Peace activist and mother ask for US Attorney to stop Grand Jury Trials on Activists Call in 9/24.
(Meredith is one of 8 activists in MN, all but one are women). There are 22 activists total across the country.
Dear friends and family,
Next Monday marks two years since the FBI raided our home and subpoenaed me to testify to a secret grand jury about the anti-war movement and my political activism. This has been a stressful time for my family and we appreciate your support. Many of you have asked if this is over for us and I wish I could say it was but I can't.
My friend Hatem, who I traveled to Palestine with, still hasn't had any of his belongings returned. The US Attorney's office is still insisting that he is seeking multiple indictments and we need to believe that this is still his plan. Please stand with my family and friends and call Assistant US Attorney Barry Jonas at 312-353-5300 x68027 this week to tell him to end the investigation of anti-war and international solidarity activists.
If you are in Mpls please join us at the federal building on Monday, Sept 24th at 4:30pm. Thank you.
Peace, Meredith,
Background info from stopfbi.net
Two years after the September 24, 2010 FBI raids and grand jury repression that targeted 23 Midwest anti-war, Palestinian and international solidarity activists, the Committee to Stop FBI Repression is urging activists around the country to take action. Two years is enough! It is time for the Chicago U.S. Attorney’s office to say, once and for all, that this investigation is over.
After two long years, the activists who faced raids and subpoenaed are still being threatened. This needs to be taken seriously. In late July 2012, Northern Illinois Assistant U.S. Attorney Barry Jonas refused to return much of the material seized in the FBI raid on the home of Hatem Abudayyeh, citing the ongoing “material support for terrorism” investigation.
Barry Jonas is well known for participating in one of the worst violations of civil liberties in the past decade. He played a leading role in prosecuting the leaders of the Holy Land Foundation while he was trial attorney for the Department of Justice Counter-terrorism Section.
The Chicago U.S. Attorney’s Office has told lawyers representing the anti-war and international solidarity activists that they are preparing “multiple indictments of multiple people.” Barry Jonas’ refusal to return Abudayyeh’s papers is the latest confirmation that the investigation has not ended and that the Justice Department is continuing its vendetta against those who are working for peace with justice. In a number of “material support of terrorism” cases, there has been a gap of one to three or more years between the FBI raids and indictments.
Most of the activists targeted in this case, including Abudayyeh, helped organize the massive protest at the 2008 Republican National Convention in Saint Paul, Minnesota. At that time, an undercover law enforcement officer, going by the name of “Karen Sullivan,” infiltrated the protest efforts and stuck around to spy and lie about many of the 23 activists.
That Barry Jonas is now the lead prosecutor for the international solidarity activists is troubling. Jonas is a pro-Israel ideologue whose work in prosecuting the Holy Land case exposed his politically motivated willingness to trample on the rights of accused Palestinians. As the lead prosecutor in the Holy Land case, Jonas used secret witnesses (the defense never got to find out who the witnesses were), hearsay evidence and the introduction of evidence that had nothing to do with the defendants in the case - such as showing a video from Palestine of protesters burning an American flag - as a means to prejudice the jury. The result was that five men, who did nothing wrong, are sitting in prison with sentences that range between 15 and 65 years.
The U.S. is becoming a more repressive place. Hundreds of Arabs and Muslims have and are facing unjust prosecutions, or have already been put behind bars. Also, a grand jury is threatening political activists in the Northwest; criminal proceedings are taking place against NATO protesters in Chicago; and the Occupy movement has faced a wave of police violence.
Through our collective action, we were able to win a victory against the FBI frame up of veteran Chicano activist Carlos Montes.
We need to continue the fight to against all political repression. Together we will win!
--
Peace with Justice,
Meredith Aby
antiwarcommittee.org
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