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Amicus Brief for Aref and Hossain UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK YASSIN AREF, Petitioner, Case No. 1:04-CR-402 (TJM) V. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Respondent. MOHAMMED MOSHARREF HOSSAIN, Petitioner, Case No. 1:04-CR-402 (TJM) V. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Respondent. Proposed AMICUS BRIEF Project SALAM, the Muslim Solidarity Committee And the Masjid As Salaam ________________________________________________________________________ On October 10, 2006, Yassin Muhidden Aref (hereinafter “Aref”), and Mohammed Mosharref Hossain (hereinafter “Hossain”) were convicted of terrorism-related charges in connection with an FBI sting involving the sale of a fake missile for a fictitious terrorist attack, and for money laundering. Aref was also convicted of one count of lying to the FBI. On March 8, 2007 the two defendants were sentenced to 15 years incarceration each. Their appeals to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals and to the U.S. Supreme Court were denied, and they have exhausted their appellate remedies. Aref and Hossain have petitioned this court pursuant to the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, Section 2255 for, among other issues, the appointment of an independent prosecutor to review their cases to determine if the government and the courts provided them with necessary exculpatory information, a fair trial and justice. They seek relief similar to what was granted in People v. Theodore Stevens (a Stevens review), or what the Inspector General of the Department of Justice recommended in his June 10, 2009 Report to correct the failure of the Justice Department to identify and provide exculpatory information in terrorism cases – an independent review. Amici, Muslim Solidarity Committee (hereinafter “MSC”), Project SALAM (hereinafter “SALAM”), and the Masjid As-Salaam respectfully submit this Amicus brief, pursuant to Rule 29 in support of the defendants 2255 petition and to present information which may assist the court in deciding the issues raised by the defendants, especially where the defendants are unrepresented. INTEREST OF THE AMICI 1. Muslim Solidarity Committee (MSC) Amicus MSC is an organization that was formed on October 13, 2006, after the convictions of Aref and Hossain, to care for the families of the defendants, and to advocate against the “preemptive prosecution” program of the United States Government which incarcerates “suspicious” Muslims, including Aref and Hossain, in order to preempt them from possibly committing crimes in the future. 2 The MSC, made up of Muslims and non-Muslims alike, has raised over $30,000 to date to support the families of the defendants by paying rent and buying food and helping them to become financially independent. Prior to sentencing, the MSC helped to obtain approximately 970 signatures on a petition to the court requesting leniency for the defendants, as well as encouraging over 100 letters to the court. The MSC undertook to edit and publish Yassin Aref’s autobiography, Son of Mountains, and assisted Shamshad Ahmad in editing and publishing his book about the FBI sting, Rounded Up – Artificial Terrorists and Muslim Entrapment After 9/11. The MSC also helped Ellie Bernstein produce her award winning film about the Aref/Hossain case, Waiting for Mercy. The MSC provided legal representation to the family of Yassin Aref in the form of a successful law suit against the US Government to obtain green cards for Aref’s wife and children. And the MSC provided a continual source of information about the Aref/Hossain case for the public in the form of talks, rallies, letters, and articles, to community groups and scholars. In his book Rounded Up, Shamshad Ahmad, the president of the Masjid As Salaam, made the following observation about the MSC Since then, [the founding of the MSC on October 13, 2006] this committee has literally assumed oversight of the welfare of the two defendants and their families. They have been steadfast in defending the Masjid As-Salaam and its community, and have become a watchdog group to ensure that Muslims are no longer targeted by the government. (Rounded Up p.168) 3 Aref, who has been incarcerated in two Communication Management Units in the mid- west (Terra Haute Ind., .and Marion, Ill.), is too far from Albany for his family to visit by themselves. The MSC has taken the Aref family on two 4 day trips out West to visit their father. Hossain, who is not in good health, is incarcerated in Fairton N.J., a 16 hour round trip from Albany including the visit. Members of the MSC have helped the Hossain family on numerous occasions to rent a van and make the long trip to visit Hossain in jail. The MSC obtained grants from the Rosenberg Foundation for Children so that the children of the defendants could continue in their fine Islamic School in Albany, the An Nur school. Members of the MSC visit both families on a regular basis and have tried to provide resources so that the children will have to most normal upbringing possible under the circumstances. 2. Project SALAM (SALAM) Amicus, Project SALAM (Support And Legal Advocacy for Muslim - hereinafter “SALAM”) is an organization of groups from different parts of the United States, (including MSC), dedicated to researching whether the United States Government, in launching and operating its “preemptive prosecution” program, is violating the civil rights of Muslims across the United States. It was founded in August 2007 by representatives from the MSC, and from the Support Committees for Dr. Rafil Dhafir in Syracuse and for Syed Fahad Hashmi, in New York City. SALAM has also worked 4 closely with support committees for The Fort Dix 5, the Newburgh 4, Lynne Stewart, and has provided information to numerous organizations and individuals. The first project of SALAM was to build a data base of Muslims and Muslim Organizations who were prosecuted (many in a preemptive manner) by the US government after 9/11. SALAM is presently following some 450 cases in its data base. This data base is available to anyone who visits the web site. Using the data base, SALAM has prepared a series of letter-petitions (now totaling 7) calling on the President of the United States and the Attorney General of the United States to appoint special or independent prosecutors to determine whether, in connection with their preemptive prosecution program, prosecutors failed to provide appropriate exculpatory information, failed to provide fair trials, and failed to do justice to the Muslims that they targeted. (See www.projectsalam.org, a site which includes the data base, and the 7 SALAM letter- petitions to President Obama and Attorney General Holder). Over 2,600 people have signed these letter-petitions. A summary of the seven letter- petitions follows to show the broad range of topics and cases that SALAM has brought to the attention of the President and the Attorney General. 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. 5 THE MAY 21, 2009 LETTER – A request that the Justice Department stop using various illegal practices against Muslims that violate the law, and treaties. 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. THE NOVEMBER 16, 2009 LETTER – A request that the Justice Department exonerate Muslims preemptively prosecuted on the basis of their charitable activities. 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. THE APRIL LETTER (Presently in the process of being signed) – A request that the Justice Department deal with the serious issues of misconduct in which the Justice Department has been engaged, including the Office’s failure to discipline lawyers who fail to disclose exculpatory information (the Stevens case) 3. Masjid As-Salaam Amicus, Masjid As-Salaam is a mosque that was founded in October 1982 by Dr. Shamshad Ahmad, a physics professor at the State University in Albany (SUNYA) It moved to its present location at 276-278 Central Avenue in Albany in 1999, and Dr. Ahmad is now the president. It has grown to be one of the largest mosques in the Capital District. Yassin Aref was the Imam of the Masjid As-Salaam, and Mohammed Hossain was one of its founders. When the FBI raided that mosque on August 5, 2004, and arrested Aref and Hossain, it threw the Muslim Community into turmoil. The members well knew that neither Aref nor Hossain had any involvement in terrorism. Affidavits attached to Aref’s 2255 motion attest to the fact that Muslims who worshipped in the Masjid As-Salaam in 6 close association with Aref knew that Aref had never counseled violence or jihad or any illegality toward America. The community held Aref in the highest regard as a peaceful and spiritual person. They knew the two defendants had been tricked and entrapped by the FBI. Thus the Muslim community in Albany, like Muslim communities in many other parts of the US was faced with the terrifying prospect that the US government would trick and entrap innocent people simply because they were Muslim.
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