Holy Land Foundation Re-Trial: Justice or Politics?
by Hadi Jawad Sunday, Sep 14 2008, 11:45pm
shadijawad@aol.com
north texas region /
palestine/ israel /
feature
The Bush Administration has systematically compromised the neutrality and independence of the U.S. Justice Department. For proof, look at Monica Goodling and Kyle Sampson. These aides of the last two U.S. Attorneys General, Alberto Gonzalez and John Ashcroft, recently admitted to have favored professed loyalists to President George W. Bush for high-level jobs in the Justice Department. To the aides, admiration for the president was more desirable than upholding justice.
Least surprised by these “new” revelations are American Muslims and their organizations, all victims of unrelenting persecution and harassment by the Bush Justice Department since the ill-fated day of Sept. 11, 2001. As proof of President Bush’s arrogant abuse of power, American Muslims point to the continuing saga of the Dallas-based Holy Land Foundation (HLF). In next month’s retrial, federal prosecutors will be desperately seeking the conviction of any one of the five defendants as a present for Bush before he leaves Washington for retirement in Dallas.
While the prosecution did not accuse the five defendants of committing any acts of terrorism, it argued that by providing humanitarian aid to Palestinian children, the HLF indirectly helped Hamas by freeing up its resources to attack Israel. The government admitted, however, that the Palestinian groups the HLF was accused of helping also received aid from US AID and several European Union countries at the same time.
So why is the HLF being singled out?
"It is a political witch hunt to appease an expansionist power in the Middle East. It is a sure sign we are living in Orwellian times when those who provide food, clothing, and shelter to the hungry and destitute are demonized as criminals as if Palestinian children are not worthy of what every child needs," said John Wolf, a Dallas-area human rights activist.
After lasting two months, the first HLF trial ended in a mistrial; the 14-year federal investigation into HLF conducted in concert with international intelligence agencies across three continents yielded no convictions out of more than 200 indictments. For the first time in American history, a national of a foreign country was allowed to "secretly" testify against American citizens in a U.S. court. The accused were not allowed to question their accuser.
Then, months later, it was revealed that hundreds of pages of "un-admitted and demonstrative evidence" allowed during court room proceedings but barred from jury room deliberations were sent by the defense into the jury room. On Sept. 26, 2007, the jury sent out a note inquiring about demonstrative exhibits. With assurances from the prosecution, Judge A. Fish instructed the Jury that all exhibits in their possession were evidence. In October 2001,President Bush shut down HLF’s non-profit charity work. Six years to the month later, the HLF trial ended in a mistrial.
Now, the Bush Justice Department is going after the same men again using essentially the same accusations. But with approval ratings as low as his, one must wonder whether President Bush would have any friends left in a jury pool. Still, the stakes are high: If HLF wins, the Constitution will have survived yet another assault and America will win. If the Bush Justice Department wins, freedom will be worth less than the paper this letter is written. Jury selection for the re-trial begins September 15.
For more information how you can support due process rights of the defendants, please visit:
-Hadi Jawad.
http://www.hungryforjustice.org
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