Three years after returning to his ancestral homeland in Syria, Ahmad Abousamra was indicted in absentia with Tariq Mehanna. This 2009 indictment is the very same document that inspired the theatrical press conference by US Attorneys to unleash on the public a non-existent but undeniably dramatic plot of a mall shooting spree.
Now three years later, a new drama unfolds, featuring the release of a poorly produced public announcement in search of the alleged fugitive, “Aa-Maad” Abousamra.
Of note in the grander scheme of criminal activity is that the FBI field office in Boston is in pursuit of several fugitives; a convicted murderer who stabbed a man to death, a man who shot and beat a police chief to death, a man wanted for the molestation of three young girls, and a man wanted for the repeated rape of two young boys, who, sadly, is the only other fugitive with a reward offer and at half of that of Abousamra’s.
Yet none of the above mentioned were worthy of a video and a vast effort to spread a global campaign of media alerts and social networking awareness, especially when it seems as though a potential serial-child-rapist in one’s own backyard is a more eminent threat than a man who is not even accused of committing an act of violence, living in a foreign country. The disproportionate attention given to Abousamra and Mehanna only glaringly illustrates the political nature of such prosecutions.
As such, the video regurgitates the same conjectures of Abousamra’s supposed intentions that are found in indictments and press releases; the ‘wanted’ video merely adds a visual dimension to the propaganda.
Viewers are primed in anticipation when the video alert reveals an upcoming audio clip. What would they hear when the “armed and dangerous” Ahmad Abousamra, a man who’s crime was to believe in “the glory of dying on the battlefield,” speaks? Read the rest of this entry »
Oytun Ayse Mihalik, a Turkish citizen and former pharmacist of Orange County, California, has been in federal custody since August 2011 for wiring charitable contributions to Pakistan.
A federal complaint filed against her alleges that Mihalik knew the funds would be used to coordinate attacks against U.S. military oversees and that she had allegedly lied to federal employees, according to court documents. If convicted on all three counts of providing material support to terrorists and one count of making a false statement, Mihalik could face up to 53 years in prison.
In February of 2011, Mihalik traveled to her homeland, Turkey, where she spent six months with family before returning for a brief visit to the United States on 8 August. Upon her arrival, the 39-year-old La Palma resident was thoroughly interrogated and recorded regarding her travels and finances at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX).
Records show FBI and U.S.Homeland Security Investigators (HSI) questioned Mihalik about any money she may have sent overseas. An immigrant with extensive family and friends still residing in her native Turkey and abroad, she answered in the affirmative.
Despite the seemingly general questioning, the FBI and HSI were particularly interested in three transfers sent in December 2010 and January 2011 amounting to $2.050, inquiring as to whom the money was intended for and under what name(s) she had previously sent money.
According to an affidavit citing disjointed and often abruptly truncated portions of the transcribed interview, Mihalik did not deny that she sent money overseas and elaborated that the money was intended for friends and friends of relatives or friends of friends who were in financial need. Whether an inaccurate recollection or a nervous omission, Mihalik failed to mention the use of an alias for the transfers.
However, authorities allege that in two of the money transfers, Mihalik provided the name “Cindy Palmer” to transfer $600 and $700. In one of the wire transfers, an affidavit alleges, Mihalik had given the name “Cindy Palmer” for the transfer, yet still signed the receipt with her legal name, “Oytun Mihalik”.
On 27 August, Mihalik intended to return to Turkey permanently when federal officials detained her. When questioned regarding her one-way ticket, Mihalik explained she was moving back to Turkey and had not told her husband about it and that she called him to ‘say goodbye’ from the airport.
Although the initial charge filed against Mihalik concerned only the alleged false statement, following an investigation involving ‘classified’ material, a grand jury, and the Federal Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), prosecutors amended the original complaint and added charges of providing material support to terrorists.
Court records do not state how investigators determined the money was intended for “terrorist organizations” or which alleged organisations were to have benefited from the money, but prosecutors in court documents stated they planned to use aforementioned secret evidence, as well as electronic recordings and/or evidence retrieved under the controversial and unconstitutional FISA.
‘The government is in the process of reviewing a large volume of material in a foreign language to determine whether any of it is discoverable and/or will require court proceedings‘ one document read.
Five months after her arrest, Mihalik was arraigned on the supersceding charges in January and no further court dates are scheduled.
Defense attorney Alan Eisner said no new evidence has been offered up by prosecutors since his client’s arrest months ago, and the money sent overseas was donated to charity. ’The evidence will show she’s not funding a terrorist organization,’ Mr Eisner said.
Oytun Ayse Mihalik #61427-112
MDC Los Angeles
Metropolitan Detention Center
PO Box 1500
Los Angeles, CA 90053
USA
A Southwest Michigan man, suspected of providing support to foreign terror groups, was sentenced today to prison for trying to ram the car of an FBI agent conducting surveillance before the 10th anniversary of the 11 September terror attacks.
Reed Stanley Berry, 26, of St. Joseph, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Robert Holmes Bell in Grand Rapids to seven years, eight months in prison for assaulting a federal officer with a dangerous weapon – his car.
Berry has not been indicted on any terror-related charges.
The FBI raided his home after he allegedly used the Internet to contact one or more foreign terrorist organisations, court records showed. His attorney, noting that Berry has not been charged with terror crimes, said that Berry’s correspondence, which the government believed was a threat to national security, was speech protected under the First Amendment.
The seeming disparity between the First Amendment rights of Muslims and other Americans is one that has been recently questioned, especially in light of two recent cases; the Hutaree Militia, self-described ’Christian Warriors’ acquitted on the basis of First Amendment rights, and that of Tariq Mehanna, sentenced to seventeen and a half years for translation of classical Arabic texts and his desenting opinion over US foreign policy. Read the rest of this entry »
In April 2012, MCLU attorney, Najmeh Vahid Dastjerdi, explained why you should not speak with the FBI without an attorney present and recommended ways to deal with such FBI requests. We hope you find this helpful and you become a member of this organization at www.MuslimCLU.org, so our efforts to educate the public and defend against religious persecution can continue.
‘I’ve heard of cases where the FBI tries to coerce people and obtain information just in those few moments as the client refuses to speak. That is why I recommend that a recorder is carried and the agents advised about the recording. That way they won’t try to do that knowing they’re on tape.
I [also] think it is a great idea to carry the business card of your attorney and hand it over to the agents. However, you would also want to get the agent’s information for your records. It’s important to have an account of who (which agent and which agency) has approached you and when. It’s important to have a record.
If you are subpoenaed by the government to testify, you should only testify. This means that you should only talk and answer questions in front of the Grand Jury or Jury. Some people think they should talk to the agents or the government’s attorney because of the subpoena. When you testify in court, your words are transcribed, so you will not be accused of lying, if you tell the truth and they cannot start fishing i.e. ask you about other matters. Also, they will have to let you know if you are the target of an investigation before your testimony. In both cases, you MUST hire an attorney before testifying because you may turn into the government’s target in the process depending on the case.’
The Portland Federal Court has become the battleground for a major lawsuit that will impact civil liberties, national safety, and that ritual every American dreads: airport security.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) faced off against federal lawyers on Friday, 21 January 2011, in downtown Portland at the first hearing of its case claiming that the government’s “No Fly List” is unconstitutional.
On behalf of ten US citizens and permanent residents, including Portlander Mohamed Sheikh Abdirahman Kariye, the ACLU alleges that the “No Fly List” violates the right of due process because the government does not tell people whether they’ve been placed on the list, why they’re suspect, or provide an adequate way to get someone’s name off.
ACLU attorney Ben Wizner explained that his team chose to file in Portland in part because it’s where Kariye is from, but also because they hope the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals (covering the West Coast) will give the case a fairer shake than other circuits. Read the rest of this entry »
This is the fifth and the last e-mail for my trip from Seagoville Texas to USP Marion: The Air Marshall (AM) called the two of us (me and Ghassan) and told us to change our seats and move forward. They wanted us to be closer to the front of the plane so we can leave the plane faster. The plane’s next destination was the State of Ohio. I am not sure where in Ohio.
So far, it has been over six hours of tight handcuffing of the hands, chaining of the legs and ankles and the Black box that caused extreme pain and made it tremendously uncomfortable and unbearable. No matter how much I tried to move my hands to get comfortable, I found no comfort, only pain!!!. I saw the color of my wrist and it was very red and noticed a dent in my skin caused by the handcuffs. I felt the pain and kept on making duaa for this journey to end soon. I tried to occupy my mind by reminding myself that no matter how long this will last, it will end at some time. Anything has an end no matter how bad or painful it is. Also I remembered our brothers and sisters in Palestine and thorough out the world who wake up day in and day out being dragged to be tortured.
One of the most famous torture techniques used is the” ghost” where the persons’ hands are tied together behind him and then he is hanged from the ceiling for hours and days until he faints while a bag soaked in urine covers his head and tied around the neck. The pain in this position is unimaginable. So many Palestinians who get arrested in Palestine gets the special treatment of the “Ghost Torture”. Read the rest of this entry »
Now we are in Oklahoma City Detention Center recreation cage in the SHU on the seventh floor when the brother in the next cage greeted me and the first words that came out of his mouth were ‘Assalamu Alaikhum’. I have heard this beautiful Islamic Salutation/greeting in prison may be more than I have heard it in my entire lifetime. Every time you see a brother you say it or he says it. It is the message of peace and a sign of love: ‘Assalamu Alaikhum’. If you were sitting with a non Muslim and a Muslim brother stops by, he will say Asslamu Alaikhum to the brother and he will say hello/hi to the non-Muslim.
Even if you have just finished talking to one brother or have seen him just five minutes ago, you will say it again. It is so beautiful when you hear it so often. The brothers here make a point of saying it over and over because they are PROUD to say it. It is an identity symbol that says hey ‘I am a Muslim’ and that is a source of pride. They are not shy about saying it to their brothers. Even non-Muslims use it a lot when greeting Muslims. It is just an awesome feeling of brotherhood because it says: ‘from me to you, you will have nothing coming but peace and love’.
Today, I was sitting with a Muslim brother and another person who was non-Muslim sitting at a table discussing a Marketing class, a Muslim brother stopped by and said to me and the other Mulsim: ‘Assalamu Alaikhum my dear beloved two brothers’ and then turned to the other person and said: Hello and mentioned his name. In the free world, even some Muslims are embarrassed to use it at work or even in the presence of non-Muslims. Not here, the wearing of the cofi (the cofi is a netted cap that fits the head and is recognized as a Muslim symbol) is very normal and you see Muslims wearing it here all the time. No one comes to Friday prayer (Jumaa) without his cofi. In the free world Muslims put it on only after they enter the Masjed. Read the rest of this entry »
The following testimony, entitled “Victims of the American Inquisition” written by Zachary Chesser, is a microcosmic documentation of America’s naked and larger aggression against the religion of Islam in what Chesser terms the ‘American Inquisition.’ Since the intensification of this most recent inquisition, the global Muslim community has suffered a ruthless assault on legal rights and basic humanity, which in various arenas have been superficially designated as everything from geopolitical interests to heretical rhetoric. What Chesser exposes through details regarding his case and subsequent incarceration, is a pattern of federally sanctioned religious persecution and corrosive civil rights violations reflective of American foreign policy, shockingly common in so-called terrorism cases. He recounts how his religious beliefs designated him as a target for government surveillance, how this surveillance in turn became a means of distortion and manipulation, culminating in his incarceration and the deliberate alienation of his family, particularly the religiously charged, custodial kidnapping of his son.
En el nombre de Alá, el Compasivo, el Misericordioso:
Mi nombre es Abu Talha al-Zacarías Amriiki (legalmente “Zachary Adám Chesser “), y lo que sigue no es para tomarse a la ligera. Si se va a saber cuánto estas palabras pueden afectar a mí ya mi familia, entonces la gravedad de este mensaje no se puede escapar. Estoy escribiendo esto con el fin de que nadie debe caer en las mismas trampas y errores como yo, para establecer la prueba para los que dudan, y para rectificar los errores determinados. Tal vez mi ignorancia de la naturaleza de mi situación era una excusa para mí, pero si no, entonces le pido a Dios que me perdone. Sin embargo, después de mí, no creo que nadie va a tener una excusa en estos asuntos si estos eventos se manifiestan a ellos.
Esta es mi historia, y dentro de ella son fragmentos de las historias de muchos otros. Es sólo una relación de lo que yo sé que es verdad a lo mejor de mi capacidad, y estoy seguro de que lo que permanece oculto para mí es mucho peor que la que se hizo claro para mí, pero lo que sí está claro es suficiente para un persona de comprensión. Por lo tanto, que estas páginas se registran en los anales de la historia en los capítulos reservados a la Inquisición estadounidense.
The following testimony, entitled “Victims of the American Inquisition” written by Zachary Chesser, is a microcosmic documentation of America’s naked and larger aggression against the religion of Islam in what Chesser terms the ‘American Inquisition.’ Since the intensification of this most recent inquisition, the global Muslim community has suffered a ruthless assault on legal rights and basic humanity, which in various arenas have been superficially designated as everything from geopolitical interests to heretical rhetoric. What Chesser exposes through details regarding his case and subsequent incarceration, is a pattern of federally sanctioned religious persecution and corrosive civil rights violations reflective of American foreign policy, shockingly common in so-called terrorism cases. He recounts how his religious beliefs designated him as a target for government surveillance, how this surveillance in turn became a means of distortion and manipulation, culminating in his incarceration and the deliberate alienation of his family, particularly the religiously charged, custodial kidnapping of his son.
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful:
My name is Abu Talhah Zakariyya al-Amriiki (legally “Zachary Adam Chesser”), and what follows is not to be taken lightly. If you were to know how much these words can affect me and my family, then the gravity of this message would not escape you. I am writing this in order that nobody should fall into the same traps and mistakes as I did, to establish proof for those who doubt, and to rectify certain wrongs. Perhaps my ignorance of the nature of my situation was an excuse for me, but if not, then I ask Allah to forgive me. However, after me, I do not think that anyone will have an excuse in these matters if these events are manifested unto them.
This is my story, and within it are pieces of the stories of many others. It is only a relation of what I know to be true to the best of my ability, and I am sure that what remains hidden from me is far worse than that which was made clear to me, but that which is clear is enough for a person of understanding. Therefore, let these pages be recorded in the annals of history under the chapters reserved for the American Inquisition.
Three years after returning to his ancestral homeland in Syria, Ahmad Abousamra was indicted in absentia with Tariq Mehanna. This 2009 indictment is the very same document that inspired the theatrical press conference by US Attorneys to unleash on the public a non-existent but undeniably dramatic plot of a mall shooting spree.
Mi nombre es Abu Talha al-Zacarías Amriiki (legalmente “Zachary Adám Chesser “), y lo que sigue no es para tomarse a la ligera. Si se va a saber cuánto estas palabras pueden afectar a mí ya mi familia, entonces la gravedad de este mensaje no se puede escapar. Estoy escribiendo esto con el fin de que nadie debe caer en las mismas trampas y errores como yo, para establecer la prueba para los que dudan, y para rectificar los errores determinados. Tal vez mi ignorancia de la naturaleza de mi situación era una excusa para mí, pero si no, entonces le pido a Dios que me perdone. Sin embargo, después de mí, no creo que nadie va a tener una excusa en estos asuntos si estos eventos se manifiestan a ellos.
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