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The
Nov. 16 decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit, to
reject radical New York attorney Lynne Stewart’s appeal of her 2005
frame-up conviction on five counts of aiding and abetting terrorism is
a legal and political atrocity. The court’s ruling is in line with the
9/11 witch-hunt “anti-terrorism” climate that has been orchestrated to
stifle dissent, justify war and, in Stewart’s words, “chill the defense
bar.” In interviews with the press, Stewart predicted that the ruling
would set the stage for the upcoming U.S. prosecutions of Guantanamo prisoners.
The
Second Circuit’s virtually unprecedented decision to order the
revocation of Stewart’s bail and her immediate imprisonment took both
her legal team, headed by Joshua Dratel, and
federal district court officials by surprise since such orders are, as
a rule, left to the district court judge—in this case John Koeltl, who presided over Stewart’s jury trial and
sentencing. It took three days of discussions, legal wrangles, and
informal meetings until Stewart was finally ordered to report for
incarceration. She and her supporters used the time to organize
impressive send-off protest rallies in New York’s Foley Square, as well as a series of
press conferences and a major interview on Amy Goodman’s “Democracy
Now!”
Stewart
is currently at the Manhattan Correctional Center. Due to new regulations
pertaining to overcrowded federal prisons, she may serve at least 10
months, if not all of her 28-month sentence there—unless the Second
Circuit’s efforts to extend her sentence are successful.
The
court’s decision affirmed all five conspiracy charges against Stewart.
But its seething contempt for Koetl’s
28-month sentence, as opposed to the 30 years sought by government
prosecutors, led the court to remand the issue of the length of the
sentence to Koeltl with instructions that he
consider whether Stewart had perjured herself during her court
testimony. If so, the majority of the three-judge panel argued, her
sentence should be extended.
The
dissenting Judge Walker insisted that Stewarts’s 28-month sentence was
“breathtakingly low” and “extraordinarily lenient,” and therefore,
“substantially unreasonable.” He insisted, in the face of Supreme Court
rulings that give federal judges wide discretion in sentencing, that it
be vacated immediately as opposed to being referred back to Koeltl. Walker has called for an en banc
hearing (a decision of all the Second Circuit judges) to consider his
dissent.
Stewart’s
trial took place in the shadow of the post-9/11 prosecutions and mass
arrests of some 2000 Muslim-Americans, whom the government sought to
associate wholesale with terrorist activities based on their national
origin and religious preference alone.
The
charges against Stewart referred to the fact that she had issued two
press releases on behalf of her client, Omar Abdel-Rahman,
an Egyptian cleric who she had defended against conspiracy charges of
planning to blow up New York monuments. The Clinton
administration’s attorney general, Janet Reno, declined to prosecute
Stewart for what was at that time (before 9/11) considered at worst a
minor infringement of a Special Administrative Measure (SAM)
prohibiting making defense clients’ views known through press releases
or other such public vehicles.
Punishment
for such violations, as was the case with Stewart initially, was
usually limited to temporary cancellation of attorney-client visiting
rights until a new SAM, with clear guidelines, was signed. But in the
post-9/11 climate of endless wars abroad, the Patriot Act, and
associated attacks on civil liberties at home, government officials
sought to make an example of Stewart, an outspoken radical critic of U.S. policies. Her “minor
infraction” was elevated to a major conspiracy.
Stewart’s
legal team in the Omar Abdel-Rahman case
included former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark and former
American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee president and founder, Abdeen Jabarra. Sheik
Omar, in Lynne’s view, was an innocent victim of reactionary
“conspiracy laws” aimed at political dissidents.
The
two press releases issued by Stewart were published by the Reuters news
agency. They asserted Sheik Omar’s views on a cease-fire accord that
his Egyptian co-thinkers had been considering scrapping in light of
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak’s
repeated violations, including the U.S.-backed Egyptian dictator’s
routine torture and murder of political prisoners and political
opponents. His release affirmed, “I [Omar Abdel-Rahman]
am not withdrawing my support of the cease-fire, I am merely
questioning it and I am urging you, who are on the ground there to
discuss it and to include everyone in your discussions as we always
have done.” The cease-fire remained intact and no one was harmed in any
way as a result of the Sheik’s press statement.
Still
fighting, Lynne’s attorneys asked the Second Circuit for a delay of her
incarceration so that Lynne could undergo a Dec. 6 surgery scheduled at
Lenox Hill Hospital. Her request was denied.
Lynne, a diabetic with hypertension and recovering from breast cancer,
will now have her operation performed at a prison-administered
facility. Her request that her M.D. daughter observe the operation was
similarly denied.
Meanwhile,
a new sentencing hearing before Judge Koeltl
is scheduled for Dec. 2 at the Foley Square Federal
Courthouse. Federal prosecutors are expected to ask for the
maximum sentence possible. Also appearing in court will be Mohamed Yousry, Lynne’s innocent co-defendant and translator.
Koeltl was also ordered to reconsider Yousry’s 20-month sentence. The prison term of a
third defendant in Lynne’s case, Ahmed Sattar,
who was sentenced to 20-plus years, was not challenged.
One
can only speculate as to whether Judge Koeltl
will stand by his original sentence. If he does, government prosecutors
are expected to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. They, and obviously
the Second Circuit, are outraged that a “convicted terrorist” has been
traversing the country for the past five years, free to champion her
own cause and those of all others who suffer political repression. It
was clear from Judge Koeltl’s relatively
short sentence and high praise of Lynne’s record as an attorney and
caring human being (a “credit to her profession,” said Koeltl during the sentencing hearing) that he felt
compelled to take his distance from the government’s desire to put
Lynne, 70, in prison for what would amount to the rest of her life.
Stewart
will be appealing her conviction, as well as any lengthening of her
sentence, to the U.S. Supreme Court. Her defense committee is being
re-enforced, with fresh forces joining the effort to further expose the
political nature of her frame-up.
Lynne’s
parting words brought tears of joy to her supporters at the final New York rally, where she was
escorted to the courthouse for incarceration. She pointed to the
urgency of winning Mumia Abu-Jamal’s freedom
and to fighting against new efforts toward Mumia’s
execution. She reminded her supporters of Joe Hill’s admonition, “Don’t
Mourn! Organize!” Pam Africa, leader of the fight for Mumia’s freedom, was present and prominent among
Lynne’s many supporters at this inspiring and tragic send-off of a
fighter who is loved and admired by all who cherish justice and freedom.
The
Nov. 21-22 meeting of the Coordinating Committee of the National
Assembly to End the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars and
Occupations, of which Lynne has been an active member, unanimously
approved a resolution condemning her persecution and incarceration.
Tax-deductible
contributions can be made payable to: “National Lawyers Guild
Foundation (memo box, “Lynne Stewart defense”) and mailed to: Lynne
Stewart Defense Committee, 350 Broadway, Suite 700, New York, NY 10013. Lynne is an avid
correspondent. She would like nothing more than to hear from friends
and supporters. Write her at: Lynne Stewart 53504-054, MCC-NY, 150
Park Row, New York, N.Y. 10007.
Jeff
Mackler is the West Coast coordinator of the
Lynne Stewart Defense Committee
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