[News] Judge blasts FBI & Visa revoked for Muslim Scholar

[News at freedomarchives.org]

U.S. judge blasts FBI case against Albany Muslims
24 Aug 2004 23:21:56 GMT

Source: Reuters

(New throughout)

By Ellen Wulfhorst

ALBANY, N.Y., Aug 24 (Reuters) - Two Islamic men accused of supporting 
terrorism after an FBI sting operation were ordered released from jail on 
Tuesday by a judge who blasted the government's case by saying there is no 
evidence they have any links to terrorists.

U.S. Magistrate David Homer ruled Yassin Aref and Mohammed Hossain should 
be released on $250,000 bonds and held in home detention under electronic 
surveillance while they await trial. He said that could take up to two 
years so the men will be allowed to work and attend mosque until the trial.

The pair had been ordered held without bail earlier this month -- a ruling 
largely based on an address book that prosecutors said was found in an 
Iraqi terrorist training camp. The book referred to Aref as "the commander" 
in Arabic.

The government now says that translation was an error and the word is 
"brother" in Kurdish.

The order to release the two comes amid criticism that the Bush 
administration's anti-terrorism policies have caused authorities to leap to 
unfounded conclusions in cases that have fizzled or been dropped altogether 
after initial high-profile announcements.

Muslims in Albany -- home to about 7,000 followers of Islam -- have called 
the arrest of the two men a tragic misunderstanding and many have avoided 
attending mosques out of fear of being labeled terrorists.

Aref, 34, the leader of an Albany mosque, and Hossain, 49, a pizzeria 
owner, were arrested in a sting operation in which authorities said they 
agreed to help an FBI informant launder $50,000 from the sale of a 
shoulder-fired missile as part of a fake plan to assassinate a Pakistani 
diplomat.

They pleaded not guilty to charges of money laundering, supporting 
terrorism and conspiracy on Aug. 10.

NO TERRORIST LINK

The judge chided the government, saying the case is much weaker now than it 
first appeared. He said the two were not plotting violence and are not a 
danger to the community.

"The evidence in this case appears less strong today," Homer said. "There 
is no evidence ... to support the claim that Mr. Aref has any contact with 
any terrorist organization."

"There still is no evidence of Mr. Hossain's involvement with any terrorist 
organization," he said.

The judge said the case could take one to two years to come to trial as 
much of the evidence has to be translated from foreign languages.

Defense attorney Terence Kindlon said the government was not merely 
overzealous but had presented false information.

"We've gone from something that sounded sinister and ominous and scary and 
terrible to zero in less than two weeks," he told the judge. "Our 
government doesn't need to go after a pizza man and an Iman who are 
perfectly innocent."

He added: "All we have here is basically the wreckage of the first hearing 
at which the government presented a lot of information that turned out to 
be bogus."

Members of Aref's and Hossain's families were tearful during the hearing, 
but they were greatly relieved by the ruling, said Faisal Ahmad, a teacher 
at Aref's mosque.

"I think they are very thankful to God," he said. "We just have to be 
patient. It's a test. Everything is a test."

Prosecutors argued that whether the word was "commander" or "brother" was 
irrelevant and does not affect the criminal charges the two men face. They 
say the pair were willing participants in the sting operation set up by the 
FBI.

Defense attorneys argued that Hossain thought the money was a loan, that 
Aref was brought in to unofficially witness the deal and that both men were 
victims of entrapment.

Under terms of their release, which is likely in one to two days, neither 
men may leave the area without permission. While both men have surrendered 
their passports, Hossain's five children would surrender theirs as well.
**************************************************************************************************************

U.S. Revokes Visa for Muslim Scholar

Tuesday August 24, 2004 8:31 PM



By TOM COYNE

Associated Press Writer

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) - Acting at the request of the Department of Homeland 
Security, the U.S. government has revoked the work visa of a Muslim scholar 
who had been scheduled to teach at the University of Notre Dame this fall.

Tariq Ramadan, a Swiss citizen who has been criticized for links to Islamic 
militants and for remarks branded anti-Semitic, was supposed to begin 
teaching on Tuesday, the first day of the fall semester.

State Department spokeswoman Kelly Shannon cited the Immigration and 
Nationality Act, part of which deals with aliens who have used a ``position 
of prominence within any country to endorse or espouse terrorist 
activity.'' Another section bars aliens whose entry may have ``potentially 
serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States.''

Both sections were amended under the USA Patriot Act, passed after the 
Sept. 11 attacks.

Shannon did not immediately say whether either section applied to Ramadan's 
case.

``We don't know a reason why either of those should apply to Tariq 
Ramadan,'' said Matt Storin, a Notre Dame spokesman. ``He's a distinguished 
scholar. He's a voice for moderation in the Muslim world.''

Shannon said the move came at the request of the Homeland Security Department.

Notre Dame appointed Ramadan earlier this year to be its Henry B. Luce 
professor of religion, conflict and peacebuilding at the Kroc Institute for 
International Peace Studies.

Ramadan remained in Switzerland, and Storin said he would relay to him a 
message seeking comment.

Ramadan has been teaching at the College of Geneva and the University of 
Fribourg, both in Switzerland, and has gained a popular following among 
European Muslims in showing how Islamic values are compatible with those of 
secular European society.

``In many ways he has defined what it means to be a European Muslim,'' said 
Muqtedar Khan, a political scientist at Adrian College in Michigan. ``He 
has essentially tried to bridge the culture gap.''

However, terrorism expert Yehudit Barsky of the American Jewish Committee 
charged that Ramadan has tried to bring legitimacy to Islamic militants.

``We really had hoped the university had exercised more caution in bringing 
him over here,'' she said in a recent interview.

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