FBI asked to investigate agents who allegedly intimidated Somali man

MINNEAPOLIS — An advocacy group for Muslims in Minnesota has asked the FBI to investigate claims that some of its agents repeatedly tried to intimidate a Somali man.

Lori Saroya, executive director of the Minnesota chapter for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said the Somali accuser alleges that two FBI agents tried several times to enlist him as an undercover informant. When the man refused their offers, the agents allegedly threatened the man, Saroya said.

“They told him if he didn’t work for them, if he did not become an informant, that the agents would delay his immigration – his immigration papers,” Saroya said. “They told him they would spread a picture of him all over the community. And after they did that, everyone in the community would be scared to talk to him.”

An FBI spokesman said the agency’s Minneapolis branch is investigating the claim.

Minnesota Public Radio, 30 January 2013

See also “CAIR-MN welcomes FBI probe of alleged abuses by agents”, CAIR press release, 30 January 2013

How to spot a (Muslim) terrorist

Tony MoleIn an interview with the Guardian, DCS Tony Mole, who has just taken over as head of the North West Counter Terrorism Unit, appeals to members of the public to report any suspicious activity. This includes the following behaviour:

“People going off to training camps and getting very fit and becoming very insular. People who were previously quite outward forming very small groups, not letting anyone else in, doing a lot of fitness training, disappearing, travelling and being very vague about it. You might think: ‘That’s strange.’ Now, there might be a legitimate reason for that. They might have decided to form their own fitness club. We’ll assess that. But it could be that they have been exposed to some kind of rhetoric.”

It seems clear that Mole is referring here primarily to Muslims, as this is not generally the sort of activity associated with far-right terrorism. What signs you should look out for that could identify a potential non-Muslim terrorist, so you can report them to the police, he doesn’t explain. Becoming an active member of the English Defence League or one of its offshoots, perhaps? Regularly visiting the Atlas Shrugs or Jihad Watch websites? We’re not told.

Mole refers to the “self-radicalisation” of Norwegian far-right terrorist Anders Breivik – which is the part of the interview that the Guardian highlights – but as to how you might spot a budding British Breivik, he really has nothing to say.

If you’re a Muslim, however, you would be well advised to avoid travelling widely or setting up a fitness club.

Terrorism suspect treatment of Mahdi Hashi is ‘a national disgrace’, claims Camden solicitor who fought for release of Guildford Four

The state-sponsored blackmail and harassment of a former Haverstock schoolboy and other Somalis living in Camden by MI5 is a “national disgrace”, according to one of the country’s leading miscarriage-of-justice campaigners.

Solicitor Gareth Peirce – who has represented the Guildford Four, Birmingham Six, the family of Jean Charles de Menezes and Guantanamo Bay detainee Moazzam Begg – spoke in support of Mahdi Hashi at a packed public meeting inside the Town Hall on Friday night.

The 23-year-old was stripped of his British citizenship after refusing to spy on young Muslims in Camden, according to his family.

Mr Hashi, who lived in Gilbey’s Yard, Chalk Farm, was later arrested in east Africa and taken to New York where he has been charged with being part of an international terrorist network. He has told his legal team how he was threatened with outlawed torture by US officials shortly after his capture in Djibouti last September.

Ms Peirce, whose law firm is based in Camden Town, said:

“Blackmail is unlawful. Threats, harassment and rendition are unlawful. These are crimes. If hundreds of Somalis under suspicion for travelling to east Africa get in touch with us and say they have been blackmailed and harassed, how many thousands of police and security officers are being deployed for this purpose? It’s a disgrace, a national disgrace, a badge of shame.”

Camden New Journal, 24 January 2013

ACLU files lawsuit over woman’s terrifying incident at Detroit Metro Airport

Shoshana Hebshi (2)A 36-year-old Ohio woman who is half-Jewish and half-Arab is suing the FBI and other federal agencies, saying she was yanked off an airplane at Detroit Metro Airport on the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, strip-searched, and jailed for more than four hours in a dirty cell because of her ethnic background.

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The constitutionality of the Belgian burqa ban

Jelle Flo and Jogchum Vrielink examine last month’s ruling by Belgium’s Constitutional Court that the 2011 ban on the face veil does not violate human rights. the conclude:

“Fundamental rights ultimately exist to protect minorities, unpopular minorities in particular, against the tyranny of the majority. A boundary is crossed when rights of individuals are simply sacrificed to majority sentiments; a boundary which should be protected by institutions such as the Court. In other matters, the Constitutional Court has not hesitated to fulfil this role. In the case of the burqa ban, however, these boundaries seem to have evaporated, making for the constitutional equivalent of a Schengen area.”

Open Democracy, 14 January 2013

Via ENGAGE

‘We are not some slaves who can be passed around from one owner to another’ – Mahdi Hashi’s father speaks out

Mahdi HashiThe family of a former Haverstock School pupil say they are shocked and relieved after the FBI revealed he had been captured in Somalia and charged with serious terrorism offences in New York.

The New Journal reported last month on serious concerns for the welfare of Mahdi Hashi who had not been seen or heard from since the summer. It was feared that the 23-year-old, who grew up in Camden and lived in Gilbeys Yard, Chalk Farm, was being held captive in an African prison camp.

It followed a controversial decision by Home Secretary Theresa May to revoke his citizenship over alleged links to “Islamic extremism”.

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Mahdi Hashi reappears in New York court

Mahdi HashiMahdi Hashi, the British-Somali man who disappeared from east Africa shortly after being stripped of his British citizenship, appeared yesterday in a New York federal court alongside two Swedish men. All three appear to have been rendered by the United States from Djibouti, and have now been charged with terrorism offences.

Hashi, 23, is accused of “providing material support” to Somali militant group al Shabaab. A statement released by the FBI revealed that Hashi has been in the US penal system since November 12. Neither his family nor his UK legal team were informed.

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Florida Muslim businessman sues Homeland Security over harassment

A Central Florida Muslim businessman detained by authorities at airports and border crossings more than 30 times since June has filed suit against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

It’s the second such lawsuit Sadique M. Jaffer has filed in Orlando against the federal agency in almost four years, in response to what he says are baseless and harassing detentions.

Jaffer, who lives in Windermere and works in real estate and computer sales in multiple states, claims he has been detained more than 50 times since 2007 as he has traveled domestically and internationally.

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Michigan: Anti-Islam law denied

Last week, Muslims nationwide were urged to take action against HB 4769, better known as the Anti-Islam Legislation.

State Legislator Dave Agema, a Republican from Michigan, was the state representative behind this bill, and actively pushing for it to pass during Michigan’s lame duck session.

CAIR, the Council on American-Islamic Relations, had their state-wide chapters calling on “all people of conscience” to urge their state governors “to veto the biased bill which is among those that seek to impose government-sanctioned discrimination on followers of a minority faith.”

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