Subject: Land of Liberty ? : Fwd:  Blue Triangle Network Condemns Deportation of Rabih Haddad
Date: Fri, 18 Jul 2003 18:30:37 -0400
To:       lpny_discussion <lpny_discuss@yahoogroups.com>
From:     Bob Armstrong <bob@cosy.com>
--- Original Message ---
From: "sapbr2003" <sapbr2002@hotmail.com>
To: =A0<SAPB_R@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Fri, 18 Jul 2003 20:06:43 -0000
Subject: [SAPB_R] Blue Triangle Network Condemns Deportation of=
 Rabih Haddad

>=A0---------------------------------------------------------------=
------~->
>
>=A0Blue Triangle Network Condemns Deportation of Rabih Haddad
>
>
>=A0July 16, 2003
>
>=A0The Blue Triangle Network strongly condemns the `in the dead of=
 the
>=A0night' deportation of community activist Rabih Haddad on July=
 14. This
>=A0is clearly an escalation of the repression against Muslim, Arab=
 and
>=A0South Asian immigrants. Mr. Haddad, a Lebanese citizen and=
 co-founder
>=A0of Global Relief Foundation, was arrested on December 14, 2001=
 and
>=A0held for 19 months. =A0That was the same day Federal authorities=
 raided
>=A0the Global Relief Foundation, the Chicago based charity,=
 accusing it
>=A0of funneling funds to al-Qaeda.
>
>=A0Rabih Haddad was charged with overstaying his visa, a minor
>=A0immigration violation, even though both he and his wife had=
 applied
>=A0for permanent residency status under the Legal Immigration=
 Family
>=A0Equity Act (LIFE Act). Despite claims by the government that=
 Rabih
>=A0Haddad and the Global Relief Foundation funneled money to=
 al-Qaeda,
>=A0Mr. Haddad was never charged with any terrorism related=
 crimes.
>=A0Citing claims of "national security", the government kept him=
 in
>=A0solitary confinement for the first four months of his jailing,=
 fought
>=A0to hold all of his hearings in secret, refused to allow him out=
 on
>=A0bail, and refused to allow him or his attorney to see any=
 "evidence"
>=A0of his alleged ties to al-Qaeda. U.S representative John=
 Conyers
>=A0office, the ACLU, the Detroit Free Press and several other=
 newspapers
>=A0sued the government in 2002 seeking access to Mr. Haddad's
>=A0deportation hearings and won. =A0For 19 months Rabih Haddad has=
 been
>=A0detained and vilified by the Justice Department and denied his
>=A0freedom. After 19 months of the government claiming that he was=
 a
>=A0threat to national security who funneled money to al-Qaeda, he=
 was
>=A0deported only on the claim that he overstayed his visa.
>
>=A0Mr. Haddad's deportation was in the dead of night, unknown to=
 his
>=A0family. His family and lawyer only found out what had happened=
 when
>=A0Mr. Haddad called his wife from Amsterdam after being deported.=
 What
>=A0will it mean for us if the government gets away with such an=
 outrage
>=A0in a highly publicized case such as that of Rabih Haddad?=
 =A0Justice
>=A0for Rabih Haddad brought together Rabih's family and lawyers,
>=A0congressmen and civil liberty organizations, newspapers and
>=A0activists. =A0Thousands of people voiced their opposition, both=
 people
>=A0from the Arab community and people of all different=
 nationalities.
>=A0What does this say for the predicament of the thousands of=
 Muslim,
>=A0Arab and South Asian immigrants coming under attack right now,=
 for
>=A0the 13,000 men and boys who have been ordered deported after=
 they
>=A0registered with the government?
>
>=A0The Blue Triangle Network is outraged that the U.S.=
 government,
>=A0claiming to act in the interests of national security, is=
 picking up
>=A0people and detaining them indefinitely, holding them as enemy
>=A0combatants or threatening to charge them under military=
 tribunals,
>=A0and then whisks them out of the country in the middle of the=
 night.
>=A0All of this without one shred of concrete evidence! We cannot=
 be
>=A0lulled into accepting these as the terms of living in this=
 country.
>=A0We cannot allow justifications for racial profiling, forced
>=A0registrations, military tribunals and demonizing of people=
 based on
>=A0their religion or ethnicity.
>
>=A0We are very concerned about the safety of Mr. Haddad in=
 Lebanon. =A0His
>=A0wife, Salma Al =96Rushaid, was quoted in news reports, "We=
 applied for
>=A0political asylum because we feared that any government would be=
 more
>=A0than pleased to please the U.S. government and interrogate=
 Rabih."
>=A0Mr. Haddad's outrageous deportation after 19 months has led to
>=A0tremendous difficulties for this family and his community. =A0The=
 Blue
>=A0Triangle Network condemns this injustice and calls on people=
 living
>=A0in this country to oppose and stop the repression against=
 Muslim,
>=A0Arab and South Asian immigrants.
>
>=A0"I have been treated like the worst criminal you can imagine=
 when I
>=A0have not even been charged with a crime, save overstaying my=
 visa,
>=A0which I was in the process of remedying. All of this has done=
 nothing
>=A0but harden my will and strengthened my resolve to overcome and
>=A0persevere. Your efforts and the efforts of others are like=
 torches of
>=A0hope that light my way in this deep and dark tunnel that I've=
 entered
>=A0and I am eternally grateful for that."
>=A0- Excerpted from a January 2002 letter from Rabih Haddad to a
>=A0supporter
>
>
>=A0Please reply to
>=A0NationalOffice@bluetriangle.org
>=A0Blue Triangle Network
>=A0P.O. Box 7451, Dearborn, MI 48121-7451
>=A0(313) 942-7187
>=A0http://www.bluetriangle.org

--=A0
=A0Bob Armstrong -- http://CoSy.com -- 212-285-1864
Liberty : http://cosy.com/Liberty.htm
=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A02003/07/18 6:23:50 PM