CAIR to Call for Probe of Secret NYPD-CIA Program to Spy on Muslims

CAIR to Call for Probe of Secret NYPD-CIA Program to Spy on Muslims

AP investigation reveals CIA links to widespread monitoring of Muslim
communities

(NEW YORK, NY, 8/24/11) -- Later today, the New York and New Jersey
chapters of the Council on American-Islamic Relations
(CAIR-NY/CAIR-NJ) will hold a news conference in Manhattan to call on
the Department of Justice to open an investigation into allegations
that the New York Police Department (NYPD) is conducting a massive
covert program to monitor the Muslim communities in those states.

Exposed this morning in a major media report, the NYPD spy program is
allegedly being conducted with the assistance of individuals linked
to the CIA.

WHAT: CAIR-NY/NJ News Conference to Call for DOJ Probe of NYPD-CIA Spy Program
WHEN: Wednesday, August 24, 2 p.m.
WHERE: 475 Riverside Drive, Suite 244, New York, NY
CONTACT: CAIR-NY Civil Rights Manager Cyrus McGoldrick, 203-206-6883,
212-870-2002, E-Mail: cmcgoldrick@cair.com; CAIR-NJ Executive
Director James Yee, 908-938-5990; E-Mail: jyee@cair.com; CAIR Staff
Attorney Gadeir Abbas, 720-251-0425, E-Mail: gabbas@cair.com

Following a months-long investigation, The Associated Press (AP) revealed that the NYPD is using covert surveillance techniques "that would run afoul of civil liberties rules if practiced by the federal government" and "does so with unprecedented help from the CIA in a partnership that has blurred the bright line between foreign and domestic spying."

According to the AP investigative report:

"The [NYPD] has dispatched teams of undercover officers, known as
'rakers,' into minority neighborhoods as part of a human mapping
program, according to officials directly involved in the program.
They've monitored daily life in bookstores, bars, cafes and
nightclubs. Police have also used informants, known as 'mosque
crawlers,' to monitor sermons, even when there's no evidence of
wrongdoing. NYPD officials have scrutinized imams and gathered
intelligence on cab drivers and food cart vendors, jobs often done by
Muslims. Many of these operations were built with help from the CIA,
which is prohibited from spying on Americans but was instrumental in
transforming the NYPD's intelligence unit."

SEE:
With CIA Help, NYPD Built Secret Effort to Monitor Mosques, Daily Life of
Muslim Neighborhoods (AP)

"These revelations send the message to American Muslims that they are
being viewed as a suspect community and that their constitutional
rights may be violated with impunity," said CAIR National
Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper. "The Justice Department must
initiate an immediate investigation of the civil rights implications
of this spy program and the legality of its links to the CIA."

CAIR is America's largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy
organization. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam,
encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American
Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.

- END -

CONTACT: CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper,
202-744-7726, or 202-488-8787, E-Mail: ihooper@cair.com; CAIR
Communications Coordinator Amina Rubin, 202-488-8787, 202-341-4171,
E-Mail: arubin@cair.com