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Stand with Dr. Tarek Mehanna—Prisoner of Conscience
WHEN: Thursday, October 27, 2011 at 9am
WHERE: Moakley Federal Courthouse
1 Courthouse Way, Boston, MA
On Monday, October 24 the trial of Dr. Tarek Mehanna is scheduled to begin with Jury Selection. At that time, Dr. Mehanna will have spent close to two years in pre-trial solitary confinement under 23 hour lockdown.
The FBI and the Massachusetts US Attorney are accusing Dr. Mehanna of “material support for terrorism” and related charges. His real offense in the eyes of the US government was his courage as a Muslim and a man of conscience: his opposition to wars in Afghanistan and Iraq; his vocal support for other Muslims falsely imprisoned by the US government and; his refusal to work as an informant for the FBI in the Muslim community. For these stands he now faces the possibility of life in prison.
The court proceedings leading up to Tarek’s trial have already shown a disturbing pattern familiar in “anti-terrorism” cases against Arabs and Muslims across the country. These include:
* The use of secret evidence.
* Inflammatory accusations fed to the press by government prosecutors in advance of trial. (In Tarek’s case, these accusations do not appear in the official indictment and no evidence has been presented to support them.)
* Manipulation of informants and cooperating witnesses through a system of threats and rewards for giving testimony favorable to the government’s case.
* Criminalization of dissent under the rubric of “material support for terrorism.”
All who care about basic rights—the right to political dissent, the right to due process, equality before the law—and all who oppose the systematic denial of these rights to Arabs and Muslims, must stand in solidarity with Dr. Mehanna and his family. Please help us fill the courtroom on October 27th. |
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