[News] LA 8 Hearings begin July 13th

[News at freedomarchives.org]

ACTION ALERT: LA 8 HEARINGS BEGIN JULY 13!

Thank you for your appreciated and welcomed support for the Los Angeles
Eight case (LA8).

The LA8 deportation hearing starts next week, 7/13-7/22.

Thousands of immigrants from Arab and Muslim countries have been harassed,
intimidated, secretly incarcerated or deported in recent year, as part of
the Bush administration's ongoing campaign to curtail civil liberties and
immigrant rights while silencing dissent.

Michel Shehadeh and Khader Hamide were first arrested along with six other
Palestinians and a Kenyan in 1987. They were held for 23 days in
maximum-security cells, charged with "aiding terrorism." The basis of this
charge was that they distributed magazines and fundraised for Palestinian
social needs.

Former FBI Director William Webster testified to Congress that after an
extensive three-year FBI investigation the Los Angeles 8 "have not been
found to have engaged them selves in terrorist activity." Webster testified
that, "If these individuals had been U.S. citizens there would not have been
a basis for their arrest."

And yet today, 18 years later and counting, the government is still
pursuing the case against Shehadeh and Hamide despite failing to present not
a shred of evidence of any wrongdoing on the respondents part.

The ramification of the case is broad especially, against immigrants, and
ultimately against everyone's freedoms.   This administration claims that
the constitutionally protected activities of the LA 8 are retroactively
illegal under the USA Patriot Act.  As Michel Shehadeh states, the
government always picks the most vulnerable first in order to pursue dissent
in general. Thus it is necessary to rally to the cause of Michel Shehadeh
and Khader Hamide--an attack on them is an attack on free speech and is an
attack on all.

The LA times has recently published two in depth articles on the LA 8 as
government hearings are set to begin later this month.

<http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-fg-laeight29jun29,0,7631280,full.s>http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-fg-laeight29jun29,0,7631280,full.s
tory
<http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/la-fg-laeight30jun30,1,743032.story>http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/la-fg-laeight30jun30,1,743032.story

WHAT YOU CAN DO!

1.      Bring yourself, friends, family, and everyone you can to attend the
hearings 7-13-05 through 7-22-05 at 606 South Olive St. Los Angeles, Ca
90014. IJ Einhorn's Court.

2.     Forward this email or send your own about the case and upcoming
hearing and send to all contacts on your list.

3.      For donations please write the checks to International Humanity
Center (or just IHC)/Committee 4 justice (or just C4J), and send it to the
below address. Or, write it to the IHC and put in the memo C4J. Please don't
write anything else on the check. Each donor will receive a tax exempt
receipt by mail. You can donate online at www.committee4justice.com.

Please send your checks to the following address:

International Humanity Center
PO Box 923
Malibu  90265
Thank you,
www.committee4justice.com

Contact us:
committee4justice at yahoo.com

The Freedom Archives
522 Valencia Street
San Francisco, CA 94110
(415) 863-9977
www.freedomarchives.org 
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