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AMP Report – April 24, 2010
Civil rights groups question fairness
of Syed Fahad Hashmi’s trial
Amnesty International USA, the Center for Constitutional Rights and the Council on American-Islamic Relations have expressed serious concerns about the trial of Syed Fahad Hashmi who trial is scheduled for April 28 on charges relating to material support for terrorism.
In an open letter, the human rights organizations discussed Hashmi's severe conditions of confinement over the last three years in which he has awaited trial under Special Administrative Measures (SAM) and the impact of these conditions on his mental health and his ability to effectively participate in his own defense.
The letter reads in part:
"We are concerned that Mr. Hashmi has not been informed of the reasons for the imposition of SAMs. We are also concerned that Mr. Hashmi is being held under conditions that are not consistent with international standards for humane treatment. Due to their likely impact on his mental health, we are further concerned that these conditions will prejudice his ability to assist in his own defense.
"The Department of Justice stated last year that 46 inmates around the country were being confined pursuant to SAMs. Although we recognize that the department has a legitimate interest in protecting classified information that may harm national security and in protecting the public against acts of terrorism, we are very concerned that inmates held pursuant to such measures are not being given an adequate opportunity to defend against the imposition of SAMs in their cases.
"We urge the Attorney General to review and revise the agency's regulations governing the imposition of SAMs to ensure that all prisoners regardless of their security status are held in humane conditions, are not subjected to discriminatory treatment, are given adequate information about why SAMs are being imposed, and are given a full opportunity to argue and present evidence against their imposition."
Also, a petition signed by hundreds of academics, including Henry Louis Gates of Harvard University, called Mr Hashmi’s detention “draconian”.
Bill Quigley
In an article titled - Not Just Guantanamo: US Torturing Muslim Pre-Trial Detainee in NYC – Bill Quigley, Legal Director for the Center for Constitutional Rights and a law professor at Loyola University New Orleans, wrote: Today in New York City, the U.S. is torturing a Muslim detainee with no prior criminal record who has not even gone to trial.
The article published in Huffington Post on April 3 said:
“For the last almost three years, Syed Fahad Hashmi has been kept in total pre-trial isolation inside in a small cell under 24 hour video and audio surveillance. He is forced to use the bathroom and shower in full view of the video. He has not seen the sun in years. He takes his meals alone in his cell. He cannot see any other detainees and he is not allowed to communicate in any way with any prisoners. He cannot write letters to friends and he cannot make calls to anyone but his lawyer. He is prohibited from participating in group prayer. He gets newspapers that are 30 days old with sections cut out by the government. One hour a day he is taken into another confined room where he is also kept in total isolation.
“Children are taught that the U.S. Constitution protects people accused of crimes. No one is to be punished unless their guilt or innocence has been decided in a fair trial. Until trial, people are entitled to the presumption of innocence. They are entitled to be defended by an attorney of their choice. And the Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution prohibits cruel and unusual punishment.
“The punishment of Mr. Hashmi has been going on for years while he has been waiting for trial. In addition to the punitive isolation he is subjected to today, he was denied the attorney of his choice. He was allowed only counsel investigated and pre-approved by the government. He is not allowed to look at any translated documents unless the translator is pre-approved by the government. He is not allowed any contact with the media at all. One member of his family can visit through the heavy screen for one hour every other week unless the government takes away those visits to further punish him. The government took away his family visits for 90 days when he was observed shadow boxing in his cell and talked back to the guard who asked what he was doing.
“If the Constitution prohibits cruel and unusual punishment, what is the impact of forced isolation? Medical testimony presented in his case in federal court concluded that after 60 days in solitary people's mental state begins to break down. That means a person will start to experience panic, anxiety, confusion, headaches, heart palpitations, sleep problems, withdrawal, anger, depression, despair, and over-sensitivity. Over time this can lead to severe psychiatric trauma and harms like psychosis, distortion of reality, hallucinations, mass anxiety and acute confusion. Essentially, the mind disintegrates.
“That is why, under international standards for human rights, extended isolation is considered a form of torture and is banned. The conditions and practices of isolation are in violation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the U.N. Convention against Torture, and the U.N. Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.”
Who is Syed Fahad Hashmi?
Born in Pakistan, Mr Hashmi moved to the United States from Pakistan when he was three and he became a US citizen. His brother is a software consultant and their father was an accountant for New York City authorities before he retired. A graduate of City University of New York’s Brooklyn College, Hashmi received a master’s degree in international relations from London Metropolitan University in the UK.
Mr Hashmi was arrested by the British authorities at Heathrow airport, Lonon in June 2006 before being extradited to New York a year later. He was arrested based on the testimony of Junaid Babar, an informant attempting to get a reduction in his own 70-year prison sentence. This was the guy who had briefly stayed in Hashmi's apartment in London. Junaid Babar has testified at terrorism trials in Britain and Canada since pleading guilty in 2004 to supporting al Qa’eda.
Babar was expected to testify at the trial and say Mr Hashmi held military clothes for him knowing they would be passed on to al Qa’eda in Afghanistan. Prosecutors say Mr Hashmi also gave his phone to Babar to call a convicted bombing conspirator and lent Babar money for a plane ticket to Pakistan to transport the clothing.
Bill Quigley wrote: “once accused of connections with terrorism or al Qaeda, apparently, the U.S. constitution and international human rights apparently do not apply. Torture by the U.S. is allowed. Pre-trial punishment is allowed. The presumption of innocence goes out the window. Counsel of choice is not allowed. Communication with news media not allowed.”
Material support statute
In another comment published in the Huffington Post on April 6, William Fisher said: “Now, finally, Hashmi has a trial date -- April 28. He will be tried for conspiring to send money and military gear -- socks and rainproof ponchos -- to al Qaeda associates in Pakistan. And my lawyer friends tell me that the way the "material support" statute is written, you could convict a ham sandwich of supporting al Qaeda.”
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