Letters Project SALAM has written to President Obama and Attorney General Holder
Here is a brief description of each letter sent. To see the full letter, click on the date of the letter.
Please note, Project SALAM is still awaiting a response.
THE FEBRUARY 16, 2009 LETTER – A general request that the Justice Department review and dismiss cases involving “preemptive prosecution” in which innocent Muslims are targeted and convicted based on their religion and post 9/11 suspicion, rather than on evidence of actual crimes.
THE APRIL 4, 2009 LETTER – A request that the Justice Department review and dismiss certain specific cases of “preemptive prosecution” including: US v. Syed Fahad Hashmi; US v. Sami Al-Arian; US v. Rafil Dhafir; US v. Mohammed Hossain; and US v. Yassin Aref.
THE MAY 21, 2009 LETTER – A request that the Justice Department stop using various illegal practices against Muslims including: The use of agents provocateur (the case of Ahmed Niazi); the secret rendition and detention (“disappearance”) of suspects (the case of Aafia Siddiqui); detention of convicted Muslims at a special Muslim prison (CMU); the invocation of the “State Secrets Doctrine” to block judicial consideration of illegal wiretapping and extraordinary rendition (US v. Arar; US v. Jeppsen); the failure of the Obama Administration to prosecute war crimes, or end activities that are illegal by treaty..
THE JULY 8, 2009 LETTER – A request that the Justice Department follow up on its exoneration of Sen. Theodore Stevens by exonerating innocent Muslims convicted in preemptive prosecutions that were based on entrapment by agents provocateur, including the prosecutions of Hamid and Umer Hayat; the Ft. Dix 5; the Miami (Liberty City) 6; the Newburgh 4; Yassin Aref and Mohammed Hossain.
THE NOVEMBER 16, 2009 LETTER – A request that the Justice Department exonerate Muslims preemptively prosecuted on the basis of their charitable activities including: the blacklisting of Muslim Charities; the seizure of the assets of Muslim charities without due process (Kind Hearts, Al-Haramain Foundation); the use of illegal wire tapping to target innocent charitable activities; the criminalization of charitable activities (the Holy Land Foundation); the case of Rafil Dhafir (Help the Needy).
THE MARCH 8 2010 LETTER – A request that the Justice Department exonerate Muslims preemptively prosecuted on the basis of the Material Support for Terrorism statutes, in situations where the statutes fail to provide notice that otherwise legal and even charitable activities are criminal. Such activities include anti-terrorism services, (the Humanitarian Law Project cases); charitable activities (the Holy Land Foundation case); normal social hospitality (the Syed Fahad Hashmi case; the Ali Asad Chandia case); guilt by association (the Ehsanul “Shifa” Sadequee case); using Material Support statutes to charge people with crimes who refuse to voluntarily cooperate with the government, (the Tarek Mehanna case). The letter also discusses the release of the FBI guidelines, and the killing of Imam Luquman Ameen Abdullah by the FBI during a sting.
SIGN THE CURRENT LETTER – A request that the Justice Department deal with the serious issues of misconduct and illegal behavior in which the Justice Department has been engaged, including the failure of the Office of Professional Responsibility to discipline lawyers such as Yoo, Bybee, and Bradbury who committed serious professional misconduct in authorizing torture, and the Offices failure to discipline lawyers who fail to disclose exculpatory information (the Stevens case.; Also discussed is the failure of the Department of Justice to take appropriate action in the cases of the CIA Agents convicted in Italy; the failure to turn over exculpatory information in the Samueli and Ruehle cases; the dismissal of charges in the Blackwater prosecution; the “loss” of 22 million emails from the White House; the cover-up of prisoner murders at Guantanamo; the manufacturing of emergencies to by-pass warrant requirements; the continuing torture program of the Obama Administration; the killing of Imam Luquman Ameen Abdullah, and the implementation of the Total Information Awareness system in violation of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.