Free Kashmir | PAKISTAN – USA FREEDOM FORUM | Stop Dividing Families |
President Obama, Do You Know Your Federal Courts Are Not Open to the Public?
Pakistan USA Freedom Forum is asking everyone to support our demand that Dr. Aafia Siddiqui receive a fair trial, currently under way in New York's Federal District Court, 500 Pearl St., Room 21B, before Judge Richard Berman. Never before have court officials harassed supporters by taking names and I.D. numbers before they entered a courtroom. Such intimidation denies Dr. Aafia a free, fair and open trial. We protest this abuse.
On Thursday, January 21, when Shahid Comrade went to enter the courtroom of Judge Berman, the martial asked him, as he had asked everyone else entering that courtroom, to show him his ID so he could write down his name and number. Comrade refused, and stated that this was against the Constitution of the United States. The marshal stated that this was the order that he had been given by the Chief Marshal. Comrade found noted civil-rights attorney Norman Siegel, who was in the court building on another matter and told him what had happened. Together, they went to the Chief Marshal of the New York Federal District Court, on the fourth floor of 500 Pearl St. After the Marshal asked Comrade to remain outside, Siegel spoke to the Chief Marshal asking him to rescind the order. The Chief Marshal told Siegel he would get back to him. So far, this order has not been lifted.
Afterwards, Siegel told Comrade that, in his 40 years as a practicing attorney, he has never heard of a trial in which visitors were told they had to provide their names and ID numbers to get into a trial, and to his mind this was unconstitutional. Pakistan USA Freedom Forum wishes to thank Norman Siegel for all his assistance in his defense of civil rights and the Constitution.
Pakistan USA Freedom Forum is asking all organizations concerned with human, civil and constitutional rights, political parties and media to demand fair and open courts, insisting that Judge Berman Federal District Court halt this intimidating attempt to deny justice to Dr. Aafia Siddiqui.
We would also like to thank all those who gave support once they heard that officials were ignoring the Constitution. We particularly want to thank Sara Flounders, one of the leaders of Workers World Party, and all those who attended her talk last Friday who stood up and applauded the immigrants and Muslims who stood up for the cause of civil rights in the United States. We will never walk away from sacrifices for the cause of humanity.
Pakistan USA Freedom Forum demands that Judge Richard Berman and the Courts halt the collection of supporters' names and I.D. numbers, publicly identify why this information was collected, whether this information was shared with any other agencies and destroy any data collected in the process.
An end to this intimidating practice will help ensure a fair and open trial for Dr. Aafia Siddiqui and all people brought before the court. We ask President Obama to send the New York Chief Marshal, and all marshals in the Federal Courts, to a refresher course on the Constitution of the United States.
| Dr. Muhammad Shafique President | Mr. Shahid Comrade General Secretary (917) 280-0840 |
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