Solidarity and Support From Local, National and International Organizations
As organizations and community members with a long history of fighting for and protecting Civil & Human Rights we stand in Solidarity with the Sadequee Family in their struggle to see justice served & human rights protected in the Federal case against their youngest son Eshanul "Shifa" Sadequee. In 2006 Shifa, an American born US citizen, was kidnapped in Bangladesh and illegally brought to the US where he was unconstitutionally held in solitary confinement without a trial from 2006-2009. After 3 years of solitary confinement his case went to trial, however, the Prosecution suppressed key evidence from coming to light, and without a fair trial he was found guilty of 4 counts of conspiracy and attempt to provide support to terrorist organizations.
This case represents a clear violation ofShifa’s First Amendment Rights to Freedom of Religion and Freedom of Speech. At no point did Shifa take any action or make any plans to support terrorism in this country or abroad. No evidence presented at the trial or anywhere else contradicts these facts, and Shifa was convicted and faces 60 years in prison before any crime has been committed. President Obama has taken steps to end the violations of Civil & Human Rights abuses at the US prison in Guantanamo Bay. This case includes the same kind of isolation, abuse, and “guilty until proven innocent” tactics right here in Georgia’s own Guantanamo.
When an injustice of this magnitude occurs, it is important for people of conscience to stand up and speak out in the name of Justice and Equality. The prejudiced treatment against Muslimsand the roll back on Civil & Human Rights which began under former President Bush have no place in our society. We ask community members and organizations to sign on to this letter and come out in Solidarity with the Sadequee
Supporters in Solidarity
Georgia Citizens Coalition Against Hunger
Project South: Institute for the Elimination of Poverty & Genocide
SPARK: Reproductive Justice Now
Women’s Action for New Direction
Peace & Justice Foundation
United Against Racism
Malcolm X Grassroots Movement
International Action Committee
Sadequee Family Spoke Out on Verdict
Atlanta Civil Rights Organizations Rally to
Support Justice
Ehsanul "Shifa" Sadequee is not alone. Civil right organizations and human rights activists from around Atlanta and around the country spoke out on the jury's decision to find Shifa guilty of all four counts of conspiracy to provide material support to terror. Shifa, a US citizen and resident of Atlanta, was convicted and faces upto 60 years in federal prison BEFORE a crime has even been committed.
Many evidence that could exculpiate Shifa was barred from the trial by the prosecution, including that Shifa was kidnapped in Bangladesh, assaulted in prison, and tortured in solitary confinement for over three years before trial. Community members presented a solidarity letter in support of Shifa and the family. Mauri Salakhan from the Peace and Justice Foundation spoke along with other civil rights leaders.
From The Closing Argument: Shifa's Words
"I was not then, am not now a terrorist."
Sadequee defends himself against all four counts in closing arguments
Ehsanul “Shifa” Sadequee closed by arguing point by point the charges brought against him by the US government. He agreed with the US prosecutor Robert McBurney that the case is not about ideas, beliefs, or speech, but about action. And Sadequee asserted that he did not join terrorist organizations, did not attempt to provide material support, and did not conspire to do either.
He addressed the many pages of chats online that the government used as evidence of the “agreements” to provide material support in the form of personnel to foreign terrorist organizations. “The chats demonstrate quite clearly that we were immature young guy with imaginations run wild . . . We typed faster than we could think . . . Behind the words and chats none of us intended to do or try to do anything.” He referenced multiple opportunities that his co-defendant Haris Ahmed had to join a terrorist group in Pakistan, LET, but he did not. He quoted the government’s expert witness to remind the jury that LET has a public phone number and website and is accessible to anyone.
He finished by saying to the jury that he hope that they can distinguish between young men talking online, venting frustration and actual terrorist conspirators.
The jury received over a half hour of charges from the judge explaining the law with which to evaluate the evidence, and they entered deliberation. The defense expects a verdict in the next few days. GOOD ARTICLE ON THE CASE BY DAVID WEINGARTEN:
A good article about Shifa’s case by a Canadian filmmaker and writer who made the film: “Unfair Dealing” an independent documentary released in 2008. The film demonstrates that the terrorism charges brought against the "Toronto 18" were largely exaggerated or fabricated by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) in order to justify the controversial Canadian Anti-Terrorism Act, and increased funding for security and law enforcement. The article is about Shifa’s case specifically, and is a great summary of the evidence and the angle. Please read and forward!
William S. Duffey, District Court Judge United States District Court 1721 Richard B. Russell Federal Building and United States Courthouse 75 Spring Street SW, Atlanta, GA 30303
RE: Ehsanul Sadequee. Case No. 1:06-CR-147-WSD-GGB
Dear Honorable Judge Duffey,
I too am writing in plea to shorten Shifa’s time. You and I both know the tsunami words courts summon in these letters: in kind request you please realize his peaceful character, his loving
jihad. My fingers both young and tired typing daily devotions for just and fair, wrestling terror of empire’s enemy production, time longer than rope now adopted chant
in acceptance. My ears catch sound of bombs crying, chorus of a thousand Bengali kite- letters in flight to you. My heart holding prayer circle for you, resting in the comfort of Shifa’s
eyes on the ground for all living creatures, stomach a little empty to feel the people who are hungry.
Your honor, the bombs, our kites, your lock and key, their keepers once home all are chanting with Shifa’s sisters, mother, neighbors, wife in prayer, all know his solitary truthchant breath:
I was not then, am not now a terrorist I was not then, am not now a terrorist I was not then, am not now a terrorist I was not then, am not now a terrorist I was not then, am not now a terrorist
Sincerely,
Vanessa Huang
Videos Supporting Shifa!
Cara Page, Atlanta Transformative Justice Collective
On March 21, prison staff not following routine procedure for rotation of cells moved Shifa to a cell with extreme high temperature. Within 24 hours, he had an asthma attack, suffered from dehydration, suffocation and unable to eat and sleep. Repeated requests for cell change from Shifa were ignored by prison staff, so he went on hunger strike for 4 days before the staff relocated him to a new cell.
Background
On April 17, 2006, 19 year old Ehsanul Sadequee (Shifa), an American born Muslim, was kidnapped a few days after his wedding from Bangladesh under the direction of the Bush administration and handed over to the US on alleged charges of conspiracy to provide material support to terrorism and currently awaiting trial. Stripped of his clothes and wrapped in clear plastic, the federal authorities abused and tortured him in the aircraft while extraditing to the US. For three years Shifa has been held at a Federal Prison in solitary confinement, in a very small cell the size of a bathroom with no windows or proper ventilation. For a long period, Ehsanul was denied access to information on the charges or evidence against him, and still continues to battle the lack of transparency in the government's case against him. In September 2008, Shifa received information that one of his court appointed attorneys was not working in his best interest and asked the judge to remove her. The request was denied and another inmate and client of the attorney physically assaulted and threatened Shifa in the presence of prison guards
Since October 2008, harassment, threats and physical violence were orchestrated and directed at Shifa inside the prison. He received head injuries from the assault and his request for differential diagnosis for medical treatment was ignored by prison medical staff. Since the physical violence on Shifa, his health has significantly deteriorated and he lives in fear for his life inside prison.Prolonged solitary confinement, particularly when Shifa has yet to be convicted of even the most minor offense,is torture and cruel and unusual punishment and a violation ofhis8thAmendment Constitutionalright. The denial of medical treatment is a violation of a basic human right.The abuses by the prison, harassment, and threats from both inmates and prison staff continue to this day, and his lawyers are working to improve the harsh conditions of his solitary confinement.
Shifa has been charged with crimes for exercising his constitutional and human rights to free speech and religious expression. He has been stripped of his rights because he was a religious and spiritual Muslim American. He is the victim of political and religious profile and discrimination instigated by the government towards Muslim Americans. The post-9/11 policies were implemented to prosecute terrorism-related charges, not against people who had actually committed crimes. At worst, innocent Muslims were targeted. Like the Bush policies of torture, illegal wiretapping and detention at Guantanamo, the “preventive conviction” of innocent Muslims in the USis a blot on the honor of America, a shame to our constitutional and legal traditions, and a continuing injustice to the Muslim Americans who were framed or overcharged, and remain in jail often under dreadful conditions.
From his plane ride return to theUnited States, through his incarceration, He has been subjected to physical abuse, psychological torture, and health ailments have been ignored and exacerbated by federal prison staff. While the government’s case relies substantially on innuendo and “guilt by association” Shifa’s First Amendment rights to free speech and practice his Muslim faith, his Fifth Amendment right to due process of law, and his Eighth Amendment right against cruel and unusual punishment have been violated viciously.
The Free Shifa Committee demands an investigation into the physical assault, immediate medical treatment, and improvement of the inhumane conditions of Shifa’s confinement. The Committee also requests Obama Administration to investigate the terrorism-related cases against innocent and overcharged Muslim Americans who became the scapegoats of a vengeful Bush Administration’s illegal policies. They deserve justice.Ehsanul Sadequee (Shifa) is an American bornUScitizen and he also deserves justice. We need your assistance in putting the pressure on the authorities to ensure the brutal conditions of confinement are alleviated from Shifa and released to his family.
