ALBANY,
August 26 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – A US judge has
chided the administration for building a terrorism support case
against two Muslims in New York on false evidence, much to the
consternation of community members.
Magistrate
David Homer said there was not enough evidence to hold Yassin Aref,
34, and Mohammed Hossain, 49, who were held without bail on August 10,
allegedly for supporting a terrorist organization and planning to
assassinate a Pakistani diplomat as well as money laundering.
"There
is no evidence ... to support claims that Mr. Aref has any contact
with any terrorist organization," Homer said at a hearing
Tuesday, August 24.
"As
compared to August 10, there's no longer any presumption that Mr.
Hossain would cause a risk of flight or danger to the community,"
Homer said.
"There
still is no evidence of Mr. Hossain's involvement with any terrorist
organization.
The
judge added: "The strength of the case against Mr. Aref appears
less strong than it did appear on August 10".
The
two men were arrested in Albany after authorities said they agreed to
help an FBI informant launder $50,000 from the sale of a
shoulder-fired missile as part of a fake plan to assassinate
Pakistan's ambassador to the United Nations.
But
they appealed not guilty to the charges.
Caustic
As
the judge was caustic on his remarks on the case the government has
built for the arrest of the two men, Muslims in Albany reacted with
sadness and anger to the accusations.
Muslims
in Albany call the case a tragic misunderstanding. About 7,000 Muslims
live in Albany and nearby towns.
"I'm
upset. It's racial profiling," said Abdul Malik, who worships at
the small Albany mosque where Aref serves as spiritual leader.
"They
are honest men, good family men," Abdul Malik was quoted by
Reuters as saying.
Faisal
Ahmad, a teacher at the mosque, said attendance has been dwindling
with many in fear of being labeled terrorists.
"The
saddest thing about this is it will further the whole misunderstanding
about Islam," said Ahmad. "Muslims are not terrorist people.
Muslims are not violent people."
Second
Hearing
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FBI agents arrested the pair in a carefully planned raid, but on what grounds?
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The
Tuesday hearing was the second involving the pair associated with an
Albany mosque and was granted bail after a possible translation error
was found in key evidence against them.
At
the time, US authorities said the evidence included an address book
found in what they called a terrorist training camp in northern Iraq
that referred to Aref as "the commander" in Arabic.
The
Justice Department says FBI translators now read the word as
"brother" in Kurdish.
The
attorneys for the pair said the translation issue called for a
re-examination of the entire case amid criticism that the Bush
administration's anti-terrorism policies have led authorities to leap
to conclusions in cases that have fizzled or were dropped after
initial high-profile announcements, according to Reuters.
Defense
attorneys argued the government was not merely overzealous in their
prosecution but used "false information" against their
clients.
"We've
gone from something that sounded sinister and ominous and scary and
terrible to zero in less than two weeks," defense attorney
Terence Kindlon was quoted by Voice of America website as saying.
"Like
everybody that I was in the Marine Corps with, 40 years ago, was my
brother," said Mr. Kindlon.
"Everybody
that you go to church with is your brother. Every Muslim as I
understand it, refers to every other Muslim as brother. So the value
of this information as proof is absolutely zero. It doesn't mean a
thing."
Kindlon
is representing Aref, a 34-year-old Kurd who fled Iraq several years
ago and was granted political asylum in the United States. While
Hossain is a naturalized American citizen originally from Bangladesh.
In
July, press reports said the FBI has launched a nationwide campaign to
question Muslim and Arab Americans after intelligence warnings of
possible terrorist attacks.
The
series of interviews so far covered a broad spectrum, including
students, high-tech professionals and even prominent Muslim figures.
May
report released by the US Senate Office Of Research concluded that the
Muslim community in the United States has
taken the brunt of the Patriot Act against terrorism
and other federal powers applied in the aftermath of the 9/11 deadly
attacks.
In
May, the FBI apologized to an American Muslim lawyer for a
"misidentification" that led to his arrest over the Madrid
blasts. The American Muslim lawyer demanded investigations into his
two-week detention, saying all his work and life were
devastated.
The
incident came a few months after the FBI dropped all charges against a
Muslim U.S. Army chaplain after less than one-year
detention allegedly for possessing classified documents
about the detainees in Guantanamo.
After
all charges were dropped, the chaplain has dismissed the case against
him was "politically-motivated", as several US Muslim
organizations have embarked on an
anti-terror
campaign.
