Sent on 9/26/07, published on October 11, 2007

In your paper’s recent article about Glen Suddaby, your two reporters continue to get the facts of Dr. Rafil Dhafir’s case wrong. The article erroneously states,

“…The office prosecuted Dr. Rafil Dhafir, a Manlius oncologist, on charges he planned to use charitable contributions to support a terrorist organization in Iraq. Dhafir was sentenced in 2005 to 22 years in prison.”

Your reporters might benefit from watching the video of Suddaby speaking after the verdict came down, insisting that the prosecution of Dhafir had nothing to do with terrorism and that the case would have been prosecuted regardless of 9/11.

Suddaby says about the case, “I don’t want anyone talking about terrorism or anything else.” Link: www.news10now.com

As the Dhafir and Help the Needy case continues to gain national and international attention, the Dr. Dhafir Support Committee hopes that your paper will finally address directly the government’s duplicity in the case. Please ask the hard questions that should have been asked of the government long ago such as your addressing government’s contradictory pronouncements like, “Dhafir is not a terrorist, he’s a crook,” and “Dhafir supports terrorists” in the same article.

The Dr. Dhafir Support Committee is an international organization with many respected individuals on its Advisory Board, including Denis Halliday, who resigned from the United Nations because of the policy of sanctions against Iraq, and Daniel Berrigan S.J. A list of the Advisory Board can be found here.

Linda Bergh
Gary Bergh
Bill Coop and
Katherine Hughes
For The Dr. Dhafir Support Committee
Www.dhafirtrial.net