Tue 4 Apr 2006
Dr. Dhafir is mentioned in the latest Meiklejohn Civil Liberties Institute newsletter
Posted by k under Civil Liberties , Site AnnouncementsNo Comments
Another Injustice to a U.S. Muslim
MacGregor Eddy, an activist retired nurse, was recently tried for her protests at the Vandenburg Air Force Base and Space Command. U.S. Magistrate Rita Federman ruled that Eddy could not present expert witnesses on the illegality of the war in Iraq or a “defense of necessity,” an argument that she felt compelled her to violate the trespassing law because of a moral duty to protest a war she considers illegal. She was convicted and faces up to 6 months in jail and a fine of $5,000 when she is sentenced on June 15.
Now Eddy brings an important story of injustice to our attention:
Dr. Rafil Dhafir of Syracuse, NY, a naturalized U.S. citizen of Iraqi descent, is one of the few, if not the only person to be criminally charged for breaking the Iraq Sanctions rather than receiving a fine. On Saddam Hussein’s “hit list,” Dr. Dhafir had raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for humanitarian aid to Iraqis suffering from the U.S. sanctions and the effects of depleted uranium from U.S. bombs. In 2005 he began serving a sentence of 22 years in prison. He is 58 years of age.
See: http://www.FreeDhafir.org
Link to: Meiklejohn Civil Liberties Institute