Lynne Jackson will be in Chicago from 3/1/13 to 3/11/13. Here is a detailed description of what Lynne will speak about. Anyone interested in meeting with Lynne or having her speak to a group, please email her at lynnejackson@mac.com.
See the current schedule here:
http://www.projectsalam.org/events/2013-03_Chicago.html
The Post-9/11 Targeting of Muslims: Naming the Victims, Naming the Repression
presented by
Lynne Jackson, Project SALAM (Support and Legal Advocacy for Muslims)
Hundreds of innocent Muslims have been targeted, prosecuted, and convicted in the hysteria and fear following 9/11, using the FBI and Justice Department’s new paradigm of preemptive prosecution––prosecuting someone on suspicion alone, before a crime has been committed. This paradigm has turned the reasonable necessity of preventing terrorism into a governmental dragnet aimed primarily at Muslims, based on the false assumption that since the 9/11 terrorists were Muslims, all Muslims are prone to terrorism.
Besides its questionable legality under the Constitution and reversal of the presumption of innocence, a fundamental principle of American law, preemptive prosecution in effect redefines “terrorism” to include anyone whom the government and law enforcement agencies deem to be in opposition to them. As a result, dissent has now been criminalized, Islam as a religion is now suspect, and Muslims are now at the top of the list for terrorism prosecutions.
The FBI uses a number of pre-emptive prosecution tactics to entrap Muslims - agents provocateurs, criminalization of charity finance, draconian material support laws, and guilt by association.
After arrest, federal prosecutors often hold defendants before trial in solitary confinement, which can last for years and impair defendants’ mental ability to cooperate in their own defense or testify coherently. After trial, defendants with terrorism convictions may also be sentenced to highly restrictive isolation prisons called Communication Management Units (CMUs), in retaliation for expressing their constitutionally protected religious beliefs or unpopular political views, or for challenging rights violations in the federal prison system.
In this talk, I will discuss the tactics used in preemptive prosecution, through examples of several cases already prosecuted in the federal courts; SAMs and solitary confinement; and identify the effects of isolation, excessive sentences, and CMUs on prisoners and their families.
Lynne Jackson of Albany, NY is a co-founder of Project SALAM (Support and Legal Advocacy for Muslims, www.projectsalam.org). Lynne's involvement with the issue of preemptive prosecution began when two Muslim men in Albany, Yassin Aref and Mohammed Hossain, were sentenced to fifteen years in prison after being entrapped by the FBI. Lynne lives with her husband and two cats and makes a living as a computer consultant.
Other related articles:
Mother Jones:
http://motherjones.com/politics/2011/08/fbi-terrorist-informants
New York Magazine:
http://nymag.com/news/features/yassin-aref-2011-7/
Harper's Magazine
http://www.harpers.org/archive/2011/08/0083545
Video of Lynne Jackson on RT TV
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qNOIiNKjrX8
(please note, RT TV identifies Lynne as an attorney; Lynne is not an attorney)