On Friday, February 3rd 2012, Judge Norman Mordue resentenced Dr. Rafil Dhafir to 22 years in prison in large part because he is unrepentant about sending food and medicine to starving Iraqi civilians in violation of the International Economic Emergency Powers Act (IEEPA). So that the burden of continuing legal costs does not fall solely on Dr. Dhafir’s family, we are hoping to find 100 people willing to contribute between $35 and $100 dollars each to his appeal fund. Checks should be made payable to “Peter Goldberger, Attorney” and earmarked for “Dhafir Appeal,” and should be sent to:  LAW OFFICE OF PETER GOLDBERGER, 50 Rittenhouse Place Ardmore, PA 19003-2276. DONATIONS ARE NOT TAX-DECUCTABLE.

According to UN estimates, between 1 and 1.5 million Iraqi civilians died as a direct result of the U.S. and U.K.-sponsored UN sanctions against Iraq. Dr. Dhafir made the correct moral choice and undertook the obligation imposed on all American citizens by Nuremberg Principle IV. By openly providing food and medicine to Iraqi children and adults via his Charity Help the Needy for 13 years, he helped reduce the genocidal consequences of Sanctions.

Judge Mordue’s decision means there was no change to the original sentence of which Dr. Dhafir has already served 9 years, many of them in a special unit under extreme conditions. The Sentencing Guidelines range on which his 22-year sentence was based was erroneously increased as if he was a “third-party” (professional) money launderer (rather than based on the “mail fraud” and tax fraud” that stemmed from the running of his charity).  This sets a terrible legal precedent and gives us cause to hope that a 3-judge panel at the Court of Appeals will agree with the defense’s strong legal arguments that show a 10-year sentence would be a much more appropriate one for the “crimes” committed.

See here for a concise summary of the case.  See also, “Anatomy of a ‘Terrorism’ Prosecution: Dr. Rafil Dhafir and the Help the Needy Muslim Charity Case.”