|
U.S. Civil Liberties Activists Criticize Treatment Of Palestinian Professors
 |
|
Mazen al-Najjar was deported Thursday from the U.S. to an undisclosed Middle Eastern country
|
TAMPA,
Florida, Aug 23 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - U.S. civil
liberties advocates on Friday criticized the treatment of two
Palestinian professors in Florida investigated for alleged links to
the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), which the U.S. administration
considers a terrorist organization.
One of the professors, 44-year-old Mazen al-Najjar, was deported to
Bahrain on Thursday. He spent much of the past five years in detention
in a seven-year legal battle to remain in the U.S. Secret evidence the
government said linked him to terrorism, but he was never formally
charged with any crime.
His ordeal has been cloaked in secrecy by U.S. authorities.
Randall
Marshall of the American Civil Liberties Union said Thursday that
holding Najjar on secret evidence was unconstitutional and that
"the 10 months that he spent in solitary confinement was nothing
more than the raw exercise of government power."
Earlier in the week, authorities said al-Najjar had been issued travel
papers for an undisclosed Middle Eastern country.
His lawyers said he was released and deported Thursday, but did not
immediately give further details.
Early
Friday, al-Najjar's final destination was unclear, but an Embassy of
Bahrain official in Washington, Jamal Rowaie, said he had been granted
a two-week tourist visa, but would reject him because that was only
for ordinary tourists, reported the St. Petersburg Times.
The
Tampa Tribune reports al-Najjar boarded a plane at 9 a.m., flanked by
U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service agents. His arrival in
Bahrain could not be confirmed early Friday.
"His
case is not an ordinary case," Rowaie said. "Because of
that, Bahrain will not allow him to come."
The
U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) first arrested
al-Najjar, who has not been formally charged with any crime, in May
1997. He was released in December 2000, but was arrested again in
November 2001.
Al-Najjar
spent the last 10 months of his stay in the U.S. in solitary
confinement at a federal prison. His family knew his deportation was
likely this week, but was not given notice or a chance to see him off,
reports the Tribune.
In a statement released Thursday, Rep. David Bonior (D-MI), a longtime
supporter of Muslim and Arab causes, and personally involved in
al-Najjar’s case, said, "The injustice of secret evidence made
possible the wrongful jailing of Dr. Al-Najjar and has now culminated
in his unjust deportation.
"We
have denied Dr. Al-Najjar his liberty and his rights based on
unsubstantiated, secret allegations. This blatant disregard for our
constitutional rights and the basic rights of due process has served
as the Justice Department's modus operandi since the beginning of this
case.
"It
is reprehensible that Dr. Al-Najjar's family is being fractured yet
again by the Department's action. The promise of liberty that America
has held out to its immigrants for two centuries never included the
separation and destruction of the family - that is until now,”
Bonior commented, adding, “In a country that has shown compassion in
the past by taking in refugees, this deportation - which makes
refugees out of American children and their parents - is simply wrong
and immoral.”
The
U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service first arrested Najjar in
May 1997. He was released in December 2000 but was arrested again in
November 2001 and held in solitary confinement until his deportation.
Al-Najjar
was deported one day after the university where he once taught sued to
fire his brother-in-law, Sami al-Arian, because of his own alleged
ties to terrorism.
Al-Najjar
and al-Arian, who both taught at the University of South Florida (USF)
in Tampa, have been under investigation for years, suspected of links
with the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), which figures on the U.S.
list of international terrorist organizations.
University authorities have sought a judge's clearance to fire Arian,
who has been suspended for almost a year.
Al-Arian
Thursday denied claims that he raised funds for terrorists, and made
it clear he would fight a decision by USF to fire him.
"There is no evidence that they can show that I ever fund
raised" for the PIJ, he said at a news conference, after
university authorities announced they were seeking court clearance to
fire the computer science professor.
Al-Arian, who has been suspended for almost a year, made it clear he
would fight for his reinstatement and clear his name.
"This issue of academic freedom, for both men, is
troubling," said Joe Hohenstein, an attorney for Najjar.
"It's very distressing that [the university authorities] are
moving the way they are," he said.
"In both cases, the question is: 'Can we fire someone because we
don't like what they said?'" Hohenstein said.
Al-Arian has not been charged with any crime, but a federal
investigation is seeking to determine whether the USF-based World and
Islamic Studies Enterprise (WISE) think-tank he founded, fueled funds
to the Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
USF President Judy Genshaft announced Wednesday that the university
asked a judge to rule whether firing al-Arian would violate his
constitutional right to free speech.
Al-Arian said Thursday he would try to have the suit moved from state
to federal court and then file a motion to have the matter dropped.
"Do I have rights or do I not have rights? It would appear right
now that I don't have any rights?," he said.
"Right
now it seems like a majority of the people think 'No, you don't have
rights because you don't agree with us.'
"I'm an Arab, I'm a Palestinian, I'm a Muslim… That's not a
popular thing to be these days," said al-Arian, who was flanked
by family and attorneys.
Commenting on al-Najjar’s deportation, Bonior added, "Because
of our government's actions, Dr. Al-Najjar, his wife and their young
children were not permitted to live their lives with any semblance of
normalcy. Now, our government has acted in a manner that ensures their
future will be wrought with uncertainty, trauma and possible danger.
"All
Americans should mourn the trampling of our Constitution by today's
deportation."
|
|
|
