Mon 5 Apr 2010
Rally and March In Support of Justice for Muslims Targeted by Preemptive Prosecution
Posted by k under Civil LibertiesNo Comments
Albany, NY —— A rally and march to Albany City Hall will be held on Monday, April 5 at 6:00 P.M.  The rally will begin at the Armory, corner of Washington Ave. and Lark St.
On April 5, Albany Common Council Member, Dominick Calsolaro, will introduce a resolution to the Common Council requesting that the U.S. Department of Justice implement the recommendation of its own Inspector General: to review all of the convictions of Muslims who have been preemptively prosecuted to determine whether these prosecutions met in all ways the high standards of truth, openness, fairness, and justice that are embodied in the Constitution and Bill of Rights.
Members of the Muslim Solidarity Committee, Project SALAM — Support and Legal Advocacy for Muslims, Bethlehem Neighbors For Peace , Chatham Peace Initiative , Dr. Dhafir  Support Committee, Grannies For Peace, Social Responsibilities Council of the 1st Unitarian Universalist Society of Albany, Veterans For Peace, Women Against War, Masjid As-Salam and Save the Pine Bush will be marching to City Hall to ask for passage of the resolution.
Event spokesman Lynne Jackson says: “Why should the Albany Common Council pass this resolution?  Because Muslim men were wrongfully prosecuted in Albany and sent to prison for lengthy sentences.  How can we work on other issues if the federal government can just swoop down and take innocent men away and imprison them?  What safety and security do we have if the bill of rights is so ignored? We must ask for the Justice Department to conduct an investigation into these cases of preemptive prosecution of Muslims as recommended by the Inspector General.”
Family members and supporters of other Muslims preemptively prosecuted are expected to attend the event, including Lejla Duka, daughter of one of the Fort Dix 5 (from Cherry Hill, NJ), Alicia McWilliams, aunt of one of the Newburgh 4 (the FBI used the same “confidential informant” to entrap the Newburgh 4 as they did with the Albany case of Yassin Aref and Mohammed Hossain), and the sisters and friends of Betim Kaziu (from Brooklyn).
The fact that these prosecutions are directed exclusively at one religious community—— Muslims——not only violates Constitutional protections, which forbid the prosecution of people who have no intention of committing a crime, but also discriminates against Muslims.
Schedule for Monday, April 5:
6 p.m.: gather at Washington Avenue Armory, corner Washington Avenue and Lark Street
6 p.m.: press interviews will be given
6: 15 p.m.: march Albany City Hall, Eagle Street
7:00 p.m.: Public Comment period at the Albany Common Council meeting; press is welcome to video record the entire event