Facing 70 Years in Prison for Clothing

On January 8, 2010, The Indypendent ran this story and political cartoon http://www.indypendent.org/2010/01/07/facing-70-years about the outrageous case of Syed Fahad Hashmi, an American citizen who has not been convicted of any crime yet who has been held for more than two years under the harshest conditions of solitary confinement not at Guantanamo, Bagram or some black site but at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Lower Manhattan. He is accused by a government informer of allowing a duffel bag of waterproof socks and raincoats to be stored at his house that, without his knowledge, went to terrorists in Afghanistan. His trial was scheduled to begin in February but has been again delayed.

Held under Special Administrative Measures (SAMs), Fahad, who is a US citizen and Brooklyn College graduate who grew up in Flushing, Queens, has been allowed no contact with anyone except his lawyers and one immediate family member every other week; no calls, no letters, no radio, no newspapers until they are 30 days old and censored by his jailers; no contact with other prisoners; no group prayer or worship; and for more than 29 months now, no fresh air or sunlight. His cell is electronically monitored inside and out, so he showers and goes to the bathroom in view of the camera. He is allowed only one hour "out" of his cell but must exercise alone in a solitary cage. Under the Classified Information Procedures Act but in direct contradiction to basic due process, the U.S. government has not allowed Fahad to review all of the evidence against him. Fahad is charged with four counts of “material support of terrorism.” The "centerpiece" of the U.S. government's case against Fahad is that for two weeks he allowed an acquaintance who had a suitcase full of waterproof socks and ponchos to stay in his apartment. This acquaintance allegedly delivered this suitcase to a member of Al Qaeda and used Fahad's cell phone to call co-conspirators.

ACTIONS YOU CAN TAKE:
The official website of the Free Fahad campaign is www.freefahad.com You can watch a video with Michael Ratner of the Center for Constitutional Rights speak about the case there. There is also a statement of concern petition there signed by over 500 prominent scholars and writers and you can add your name to the list.

Please send an email to Attorney General Eric Holder and US Attorney for the Southern District of New York regarding the Special Administrative Measures under which Fahad is held. There is an email form to Eric Holder and the US Attorney you can use on-line at: http://www.educatorsforcivilliberties.org/. There are also links to other stories that prominent media have already published about the case including Democracy Now, The Nation and others.

Theaters Against War http://www.thawaction.org has information about vigils being held on Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday (Jan 18) and, beginning in February, twice a month - every 2nd and 4th Monday of the month. The vigil dates are: February 8 and 22, March 8 and 22 and April 12 and 26. The vigils take place every Monday night from 6-7PM directly outside the Metropolitan Correctional Center, 150 Park Row (at the corner Pearl Street), in lower Manhattan. Take the 4/5/6 train to Brooklyn Bridge – walk north on Centre Street to Pearl Street which is located between the two major federal courthouses on Foley Square. Walk down Pearl Street until it dead-ends on Park Row and look for the vigil.