A Few Minutes of Your Time May Help Save Him from a Life in Prison…

Take a moment to give a gift to a Muslim mother and her family by writing your own letter of support for Ziyad Yaghi and collecting letters of support from others in your community. May Allah Reward you for standing in solidarity with a suffering mother for justice.

Ziyad Yaghi a young Muslim man from Raleigh, NC of Palestine descent has been convicted and is facing his sentencing on two counts of conspiracy and attempt to provide material support to foreign terrorist organizations. He has committed NO physical acts of violence, and yet is facing life in prison, for accusations that he had intentions to commit acts based primarily upon his traveling to visit family in the Middle-East and visiting the lands of his forefathers, he has essentially been found guilty of “thought crimes”. Ziyad Yaghi is scheduled to be sentenced on 13 January, 2012.

Ziyad faces life in prison for crimes he did NOT, in fact, commit. Ziyad will never get out to see his family, get married, complete his education, or do anything for that matter. An innocent young man will be imprisoned for committing no crimes save those imagined by an increasingly Orwellian government.

Actions Required:

• Inform your Community, friends, family and spread awareness about the case of Ziyad Yaghi and the request of his family to write a letter on his behalf BEFORE the 13 January, 2012 Sentencing hearing.
• Write a letter to the Judge Louise W. Flanagan.
• Print Sample Letters & collect signatures from individuals in your community.
• Write to Ziyad Yaghi and let him know that you are aware of his situation and that he and his family are in your Du’a and that he is not alone or forgotten.
• Write to or show a sign of support for Laila Yaghi the mother of Ziyad.
• Sign the Free Ziyad Yaghi Online Petition
  

Writing & Collecting Letters of Support:

Our Goal is to collect 5.000 Letters of Support for Ziyad Yaghi letters should urge the Judge to reduce Ziyad’s sentencing to the lowest sentencing possible in accordance with federal guidelines. Follow the sample letter below in writing your own, and know that while this sample letter is included for convenience and as a model your personal letter will make a difference and will only take a few minutes of your time for a man who is facing loosing the rest of his life. Please make your letter personal and as much from the heart as possible! Please also send a copy of your letter to laila_lois@yahoo.com so that the Free Ziyad Yaghi Campaign may keep track of the letters.

For those, who for whatever reason, do not feel able or comfortable with writing their own personal letter you may simply copy the sample letter (although we encourage you to add as much personality or flourishes to it as you are able) sign your name, and send it to the Judge. Please also send a copy of your letter to laila_lois@yahoo.com so that the Free Ziyad Yaghi Campaign may keep track of the letters.

Collecting Letters of Support on Behalf of Others:

• Take 10, 20, 50, 100 printed (or better handwritten) copies of the sample letter and go to your local churches, masajid, community centers, public libraries, university classes, local conferences, malls, local occupy movement (Occupy Raleigh, Occupy Greensboro, Occupy Chapel Hill), parks, theaters, etc.
• If you are going to a church, Masjid, or conference, ask the people in charge to make an announcement to their congregation or meeting about your collecting signatures in a letter to the Judge to free an innocent young man convicted unfairly.
• Masajid, churches, or other places may not want to make an announcement regarding your initiative but may still grant permission to stand outside and when the public gets out, approach them with the letter, in any event try to coordinate with the administration so as not to cause a scene or offend patrons.
• Inform and spread awareness by talking to those you approach regarding Ziayad’s case and unfair trial and conviction, let them know that you are trying to help his family and lawyers obtain letters of support to reduce his sentencing. It’s a matter of justice!
• Obtain signatures on the letters, if hand written use the same pen or pencil used in writing the letter(s), if an address can be obtained this is good but it is optional do not feel the need of requesting an address if you think an individual may be hesitant.
• Place all the letters in an envelope, stamp it, and send it to the Judge.
• Visit the Please Support Ziyad Yaghi facebook group and inform them about your experience of collecting letters and how many letters you have collected or send an email to: laila_lois@yahoo.com to let them know how many letters you sent and any experiences you may want to share.

Sample Letter (United States Citizens or Residents):

[Date]

Honorable Louise W. Flanagan
District Court Judge
United States District Court
413 Middle Street
New Bern,NC28650

RE: Request for Releasing Ziyad Yaghi, Case number 509-CR-216-FL-8

Dear Honorable Judge Flanagan,

As a concerned US citizen and a resident of [STATE], I am very saddened to hear about the verdict on Ziyad Yaghi’s case. I am writing to kindly request Your Honor to consider a just and fair sentence for Ziyad onJanuary 13, 2012 by sentencing him to time served or to the lowest sentencing possible in accordance with federal sentencing guidelines.

Ziyad is a peaceful, loving and caring person who is looking forward to a life with his family, a marriage, and his community. He has been an active member in the greater Raleigh community volunteering his time to community services. I believe Ziyad is a great asset to our larger community and society as a whole.

As his trial revealed, Ziyad was not part of any conspiracy or violence. He is so young and for one to spend life in prison while committing no violent acts seems a great injustice. Please consider sentencing him to time served on January 13, 2012. Three years of incarceration has provided him ample time to reflect on mistakes he may have made and the direction of his life. I respectfully urge Your Honor to consider a fair sentence for Ziyad.

I, and many others in the community at large, will be very grateful to Your Honor for ensuring that our justice system is fair to this loving and caring young man.

Sincerely,

[Your Name]
[Address (optional)]

Sample Letter (Non-US Nationals or Residents):

[Date]

Honorable Louise W. Flanagan
District Court Judge
United States District Court
413 Middle Street
New Bern, NC 28650

RE: Request for Releasing Ziyad Yaghi, Case number 509-CR-216-FL-8

Dear Honorable Judge Flanagan,

As a concerned individual of the international community, a resident of [Country], I am very saddened to hear about the verdict on Ziyad Yaghi’s case. I am writing to kindly request Your Honor to consider a just and fair sentence for Ziyad on January 13, 2012 by sentencing him to time served or to the lowest sentencing possible in accordance with federal sentencing guidelines.

I have followed his case from here and what is evident is that Ziyad is a peaceful, loving and caring person who is looking forward to a life with his family, a marriage, and his community. He has been an active member in the greater Raleigh community volunteering his time to community services. I believe Ziyad is a great asset to our larger international community and society as a whole.

As his trial revealed, Ziyad was not part of any conspiracy or violence. He is so young and for one to spend life in prison while committing no violent acts seems a great injustice. Please consider sentencing him to time served on January 13, 2012. Three years of incarceration has provided him ample time to reflect on mistakes he may have made and the direction of his life. I respectfully urge Your Honor to consider a fair sentence for Ziyad.

I, and many others in the community at large, will be very grateful to Your Honor for ensuring that our justice system is fair to this loving and caring young man.

Sincerely,

[Your Name]
[Address (optional)]

Send the public letters you collect directly to the Judge. All across the country many groups are writing and collecting letters in support of Ziyad, urging the Judge to reduce the sentencing to time served or the lowest sentencing possible in accordance with federal sentencing guidelines.

Write to Ziyad Yaghi:

Please while you are taking the time to write your Letter of Support also take a few moments to write to Ziyad himself and let him know that you are aware of his case and situation, that you are taking an active role in trying to seek his release and justice on his behalf and send him your words of support in his time of trial and assure him that he has not been forsaken or forgotten by his brothers. Something that takes just a little bit of you time goes a long way towards brightening the lives of those in prison.

You can write to your brother Ziyad Yaghi at:

Ziyad Yaghi (INMATE)
Western Tidewater Regional Jail
2402 Godwin Blvd
Suffolk, VA 23434
USA

For those unable to post their own letters you may write to Ziyad courtesy of our friends at Freedatainees by sending your letter as an attachment to admin@freedetainees.org please put “MAIL FOR PRISONER” in the subject line to ensure that your letter goes to the proper place and is sent off. If you wish to post your letter  yourself but cannot, for whatever reason, use your own address you may use the following you can also do this if you would like to help save freedetainees money on postage and ink:

[Your Name; Laqab; Kunyah] c/o
freedetainees.org
P.O. Box 116
Sixes, OR 97476
USA

Please Send Your Letters Today!!
& Take A Moment to Sign the Petition. 

You can stay informed regarding Ziyad Yaghi’s situation and find out how you can help the Free Ziayd Yaghi Campaign by by frequenting the Official Free Ziyad Yaghi Campaign site. You can also further get involved and get up to date information on the status of Ziyad, his family, the Campaign and upcoming events,on facebook by checking the official Ziyad Yaghi pages Liberate Ziyad Yaghi Campaign and Please Support Ziyad Yaghi.

Wherever you are, please write letters and forward this call on to your networks, friends, families, and organizations!

And do not forget him & his family in your dua.