Mon 5 Dec 2005
Excerpt from a Letter to a friend from Dr. Dhafir
Posted by k under By Dr. Dhafir , Civil Liberties1 Comment
From: Dr. Rafil Dhafir, 11921-052, FCI-Fairton, PO Box 420, Fairton NJ 08320
To a friend. November 28, 2005:
…So far I am not happy here, but things hopefully will change. I am allowed to receive unlimited mail and pictures.
I am locked in 23 hours a day and 24 hours a day on weekends. The treatment has been nasty so far. I wish Ms. Gewanter [Director of ACLU-CNY] and Human Rights Watch could come see the misery here. Sometimes I feel like I am in GITMO or even Abu Ghraib. Jamesville was heaven compared to where I am right now. I don’t know why they mistreat me. I just got here, never even spoke to them. It seemed that they were waiting for their ‘catch’.
I am not complaining just to let you know. Sooner or later all the misery will end and there will be peace, an eternal peace, but I have to wait for God to intervene and put justice where it belongs. Until then I will continue to pray…
Rafil
Excerpt from an email to Katherine from someone familiar with the facility:
“I am familiar with the facility where Dr. Dhafir is being held. It was constructed in the late 1980’s and is near Vineland, NJ, which is basically in the middle of nowhere.
The Federal Bureau of Prisons deliberately builds facilities in these remote locations. It discourages visits and provides a pool of employees who literally have no other employment opportunities. It is kind of like sending someone to Siberia.”
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10/6/06 Update on prison conditions can be found at the end of this post.
December 6th, 2005 at 10:01 am
Dear Ms. Katherine Hughes,
I have been following the case of Dr. Dhafir fairly closely and was shocked/horrified /dismayed to hear of the heavy sentence that was given to him for, as you put it so rightly “sending humanitarian aid to starving Iraqi civilians through his charity Help the Needy”
I am afraid that I am one of those people that grew up in the west (U.K.) taking for granted our civil rights believing that justice would always prevail. But as you have so clearly stated I and many others can no longer believe in this myth.
My family did know about Dr. Dhafir and his work many years before the trial and we know and believe what a good and honest man he is and are confident (know definitely) that all monies he collected went to the needy and not like the many charities operating today with “overheads”.
We are fed up of being complacent and do care about freedom of speech.
This is why we want to do something to make more people, Muslim and non Muslim alike more aware of our eroding rights. We would appreciate your opinion on the following actions we would like to do next.
My family and I want to publish a small leaflet/booklet highlighting the areas that have been purposely misinterpreted or misunderstood to show people that miscarriages of justice can happen to not only upstanding members of the community but any one of us and without as much publicity. Not only has it happened but I’m sure if we really look around it has been happening for a long time.
We would try to highlight Dr. Dhafir’s fear that even if he was guilty of cheating the medical company by 3% would this be acceptable considering all the people he has saved from starvation and death and the hope that he has given to many cancer sufferers at home and abroad.
Or send a petition or begging letter to Mr. Bush to personally interfere for a retrial appealing to him as a “Godly family man with true values” according to himself.
We would want the booklet to be just an informative independent view to awaken people’s mind and maybe make them put pressure on the authorities or the courts system.
Could you kindly advise us whether this would be a worthwhile effort or perhaps there could be something more effective that we could do.
I will just give you a bit of background about myself so you know where I am coming from. I was born in Blackpool (England) and lived in the UK all my life apart from the last three years. I am a revert to Islam for 20years. My husband is a British citizen (of Iraqi descent). As it happened we were in Iraq just before the war started and are in constant touch with my husband’s family, so we do know what has been going on, on a day to day basis. I have six children!!!!! I’ve been living in Saudi Arabia for the last three years.
I have been trying to explain to my children (probably not too successfully) how their “country” and its western Alliance has first destroyed the Iraqi infrastructure and now destroyed a good man’s life who only wanted to do good and had a conscience.
On the one hand if this were at any other time he would probably be rewarded for his humanitarian efforts. Not only have they destroyed this man and all those connected with this charity but also men, women and children not only from Iraqi descent (which we know has not too much value) but red blooded Americans and westerners too.
How do I explain this to them?
Anyway…….I would sincerely appreciate any information and assistance you could give and am truly grateful that there are people like your good self that care to bring these matters to the attention of myself and others who live our lives in ignorance or denial.
Yours sincerely,
Patrizia Albayaty
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