Tue 9 Oct 2007
Please publish two letters setting the record straight.
Posted by k under Civil Liberties , Media/Judge letters1 Comment
To the editors at the Syracuse Post-Standard.
Dear Mr. Connor and Mr. Linhorst:
The Syracuse Post-Standard’s recent article on Glen Suddaby’s nomination to a judgeship included a number of unfortunate inaccuracies regarding the trial and conviction of Dr. Rafil Dhafir. While I applaud you for publishing Rafi Ziuddin’s letter pointing them out, your lack of correction of the earlier article and your pairing Mr. Ziuddin’s letter with one supporting the prosecution’s point of view continues to give Post-Standard readers a misleading impression of the case, the issues involved in it, and the appropriateness of Mr. Suddaby’s nomination.
I urge you to publish two letters setting the record straight, one from the Dr. Dhafir Support Committee and the other from Mohamed Khater. Mr. Khater and the Support Committee have deep roots in the Syracuse community and probably know more about Dr. Dhafir’s convoluted and confusing case than anyone else around. They also do an admirable job of clarifying both the facts of the case and the troubling issues involved, issues affecting the civil liberties of us all.
I also urge you to publish a correction to your article on Mr. Suddaby’s nomination.
Thank you very much for your attention.
Sincerely yours,
Jeanie Shaterian
Berkeley, CA
October 7th, 2007 at 6:48 pm
I had the pleasure of working for Dr. Dhafir from 1992 until the morning my car was surrounded by FBI investigators. He was ( and I am certain still is to the best of his abilities) the kindest, most generous individual I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. In addition, he is a truly gifted physician. The terror that was imposed upon his patients when their treatment was compromised, beginning the day he was arrested, far outweighs any “crime” he allegedly committed. If the public was aware of the absolute disregard for the health and well being of his patients that the investigators showed while they fumbled through their duties, they would be horrified. From the onset of his trial the media has repeatedly insinuated that any wrong doing on his part was connected to terrorism. It is a travesty of justice that he has been convicted and given such an outrageous sentence for his true acts of kindness.