Thu 20 Jan 2005
Judge Norman A. Mordue
US District Judge
United States Court-Northern District of NY
100 South Clinton Street
12th Floor
Syracuse, New York, 13261
January 26, 2005
Dear Judge Mordue,
I am writing in regards to the case of Dr. Rafil Dhafir because I believe that he has been wrongfully incarcerated and denied bail continually. Dr. Dhafir is obviously a well respected oncologist with many years of residence and medical practice in New York State, who has spent his entire life dedicated to serving the people of his community and elsewhere. How on earth and in the name of all humanity, can you possibly think that prosecuting Dr. Dhafir is going to prove anything except that the US Government is going in exactly the wrong direction? How is it that the worst criminals in the area get reduced sentences for assault, rape, and even worse, while one of the brightest people in the community is denied bail just to assist in his own defense? Do you honestly think that a man so dedicated to this community is a flight risk? The court system in the US allows released pedophiles to walk the streets only to reoffend, and one of the most genuine and decent citizens is locked up. Why is he denied bail? We all know…
We all know that this would have never happened had Dr. Dhafir not been a Muslim of Arab descent. Isn’t it bizarre, that no one else has been arrested for extending humanitarian aid to needy Iraqis? I know that thousands of people traveled to Iraq during the sanctions to deliver humanitarian aid including celebrities, clergy and the like. Have they been persecuted? Of course not. They are not Muslim.
Isn’t it also strange those multinational corporations (UBS and Chevron-Texaco) that violated the sanctions, not out of conscience, but to make profits, have not been punished in any way? Again, I ask why was Dr. Dhafir singled out?
I appreciate your vigilant deliberation of his case and look forward to the time when justice is truly color blind.
Respectfully Yours,
Danielle Hentz – Syracuse, NY
(posted on January 27, 2005.)