadir and two others were entrapped and
arrested. FBI officials admitted Shukrijumah's capture
"would have been the prize." So far, he's still at large.
Dufreitas and Kadir, however, got life sentences,
though committed no crime. Like hundreds of others,
they're victims of America's war on terror, targeting
innocent men and women for political advantage. Stephen Lendman lives in
Chicago and can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.
Also visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com and
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guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the
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