Should We Fear Our Government?

Syed Fahad Hashmi is an American citizen born in 1980 in Karachi, Pakistan. Fahad, a Muslim, had a reputation as a political activist who, according to his father, was only concerned about the plight of Muslims around the world and the civil liberties of Muslims in America. Following earning a political science degree in the United States, in 2003 he pursued a master's degree in international relations at London Metropolitan University in England, graduating in 2006. That June, Fahad was arrested at Londons Heathrow Airport based on an American Grand Jury indictment charging him with conspiracy of providing material support to al-Qaeda. This all came about while in graduate school in 2004, when Fahad shared his apartment for two weeks with another Pakistani-American acquaintance, Mohammed Junaid Babar. Allegedly Babar had brought military gear in luggage, which he provided to al-Qaeda. Fahads arrest was based on Babars plea bargain agreement with federal prosecutors in order to get a reduction, if convicted, of a possible 70-year prison sentence, accusing that he conspired with Fahad in aiding and abetting al-Qaeda. According to Fahads lawyer, Sean Maher, the charges are not that Fahad is a member of alQaeda; not that Fahad gave money to al-Qaeda; not that Fahad gave military weapons to alQaeda; but that he knowingly allowed a person to keep raincoats, ponchos and waterproof socks in his apartment and then to have forwarded them to al-Qaeda. At his pretrial hearing in Manhattans Federal District Court, Judge Loretta Preska denied bail partly on the grounds that Fahad had no ties to family and community despite the fact that his family along with about 50 friends, college acquaintances and others sat together in the courtroom while another 50 in a second room watched the proceedings on a live video stream. Because if he was convicted, he would face a possible 70-year sentence, on April 27, 2010, Fahad accepted a plea bargain agreement to a single count of conspiracy. Syed Fahad Hashmi served time in the high security HM Prison Belmarsh while fighting

extradition to the United States. He then served pretrial imprisonment in solitary confinement at the Special Housing Unit at Metropolitan Correction Center in Manhattan, and is now serving the remainder of his 15-year sentence at the Supermax (ADMAX) high-security prison at Florence Correctional Center in Florence, Colorado. After five months in pretrial detention, Fahad was put under special administrative measures, known as SAMs. SAMs severely restrict a prisoners communication. It does not allow calls, letters and visits with anyone except attorneys and limits contact with family members. Under a legal provision called the Classified Information Procedures Act (CIPA), which allows evidence to be classified and withheld from those being prosecuted, Fahad was not permitted to see much of the evidence against him.
ADMAX prisoners often are kept in solitary confinement and allowed out of their cells for only

one hour a day, which may take place in a small, enclosed area where they exercise alone. Prisoners receive their meals through ports in the doors of their cells. They are under constant surveillance. Cell doors are usually opaque and cells windowless. Conditions are plain, with poured concrete or metal furniture common. Often cell walls and plumbing are soundproofed to prevent communication between the inmates. Contact with family is extremely limited. Between Fahads transfer to Florence and this March Fahad was permitted only one phone call. In 1996, a United Nations team assigned to investigate torture described ADMAX conditions as "inhuman and degrading." The living conditions in Supermax prisons violate the United States Constitution, specifically, the Eighth Amendment's proscription against "cruel and unusual" punishment. Chris Hedges in his article, No Justice in Kafkas America, wrote. We no longer have freedom; there is only the appearance of freedom. We are consumed by an endless and vague war on terror in which the perfidiousness of our enemy, whose number, location and nature are never clearly defined, justifies the shredding of constitutional rights, torture, kidnapping, and detentions without charges or trials and an occult-like battle against an absolute evil. And if you think the state intends to limit itself to the persecution of Muslims, especially once there is an increase in domestic unrest and instability, you know little about human history. Fahads father told Chris Hedges, The U.S. government is concerned about human rights in China and Iran, I wonder about Fahads rights, and how they have been blatantly violated in this great land. It seems like innocent until proven guilty is only a saying, My son was treated as

guilty until proven innocent. As a citizen, I now have developed fear of my own government.

Video: A documentary highlighting the events surrounding the case the against Fahad and its impact on the general public. Sources: Chris Hedges, No Justice in Kafkas America, TruthDig.com Michael Ratner, attorney, Center for Constitutional Rights, ccrJustice.com The Case of Syed Hashmi, educatorsforcivilliberties.org Statement Of The Family Of Syed Fahad Hashmi, http://freefahad.com