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March 8, 2004
Palestinian Immigrant's Lawsuit Finally Gets Hearing
After nearly two years in immigration detention, Palestinian American
activist Farouk Abdel-Muhti is finally getting a chance to present his case
in court. We urge people concerned about free speech and human rights to
make the effort to attend this hearing. We will be arranging transportation
from the New York area. If you can come, please contact us ASAP to help us
make our plans.
Committee for the Release of Farouk Abdel-Muhti
On Wednesday, March 3, U.S. District Judge Yvette Kane of the
Middle District of Pennsylvania ordered a hearing in the habeas
lawsuit of New York-based Palestinian immigrant Farouk Abdel-
Muhti. Abdel-Muhti is suing the US government over his nearly
two-year detention by immigration authorities.
Judge Kane scheduled the hearing for Tuesday, March 30, at the
federal court in Harrisburg, the Pennsylvania state capital.
Abdel-Muhti was arrested on April 26, 2002, at the apartment
where he was living in Queens, New York, a month after he began
working regularly at the New York radio station WBAI-FM,
arranging interviews with Palestinians in the Occupied
Territories. The government says it arrested Abdel-Muhti because
of a 1995 deportation order, but his supporters believe he was
targeted because of his media work and his nonviolent organizing
in support of Palestinian rights.
Abdel-Muhti first filed his habeas lawsuit in federal district
court in New Jersey on November 6, 2002, after he had been
detained for more than six months at several New Jersey county
jails. The lawsuit demands his release under the US Supreme
Court's June 2001 ruling in Zadvydas v. Davis, which mandates the
release of detainees whose deportation orders cannot be carried
out within a reasonable period of time--generally six months. In
February 2003, the government transferred Abdel-Muhti to York
County Prison, about 25 miles south of Harrisburg, then convinced
New Jersey federal judge Faith Hochberg to approve a transfer of
the habeas suit to Pennsylvania, where it was assigned to Judge
Kane. Abdel-Muhti's legal team is headed by Shayana Kadidal of
the New York-based Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR).
Abdel-Muhti is a stateless Palestinian, born in Ramallah district
in August 1947; under Israeli law he is not permitted to return
to the West Bank, and no other country has agreed to accept him.
The government has kept him in jail for nearly two years, first
claiming it was arranging his deportation, then arguing that he
has obstructed his own removal. Abdel-Muhti is 56 years old and
his health is deteriorating. He is currently at Hudson County
Correctional Center in Kearny, New Jersey.
Abdel-Muhti's lengthy detention has generated significant media
attention and a public pressure campaign which includes rallies,
pickets and numerous letters and calls to immigration officials.
A group of Abdel-Muhti's supporters will make the four-hour trip
to Harrisburg on March 30 for the 1:30pm hearing; his supporters
and legal team will hold a press conference outside the courtroom
at the end of the day's proceedings.
WRITE to Farouk:
Farouk Abdel-Muhti
Committee for the Release of Farouk Abdel-Muhti
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