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Free the Politically Persecuted—Stop the Loyal Bushie(s)
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Past Events No Confidence Vote Witnesses:We return to the scene of a crime committed against Dr. Dhafir. April 24th Syracuse NY--Witness;Federal Bldg. Has the FBI intimadated the local Muslim community, Did Afent Kolbe tell the truth during his testimony, who turned Colleen Williams,..? April 17th
Syracuse NY--Witness; State Office Bldg. Who ordered the investigation and dismissal of Trooper Charles Jones? April 10th
Syracuse, NY--Witness:Justice Center. Who Told Sgt Powlina to deny legal counsel access? April 7, 2007 Albany, NY--Madis Senner and other Dhafir supporters addressed Imam Aref and Mohamed Hossain supporters at the First Unitarian Universalist Church.April 3, 2007 Syracuse, NY--Witness; Federal Bldg Syracuse NY. Members of the St. Pats 4 (Clare Grady, Teresa Grady and Danny Burns) and Aref/Hossain supporters (Cathy Callan, Steve Downs) and Dhafir supporters (Beatrice Muhamed, Magda Bayoumi, Madis Senner) gathered for prayer and testimony.
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Suddaby Nominated to Be Judge Read announcement:Post Standard A Loyal Bushie The scandal over the political firings of 8 US attorneys shows that the Justice Dept was used as a political tool by the Bush administration. “Loyal Bushie” US prosecutors willing to do the president’s bidding were rewarded, those not willing were fired. We believe that Northern NY US attorney Glenn Suddaby was one of those “Loyal Bushies”. His prosecutions and the actions around them are a vivid demonstration of the most deplorable behavior that we have seen from the Bush administration.
Suddaby has had a string of high profile political prosecutions: Selective Prosecution Both Dhafir supporters and the St. Pats 4 feel that they were targeted and selectively prosecuted. Dhafir supporters point out that he is only person to be criminally charged with breaking the IEEPA sanctions against Iraq for providing humanitarian aid when thousands of individuals and many corporations did so as well with only minor consequences. Operation Free Dhafir US Attorney Glen Suddaby brought Federal conspiracy charges against the St. Patrick’s 4 (4 Catholic Workers from Ithaca NY)after they were acquitted(hung jury) of local charges for symbolically pouring blood at a military recruitment office. The fact that Catholic workers have been doing this for decades and have never previously been federally charged shows selective prosecution. The group’s attorney Bill Quigley said that he could find no similar cases going back to the Nixon era. Many believe that the prosecution of the St. Patrick’s 4 was meant to send a message to the activist community the same way that the prosecution of Lynne Stewart was meant to send chills into the legal community. Quigley calls the prosecution of the St. Pats 4 an attempt to “hyper-criminalize dissent”. Why were the St. Pats 4 prosecuted and not other Catholic workers?--Because they live under the jurisdiction of a very Loyal Bushie US attorney, Glen Suddaby. Prosecutor’s Trophy Run Imam Aref and Mohamed Hossain were framed in a sting operation by an FBI informant. It is the opinion of many in the Albany NY area that they were un-fairly treated and set up by the government to win a trophy in the war on terror.
"Mercy? No, 15 years": Similarly Dr. Dhafir continues to be incorrectly hoisted on the government’s trophy wall as a victory in the War on Terror when he was never charged or convicted of terrorism: Trophy List of Terrorism Convictions Although never charged or convicted of Terrorism the government has continually maligned Dhafir as a terorist from the day of his arrest and continues to treat him as such in prison: Washington Post on Secret Prison Program. Many have derided the government over its continued terrorism smear of Dhafir: "Transfer Unfair" Politicians Join the Terrorist Smear
What clouds the behavior of US attorney Suddaby is his connection to ex NY governor Pataki and Pataki’s comments. Since NY has two democratic Senators Pataki hand picked Suddaby in the aftermath of 9-11 to be US Attorney. At the time Pataki was expected to make a Presidential run and had been trumpeting NY’s terrorism record (25% of the convictions in the government’s Terrorist trophy list are from NY.) Pataki went out his way to slander Imam Aref and Mohamed Hossain and Dr. Dhafir weeks before his trial. When Aref and Hossain were arrested in August of 2004 Pataki said: "We saw with the arrest in Syracuse of money-laundering efforts to help terrorist organizations. And today we see here, again, in the capital region those among us who seek to help terrorists to conduct horrible acts against the people of America and against our freedom." The Syracuse Post Standards Editorial Board slammed Pataki over his comments and may have even coined the term "Loyal Bushie” before the US Attorney's imbroglio when it referred to Pataki as "a loyal Bush Republican"; “Gov. George Pataki unfairly smeared a Central New York doctor Thursday when he linked Rafil Dhafir and his charity for Iraqis to terrorist organizations. Pataki's public remarks seemed to confirm what Dhafir and his supporters have been saying all along - that the federal case against Dhafir is a political prosecution as well as a criminal one… That didn't stop Pataki, a loyal Bush Republican eager to point to successes in the War on Terror… [T]he governor stepped up and proceeded to undermine Dhafir's right to a fair trial.”; “Fear Dhafir”, August 8, 2004. Intimidation, Letting Witnesses Lie
Dr. Dhafir’s lawyer Devereaux Cannick said in his closing arguments that the US Attorney’s “willfully and knowingly let a witness lie”. If that is the case then the US attorneys—Suddaby, Olmstead, West, Greene-are guilty of prosecutorial misconduct. Who Was Pulling the Strings? Who encouraged (pushed) US attorney Glen Suddaby and the FBI in northern NY? It is hard to believe that one prosecutor, even an over-zealous Loyal Bushie, would take it upon himself to pursue so many political trials with such a vengeance. Court documents in the Dhafir trial showed that the Department of Defense was blessing and pushing his prosecution. But does it reach higher? The Dhafir prosecution clearly shows that someone high up in the Bush administration was orchestrating his prosecution. Sergeant Powlina of the Justice Center (Onondaga County Jail) said that “THE GOVERNMENT” (Read Pg 19 Bail Hearing) told him to deny access to a member of the legal team after his picture at a support rally for Dr. Dhafir appeared in the Syracuse Post Standard. The bail hearing revealed that the US attorneys were not responsible for the order. So who was it?
Testimony during the fourth bail hearing revealed that NYS Trooper Charles Jones came under intense scrutiny by the FBI and internal affairs after his name appeared in the bail motion as a willing party to monitor Dr. Dhafir. After 22 years of service he was forced to take early retirement. Only someone high up in Homeland Security or in the Bush administration would have the power and clout to have a New York State Trooper investigated and forced to resign. The prosecution of the St. Pats 4 could only have been orchestrated by a high ranking US attorney or the Attorney General himself. It is clear that they were used to set an example—to send fear—to other activists. Does anyone really think that Suddaby would take it upon himself to go after activists acquitted of local charges with Federal conspiracy charges? One must also question why Imam Aref and Mohamed Hossain were targeted in a sting operation? The government says that Imam Aref was investigated because his name was found in a journal in his native Iraq. But could it be that he was selected for a sting operation because he lived in the Northern District of NY under the jurisdiction of Loyal Bushie US Attorney Suddaby? When the government's initial case against them faltered it was resurrected by linking them to Dr. Dhafir, who the prosecution called a "national security risk", aka "terrorist". Talk to any Imam Aref and Mohamed Hossain supporter and they will tell you how questionable their prosecution was. Consider what the NY Times in "2 Men Sentenced in Fictitious Terror Plot"; March 9, 2007, wrote: "The sentence was immediately condemned by many friends, relatives and supporters who jammed the courtroom. They charged that the two men were entrapped by an overzealous Federal Bureau of Investigation and convicted by a jury swayed by an anti-Muslim climate in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks...." "Glenn T. Suddaby, the United States attorney for the Northern District of New York, said, ''Obviously, after 9/11, the world changed drastically,'' and added: ''Our obligation is to prevent the next one. That is what this case is all about."' Fed’s Pushing Local and State Agencies The other disturbing fact about the political prosecutions in northern NY is that it appears that Federal Authorities may have pushed state and local agencies to go beyond. Sergeant Powlina said that “the government’ told him to not let counsel in. The investigation and dismissal of NYS Trooper Charles Jones could have only been ordered by a very high government official. The idea that Federal authorities, most likely high ranking members of the Bush administration, were pushing state and local agencies is indefensible. Clearly an independent investigation is called for. Please check back for more information and future actions. Peace, shalom, salaam madis senner |
Articles NY Times--Suddaby Prosecution of Aref QuestionedFired US Attorney Says Suddaby under Political Pressure Truthout on "Terror Trophy" Prosecutions Post Standard Op-ed on Suddaby New Times on Witness AP Story on Prosecutions News 10 Delivering Testimony Times Union LeBrun slams Aref Prosecution Times Union Editorial on Aref Times Union LeBrun on Aref Witchhunt Gazettte's Carl Strock Who is Really guilty? Post Standard Editorial Rips Gov't On Prison Wash Post on Secret Prison Rawstory on Illegal Prison Program Read what they did to Ayman |
"Our goal is to educate the public about how the Bush administration has used the US attorney’s office to attack Muslim Americans to win trophies in the war on terror and to muffle dissent. We are doing so by focusing on the political prosecutions of Northern New York US Attorney Glen Suddaby—a very, very LOYAL BUSHIE!"
Dhafir supporters continue to cry foul play over the government’s prosecution of Dhafir. They point out that legal counsel was denied access to visit Dhafir, to the intimidation of those close to Dhafir and the deliberate attempt to mislead the defense.