Muslim civil rights attorney and human rights activist.
National Litigation Director, General Counsel and Acting Civil Rights Director at Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR).
Nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization files amicus brief to support Arkansas Times’ First Amendment challenge
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 4/16/2019) – The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today announced the filing of an amicus (friend of the court) brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.
CAIR, along with client Bahia Amawi, filed in support of the Arkansas Times’ First Amendment challenge to Arkansas’ anti-BDS law.
READ CAIR’s Amicus Brief
CAIR represents Bahia Amawi in a similar First Amendment challenge to Texas’ anti-BDS law. Bahia Amawi is a speech language pathologist who performs bilingual assessments for Arabic-speaking elementary school students. Last fall, she lost her contract with a Texas public school district because she refused to sign the new “No Boycott of Israel” clause. A hearing on her case was held on March 29, 2019 in Austin and a decision could issue at any time.
SEE: CAIR Files Motion to Enjoin Texas Anti-BDS Act as Unconstitutional
SEE: Dozens show up to support woman challenging anti-Israel boycott law(Statesman)
Arkansas is one of 26 states which in recent years have passed laws targeted at punishing the peaceful Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement which supports Palestinian human rights. Two federal courts ruled in 2018 that the Arizona and Kansas versions of these laws are unconstitutional and in violation of the First Amendment.
CAIR has also challenged anti-BDS laws in Maryland and Arizona. But in January, an Arkansas federal district court split from the Arizona and Kansas courts and concluded that “A boycott of Israel…is neither speech nor inherently expressive conduct.”
The Arkansas Times, represented by the American Civil Liberties Union, appealed to the Eighth Circuit. CAIR supports the appeal. As explained by CAIR’s amicus brief, “Political speech and political consumer boycotts are fully protected by the First Amendment…Arkansas’ law is even more egregious than other states’ because it permits contractors’ political speech against Israel, but only if the speaker agrees to pay a 20 percent penalty.”
“Every American should be concerned about state laws that impose financial penalties based on individuals’ political viewpoints,” said CAIR National Litigation Director Lena F. Masri.
“The structure of the Arkansas anti-BDS Act makes it clear that Arkansas does not care about the details of contractors’ economic transactions with Israel, it only cares about suppressing speech that criticizes Israel,” said CAIR Trial Attorney Carolyn Homer. “That violates the First Amendment.”
Community members who have been affected by “No Boycott of Israel” laws or contractual provisions in any state are urged to contact CAIR’s Civil Rights Department at 202-742-6420 or by visiting https://www.cair.com/report
CAIR is America’s largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance understanding of Islam, protect civil rights, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.
La misión de CAIR es proteger las libertades civiles, mejorar la comprensión del Islam, promover la justicia, y empoderar a los musulmanes en los Estados Unidos.
Become a Fan of CAIR on Facebook: www.facebook.com/CAIRNational
Subscribe to CAIR’s Email List: http://tinyurl.com/cairsubscribe
Subscribe to CAIR’s Twitter Feed: http://twitter.com/cairnational
Subscribe to CAIR’s YouTube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/cairtv
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CONTACT: CAIR National Litigation Director Lena Masri, 248-390-9784, lmasri@cair.com; CAIR Trial Attorney Carolyn Homer, 202-516-4724, chomer@cair.com; CAIR Strategic Communications Manager Arsalan Bukhari, 206-931-3655, abukhari@cair.com
Nation’s largest Muslim civil rights group to hold news conference outside courthouse following hearing, urges community to attend court proceedings
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 4/3/19) – On Thursday, April 4, attorneys from the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, will challenge the constitutionality of the federal government’s watchlisting system at a hearing before a federal judge in Alexandria, Va.
SEE: U.S. Government’s Watchlist Violates the Constitution, Lawyer - and Plaintiff - Says
CAIR will also hold a news conference outside the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Virginia immediately following the hearing. The news conference will be livestreamed at: https://www.facebook.com/CAIRNational
The Washington-based civil rights organization is also urging those who value the Constitution to attend the hearing.
Facebook Event Page, Attend Court Hearing for CAIR’s Lawsuit Against Illegal WatchList: https://www.facebook.com/events/1119156561602266/
WHAT: Hearing Regarding Constitutionality of the Federal Government’s Watchlisting System
WHEN: Thursday, April 4, 10 a.m.
WHERE: U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Virginia, 401 Courthouse Square, Courtroom 701, Alexandria, Va.
CONTACT: CAIR National Litigation Director Lena Masri, 202-742-6420, lmasri@cair.com, CAIR Senior Litigation Attorney Gadeir Abbas, 720-251-0425, gabbas@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, ihooper@cair.com
“Our plaintiffs are broadly representative of the types of systemic abuses thousands of innocent American Muslims – including infants and toddlers – are being subjected to as a result of being designated in the terrorist screening database without even a modicum of due process,” said CAIR National Litigation and Civil Rights Director Lena F. Masri. “We are confident the Court will the weigh the overwhelming evidence we obtained in our favor and declare the federal watchlisting system unconstitutional.”
“The federal terrorist watchlist is essentially a secretive network map of American Muslims’ associations,” said CAIR National Trial Attorney Carolyn Homer. “It’s built by scrutinizing plaintiffs’ families, traveling companions and phone contacts. We hope the court recognizes that the watchlist creates second-class citizens and violates due process.”
The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Virginia on behalf of 23 innocent American Muslims, including a baby, who were targeted by the federal government’s watchlisting system.
These individuals have suffered a range of severe consequences, including inhumane confinement conditions resulting in emergency medical treatment, repeatedly being handcuffed at gunpoint while crossing the border, forced separation of families, denial of boarding of flights, missed funerals and weddings, and a baby being searched and detained for four hours despite burning up from a fever.
CAIR: Ordeal of Infant on ‘Watch List’ Shows Deep Flaws: Lawsuit
CAIR: Feds Share Watchlist with 1,400 Private Groups (AP)
CAIR: Detroit Mother Calls Out Feds for Breaking Up Family, Files Lawsuit
On April 4, CAIR will also launch a social media series featuring stories of innocent American Muslims - including infants and toddlers - who have joined CAIR lawsuits filed around the country challenging the constitutionality of the federal government’s watchlisting system.
Members of the public can help their social media followers understand the harm to American families and children caused by the federal government’s illegal, ineffective watchlist by using downloadable graphics and messages from CAIR’s Watch List Digital/Social Media Action Toolkit.
SEE: Watch List Digital/Social Media Action Toolkit
CAIR is America’s largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance understanding of Islam, protect civil rights, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.
La misión de CAIR es proteger las libertades civiles, mejorar la comprensión del Islam, promover la justicia, y empoderar a los musulmanes en los Estados Unidos.
END
CONTACT: CAIR National Litigation Director Lena Masri, 202-742-6420, lmasri@cair.com, CAIR Senior Litigation Attorney Gadeir Abbas, 720-251-0425, gabbas@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, ihooper@cair.com
(Source: cair.com)
(NEW YORK, NY, 4/2/19) – The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, and its New York chapter (CAIR-NY) today announced the filing of a U.S. Supreme Court amicus (friend of the court) brief supporting the challengers in the ongoing 2020 census citizenship question litigation, Department of Commerce v. New York.
READ THE BRIEF:http://tinyurl.com/SCOTUSCensusBrief
Other amici include the Fred T. Korematsu Center for Law and Equality at Seattle University School of Law, Norman Y. Mineta, a former Secretary of Commerce, and three other American citizens of Japanese descent whose incarceration during World War II was facilitated by the Census Bureau’s sharing of confidential census data. Akin Gump is serving as pro bono counsel for the brief.
On April 23, 2019, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments pertaining to whether the secretary of commerce’s decision to add a citizenship question violated the law. Challengers argue that the government was driven by racial and xenophobic animus and has since invented justifications for the change in policy. Judge Furman of the Southern District of New York ruled that the Department of Commerce added the citizenship question through a process that violated the Administrative Procedures Act and made several findings of fact suggesting that the government’s justifications are pretextual.
In the brief filed yesterday, amici argue that the Supreme Court should affirm Judge Furman’s ruling and reject the government’s pretextual reasons for adding a citizenship question to the decennial census. Amici emphasize that the census process works only if the public trusts that the government will not misuse the information.
Though the Census Act prohibits the government from using census information for anything other than statistical purposes, past incidents in which the government misused census data support fears that citizenship information could be misused. Amici remind the Court of one of the most glaring and heinous examples of such abuse – the Census Bureau’s central role in targeting Japanese Americans for incarceration during World War II.
In that instance, the Supreme Court’s deference to the executive branch contributed to an appalling violation of civil and human rights. Today, amici argue, the Supreme Court must impose searching judicial scrutiny to root out any pretext for an unconstitutional census policy.
As Professor Robert S. Chang, executive director of the Korematsu Center, explains, “The shameful legacy of Japanese American incarceration during World War II shows what can happen when the courts allow themselves to be fooled by the government’s pretexts for unconstitutional policies. We urge the Court to conduct a searching review in this case to determine whether the government’s real reasons for adding a citizenship question to the census— in a process the trial judge found to be deeply flawed—support its decision or are simply a mask for a question that could deter the full participation of immigrants and communities of color.”
CAIR National Litigation and Civil Rights Director Lena F. Masri, Esq., added: “The Supreme Court should reject this administration’s latest attempt to marginalize Muslim immigrants and others from the political process.”
Ahmed Mohamed, Esq., litigation director of CAIR-NY, said: “The Court must protect the integrity of the census. This administration must not be given an opportunity to weaponize the census to suppress the voice of immigrants and minorities. We urge the court to fulfill its duty and block unlawful discrimination.”
Lead pro bono counsel Pratik A. Shah, co-head of the Supreme Court and appellate practice at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP, states: “By eroding public trust in the process, the Secretary’s addition of a suspect citizenship question only undermines the government’s ability to fulfill its constitutional census duty.”
Pro bono counsel on the brief are: Robert S. Chang and Lorraine K. Bannai of the Fred T. Korematsu Center for Law and Equality at Seattle University School of Law; Ronald A. Peterson of the Law Clinic at Seattle University School of Law; as well as attorneys from Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP, including Pratik A. Shah, as Counsel of Record, Robert H. Pees, Alice Hsu; Z.W. Julius Chen; and Geoffrey J. Derrick.
CAIR’s mission is to protect civil rights, enhance understanding of Islam, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.
La misión de CAIR es proteger las libertades civiles, mejorar la comprensión del Islam, promover la justicia, y empoderar a los musulmanes en los Estados Unidos.
END
CONTACT: CAIR National Litigation and Civil Rights Director Lena Masri, lmasri@cair.com, 202-742-6420, CAIR-NY Litigation Director Ahmed Mohamed, ahmedmohamed@cair.com; 646-481-2103; CAIR Senior Litigation Attorney Gadeir Abbas, 720-251-0425, gabbas@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, ihooper@cair.com
(Source: cair.com)
(Source: cair.com)
By: Rebecca Burnett
Posted: Mar 28, 2019 12:30 PM EDT
Updated: Mar 28, 2019 11:08 PM EDT
FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va. - “The sorrow of this case will ripple through this community for a hundred years,” said Fairfax County’s Commonwealth Attorney Ray Morrogh outside the courthouse Thursday morning.
Morrogh represented the family of 17-year-old Nabra Hassanen of Reston, who was raped and murdered in June of 2017 while walking to a mosque with friends for pre-dawn religious services.
On Thursday, Darwin Martinez-Torres of Sterling was sentenced to life in prison, the result of a plea bargain that required a life sentence but eliminated the potential of a death penalty.
Fairfax County prosecutors say the attack began when Martinez-Torres drove by and honked his horn at one of Nabra’s friends. The friend yelled back, and the defendant started chasing the group in his car and later on foot.
Nabra couldn’t run as fast as the others. Martinez-Torres caught up with her and beat her with a baseball bat.
Police report he took unconscious Nabra to a nearby pond and raped her, before dumping her body in the water.
Martinez-Torres’ lawyer has said the defendant has intellectual disabilities, with an IQ below 68.
“Every day, every minute, I never forget her. I never forget her. She used to be very nice and she loved everybody,” said Nabra’s father, Mahmoud Hassanen. Since the investigation began, Hassanen has been outspoken about the possibility his daughter’s death may have been a hate crime.
When asked why the defendant hadn’t been pressed on his motive, Morrogh said Martinez-Torres has the right to remain silent. “When something like this happens, we all want an answer,” said Morrogh. “I fear we’ll never get answers to questions like that.”
The plea deal, however, requires Martinez-Torrez to answer any questions from the victim’s family over the next year. The Hassanen family’s lawyers say her death will be investigated as a hate crime.
“We need to know exactly why this happened and part of the way we find out why exactly this happened is by asking the killer himself why he did it and we intend to look at all of the evidence, some of which is still to be collected,” a lawyer said.
Martinez-Torres is an El Salvador native. Immigration authorities say he was in the country illegally.
By The Associated Press
Mar 28, 2019 Updated Mar 30, 2019
A man was sentenced Thursday to life in prison for raping and killing a Muslim teenager in Virginia as she walked back to a Loudoun County mosque with friends for pre-dawn religious services.
The life sentence without possibility of parole imposed on Darwin Martinez-Torres of Sterling was a formality after his guilty plea last year in the June 2017 slaying of 17-year-old Nabra Hassanen of Reston. That plea bargain required a life sentence but eliminated a potential death penalty.
Hassanen’s death received widespread attention amid concerns her slaying was motivated by anti-Muslim sentiment. Prosecutors, though, say Martinez-Torres attacked her after he got out of his car to chase Nabra’s group of friends in a road-rage confrontation.
News outlets reported that Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Ray Morrogh said after the hearing that the sorrow of Nabra’s killing “will ripple through this community for a hundred years.”
Prosecutors say the attack began when Martinez-Torres drove by and honked his horn at one of Nabra’s friends who had been riding his bicycle in the road as they walked back to their mosque. The friend yelled back at Martinez-Torres, who started chasing the group, first in his car, and then on foot.
Nabra, who was wearing sandals, couldn’t run as fast the others, and Martinez-Torres caught up with her, wielding a baseball bat. A friend of Nabra’s described hearing a “thud and a metal ping” when she looked back. Some friends started to go back to help Nabra, but Martinez-Torres scared them off with his bat.
Martinez-Torres, a native of El Salvador who federal immigration authorities have said is in the country illegally, was caught shortly after the attack. He initially denied attacking Nabra but quickly confessed under questioning from detectives. He told them that he “got out of control” and that after he first struck Nabra with the bat he “just kept thinking ugly things.”
Police have said he took her close to a nearby pond and raped her while she lay unconscious, then dumped her body in the water after she died.
Martinez-Torres’ lawyer, Joseph Flood, has said his client has intellectual disabilities, and that his IQ is below 68.
The plea deal carries an unusual provision that requires Martinez-Torres to answer any questions posed of him by the victim’s family over the next year.
Nabra’s father, Mahmoud Hassanen, has been outspoken about his concerns that Nabra’s death may have been a hate crime. Prosecutors have characterized it as a road-rage attack.
(Source: loudountimes.com)
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 3/28/18) – The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today welcomed the sentencing of Darwin Martinez-Torres to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the murder of Virginia Muslim teen Nabra Hassanen in 2017.
SEE: Sterling Man Sentenced to Life Without Parole for Nabra Hassanen Killing
Man Sentenced to Life in Prison for Killing Reston Teen, Nabra Hassanen
CAIR held a news conference earlier today following the sentencing hearing for Martinez-Torres.
Video: CAIR News Conference Following the Sentencing of Darwin Martinez-Torres for the Murder ofNabra Hassanen
https://www.facebook.com/CAIRNational/videos/412552789547909/
“We welcome the sentencing of Darwin Martinez-Torres to life in prison without the possibility of parole and hope this sentence brings some measure of comfort and closure to the loved ones of Nabra Hassanen,” said CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad. “While this will not end the suffering of the family for losing their loving daughter, I hope it will help begin the healing process.”
Awad thanked Fairfax County’s Commonwealth Attorney Ray Morrogh and his legal team for their efforts to secure justice in the case. He also thanked the local community for supporting Nabra Hassanen’s family.
CAIR’s mission is to protect civil rights, enhance understanding of Islam, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.
La misión de CAIR es proteger las libertades civiles, mejorar la comprensión del Islam, promover la justicia, y empoderar a los musulmanes en los Estados Unidos.
END
CONTACT: CAIR National Litigation Director Lena Masri, 248-390-9784, lmasri@cair.com; CAIR Senior Litigation Attorney Gadeir Abbas, 720-251-0425, gabbas@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, ihooper@cair.com
(Source: cair.com)
(AUSTIN, TX, 3/28/19) – The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) is urging Texas voters who value free speech and the Constitution to attend a Friday, March 29, court hearing on the Texas Anti-BDS Act. #PackTheCourtroom
[NOTE: BDS refers to Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions in support of Palestinian human rights.]
CAIR says the hearing is to determine whether implementation of the law designed to restrict the First Amendment right to speak out against the discriminatory policies of a foreign nation – Israel - may be blocked and whether Bahia Amawi may return to her job as a speech pathologist after refusing to sign a pledge not to boycott Israel.
WHEN/WHERE: The hearing will be held in the chambers of Judge Pitman at 9 a.m. on Friday, March 29, in Texas Western District Court, 501 W. 5th Street, Austin, Texas 78701. NOTE: The courthouse opens at 8 a.m., so please arrive early because seating is limited.
CONTACT: CAIR-Austin Executive Director Maira Sheikh, 512-785-7105, msheikh@cair.com; CAIR Senior Litigation Attorney Gadeir Abbas, 720-251-0425, gabbas@cair.com; CAIR National Litigation Director Lena Masri, 202-742-6420, lmasri@cair.com
In December of last year, CAIR filed a First Amendment lawsuit against the Texas Anti-BDS Act on behalf of Bahia Amawi. Amawi lost her job as a speech language pathologist for Texas schoolchildren because she refused to sign Texas’s mandatory pledge that she does not boycott Israel. Her case has attracted widespread national and international attention.
Video: CAIR Attorney Interviewed on MSNBC About Legal Challenge to Texas Anti-BDS Law
In response to that lawsuit, Texas House Representative Phil King introduced legislation to amend the Texas Anti-BDS Act to stop it from applying to individuals like Amawi.
CAIR is calling on all Texas residents to contact their state representatives and demand the complete repeal of the Anti-BDS Act.
Texas Legislature Online: https://capitol.texas.gov/Resources/contactText.aspx
CAIR is America’s largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance understanding of Islam, protect civil rights, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.
La misión de CAIR es proteger las libertades civiles, mejorar la comprensión del Islam, promover la justicia, y empoderar a los musulmanes en los Estados Unidos.
END
CONTACT: CAIR-Austin Executive Director Maira Sheikh, 512-785-7105, msheikh@cair.com; CAIR Senior Litigation Attorney Gadeir Abbas, 720-251-0425, gabbas@cair.com; CAIR National Litigation Director Lena Masri, 202-742-6420, lmasri@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, ihooper@cair.com
(Source: cair.com)
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 3/27/18) – On Thursday, March 28, representatives of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) will hold a news conference in Fairfax, Va., following the sentencing of Darwin Martinez-Torres, the man who murdered Virginia Muslim teen Nabra Hassanen in 2017. In November of last year, Martinez-Torres pleaded guilty to Hassanen’s murder.
SEE: CAIR Welcomes Guilty Plea by Man Who Murdered Va. Muslim Teen Nabra Hassanen
https://www.cair.com/cair_welcomes_guilty_plea_by_man_who_murdered_va_muslim_teen_nabra_hassanen
The hearing will be held at 10 a.m. in Fairfax County Courthouse (4110 Chain Bridge Rd, Fairfax, VA 22030) in Courtroom 4J (Judge Bellows). CAIR will hold an impromptu news conference outside the court following the sentencing.
WHEN: Thursday, March 28, Immediately After the Sentencing, Which Begins at 10 a.m.
WHERE: Fairfax County Courthouse (Courtroom 4J) - 4110 Chain Bridge Rd, Fairfax, VA 22030
CONTACT: CAIR National Litigation Director Lena Masri, 248-390-9784, lmasri@cair.com; CAIR Senior Litigation Attorney Gadeir Abbas, 720-251-0425, gabbas@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, ihooper@cair.com
CAIR’s mission is to protect civil rights, enhance understanding of Islam, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.
La misión de CAIR es proteger las libertades civiles, mejorar la comprensión del Islam, promover la justicia, y empoderar a los musulmanes en los Estados Unidos.
(WASHINGTON, DC, 3/13/19) – The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today released transcripts of CAIR’s depositions of high-ranking government officials with the FBI, DHS, CBP, and TSA documenting a previously-undisclosed traveler surveillance program and a body that oversees the terror watchlist.
CAIR says the transcripts, along with dozens of documents CAIR obtained in the case Elhady v. Kable, “reveal a terror watchlist system run amok.”
[NOTE: CAIR filed the transcripts in connection with Plaintiffs’ Motion for Summary Judgment in Elhady v. Kable, a leading constitutional challenge to the watchlist. The transcripts are part of more than 4,000 pages of public documents regarding the watchlist unearthed in the case. Judge Trenga has set a hearing on the challenge on April 4, 2019, at the Eastern District of Virginia courthouse in Alexandria, Va.]
The deposition transcripts document in detail for the first time a TSA program called “Silent Partner” that appears to be an invasive traveler-surveillance program. They document DHS efforts to screen private sector employees against the terror watchlist in order to compel employers to fire listees. Also, for the first time, these documents identify the Watchlisting Advisory Council, a supra-agency body that oversees the terror watchlist.
On Monday, CAIR lawyers provided a federal court in Alexandria, Va., with information collected during the lawsuit as part of a move to end the ability of federal officials to put innocent Muslims – Americans who have not been arrested, charged, or convicted of a terrorism-related offense – on their watchlist.
The court filing asserts that the Watchlisting System imposes “a kind of second-class citizenship on the Plaintiffs and thousands of American Muslims throughout the country.”
SEE: CAIR MEMORANDUM
https://tinyurl.com/CAIRMemorandum
The transcripts that are described in the brief were of depositions CAIR took over the past 13 months.
LINK TO FBI DEPOSITION
https://tinyurl.com/CAIRFBIDeposition
LINK TO FBI-TSC DEPOSITION
https://tinyurl.com/CAIRTSCDeposition
LINK TO TSA DEPOSITION
https://tinyurl.com/CAIRTSADeposition
LINK TO TSA DEPOSITION – 2
https://tinyurl.com/CAIRTSADeposition2
LINK TO CBP DEPOSITION
https://tinyurl.com/CAIRCBPDeposition
LINK TO DHS DEPOSITION
https://tinyurl.com/CAIRDHSDeposition
“Things like the extra-judicial watchlisting system, unprecedented in our nation’s history, are incompatible with liberty and due process,” said CAIR Litigation Director Lena Masri. “We are optimistic that the evidence CAIR has compiled for the better part of a decade makes this incompatibility clear to the court, to the public, to Congress, and most importantly, to the thousands of innocent Muslims targeted by the federal government’s watchlisting system.“
"The depositions of the government’s representatives reveal a terror watchlist system run amok,” said CAIR Senior Litigation Attorney Gadeir Abbas. “This is a fight we can win.”
A judge in the case recently ordered the government to let CAIR’s attorneys see the list of private entities that had access to the watchlist, but they were not allowed to take notes or make copies of that list. The judge, however, unsealed CAIR filings that indicate the terror watchlist is shared with animal shelters, private investigative firms, a megachurch, as well as individual people who appear to be able to access watchlist information from their own personal devices.
Rights Group CAIR: Terror Watchlist Shared with Animal Shelters
CAIR called on the government to cease dissemination of the list to private entities.
SEE: CAIR Calls on FBI to Cease Dissemination of Government Watchlist to Animal Shelters, Private Investigators, Megachurch, Others
For years, CAIR has represented innocent Muslims – people who have not been charged, arrested, or convicted of a violent offense – who have been targeted by the watchlisting system. Some have lost jobs, been separated from their families, and all have been stigmatized by being treated as “terrorists” by their own government.
SEE: Detroit Mother Calls Out Feds for Breaking Up Family, Files Lawsuit
CAIR is America’s largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance understanding of Islam, protect civil rights, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.
La misión de CAIR es proteger las libertades civiles, mejorar la comprensión del Islam, promover la justicia, y empoderar a los musulmanes en los Estados Unidos.
END
CONTACT: CAIR National Litigation Director Lena Masri, 202-742-6420, lmasri@cair.com, CAIR Senior Litigation Attorney Gadeir Abbas, 720-251-0425, gabbas@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, ihooper@cair.com; CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw, 202-742-6448, rmccaw@cair.com
(WASHINGTON, DC, 3/6/2019) – The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today welcomed a decision by a federal judge at the United States District Court, Northern District of Texas that allows five American Muslims to challenge their placement on the federal terror watchlist.
This lawsuit was filed on behalf of five American Muslims who have experienced a range of severe consequences due to their placement on the watchlist, including the inability to fly on planes, being stranded abroad and unable to return home, the inability to obtain a credit card or bank loan, loss of business opportunities and being pressured to act as an FBI informant as leverage to remove their names from the federal terror watchlist.
“Plaintiffs’ factual allegations make plausible their claim that Defendants’ actions were arbitrary and capricious, an abuse of discretion, or otherwise not in accordance with the law,” wrote U.S. District Judge Sam A. Lindsay in his 56-page opinion.
SEE: Texas Watchlist Ruling
http://tinyurl.com/TexasWatchlistRuling
“The government is using the federal terror watchlist to target thousands of innocent American Muslims and to impose consequences that severely impact their daily lives without a modicum of due process,” said CAIR National Litigation Director Lena Masri. “It is only a matter of time before a federal court declares the federal terror watchlist unconstitutional.”
“CAIR-DFW applauds Judge Lindsay’s decision to allow the legal challenge to the government’s illegal and broad watchlist to proceed,” said Dontrey Tatum, CAIR-DFW’s legal director. “The unconstitutional watchlist has wreaked havoc in the lives of American Muslims for too long.”
This decision is the latest of a string of decisions by federal judges allowing lawsuits filed by CAIR to move forward and challenge the constitutionality of the placement of innocent American Muslims to the federal terror watchlist without due process.
SEE: CAIR Applauds Federal Judge’s Decision Ordering Federal Government to Fully Disclose What Private Groups Have Access to the Watchlist
CAIR is America’s largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance understanding of Islam, protect civil rights, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.
La misión de CAIR es proteger las libertades civiles, mejorar la comprensión del Islam, promover la justicia, y empoderar a los musulmanes en los Estados Unidos.
Become a Fan of CAIR on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/CAIRNational/
Subscribe to CAIR’s Email List
http://tinyurl.com/cairsubscribe
Subscribe to CAIR’s Twitter Feed
http://twitter.com/cairnational
Subscribe to CAIR’s YouTube Channel
END
CONTACT: CAIR Senior Litigation Attorney Gadeir Abbas, 720-251-0425, gabbas@cair.com; CAIR National Litigation Director Lena Masri, 202-742-6420, lmasri@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, ihooper@cair.com
(WASHINGTON, DC, ¾/2019) – The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today applauded a decision by a federal judge at the United States District Court, Eastern District of Michigan that extends federal rights to sue U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers for confinement conditions at the border.
In 2017, CAIR filed a lawsuit against CBP officers on behalf of an American Muslim student who was subjected to “white torture” and subsequent denial of medical treatment in Detroit, Mich.
[NOTE: “White torture” is a form of physical and psychological torture that involves extreme sensory deprivation and insolation. The United States has been accused previously of using white torture against prisoners at its Guantanamo Bay detention camp.]
When attempting to return to the United States through the Ambassador Bridge Port of Entry, the Muslim student was handcuffed and isolated in a freezing cold cell with bright lights without his jacket and shoes. Despite his repeated pleas for medical treatment, it was not until after he suffered from shock and hypothermia, that the CBP officers finally called for an ambulance to take him to the hospital, only to be handcuffed to the ambulance bed.
SEE: CAIR Files Suit on Behalf of American Muslim Subjected to ‘White Torture’ at U.S. Port of Entry
“[T]here is no plausible national-security interest in placing a person in a room so cold that he develops hypothermia within a matter of hours, and Defendant’s refusal to offer any kind of explanation speaks volumes,” wrote U.S. District Judge Mark A. Goldsmith in his order. “By claiming national security and refusing to offer any kind of justification for that claim, Defendants essentially seek immunity for any CBP action taken against a United States citizen at the border.”
READ THE RULING: https://tinyurl.com/BorderConfinementRuling
“We applaud the judge’s landmark decision that holds CBP officers accountable for intentionally subjecting our client – who was merely passing through the border to return home – to cruel and unusual punishment,” said CAIR National Litigation Director Lena Masri.
CAIR is America’s largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance understanding of Islam, protect civil rights, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.
La misión de CAIR es proteger las libertades civiles, mejorar la comprensión del Islam, promover la justicia, y empoderar a los musulmanes en los Estados Unidos.
Become a Fan of CAIR on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/CAIRNational/
Subscribe to CAIR’s Email List
http://tinyurl.com/cairsubscribe
Subscribe to CAIR’s Twitter Feed
http://twitter.com/cairnational
Subscribe to CAIR’s YouTube Channel
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CONTACT: CAIR Senior Litigation Attorney Gadeir Abbas, 720-251-0425, gabbas@cair.com; CAIR National Litigation Director Lena Masri, 202-742-6420, lmasri@cair.com; CAIR Director of Maryland Outreach Zainab Chaudry, 410-971-6062, zchaudry@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, ihooper@cair.com
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 3/1/2019) – The Council on American-Islamic Relations, the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today announced the filing of a lawsuit challenging the Arkansas Department of Correction’s (ADC) forced combination of religious services for Islam, the Nation of Islam, and the Nation of Gods and Earths.
[NOTE: Nation of Gods and Earths is sometimes referred to as Five-Percent Nation or the Five Percenters.]
The CAIR Legal Defense Fund, joined by Professor Douglas Laycock of the University of Texas at Austin, filed the lawsuit on behalf of Gregory Houston Holt a/k/a Abdul Maalik Muhammad.
Holt, joined in the suit by Muslim inmates Rodney Martin and Wayde Stewart, believes that attending Friday prayer services alongside and led by other adherents of Islam is a spiritual requirement. The current ADC policy, which forces adherents of Islam, the Nation of Islam, and Nation of Gods and Earths to attend a combined religious service, does not meet that requirement because the three groups represent different religious groups with distinct beliefs and practices.
The suit alleges that Arkansas’s combined services policy violates the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act.
Under ADC policy, Muslims risk losing their designation as Muslim if they skip or refuse to attend the combined Friday prayer services. Losing that designation in turn threatens the loss of their other religious accommodations, including meals during Ramadan.
LINK TO LAWSUIT: http://tinyurl.com/CAIRArkansasPrisonLawsuit
“Religious freedom protects everyone’s ability to worship with those who share their faith,” said CAIR National Litigation Director Lena Masri. “Followers of Islam, Nation of Islam and the Nation of Gods and Earths should be permitted to worship separately in a manner of their choice, just as Arkansas currently offers such accommodations for Catholic, Baptist, Jewish, and Buddhist worship services.”
She noted that Holt previously prevailed 9-0 before the U.S. Supreme Court in a case which required Arkansas to permit Holt to grow a beard, in accordance with his sincerely-held Islamic beliefs.
SEE: Holt v. Hobbs Supreme Court Case
https://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/cases/holt-v-hobbs/
“Mr. Muhammad won the right to practice his Muslim faith in Arkansas prisons four years ago, and should win again here,” said Professor Douglas Laycock, who argued Holt’s earlier case before the U.S. Supreme Court. “The Arkansas Department of Correction needs to join the Federal Bureau of Prisons and several large state prison systems in recognizing that Islam and the Nation of Islam are completely different faith traditions.” The suit also asks for the Nation of Gods and Earths to be recognized as a separate faith.
“It is unacceptable that Arkansas thinks it may define who is a Muslim based on whether or not they attend Friday services, all while refusing to provide spiritually-valid Friday services,” said CAIR National Trial Attorney Carolyn Homer. “No one checks how often Christians in the facilities attend Sunday services before letting them celebrate Christmas.”
This case is the latest in a series of lawsuits CAIR has brought to defend the rights of inmates to practice their faith inside jails and prisons across the country. Last, year, CAIR filed lawsuits on behalf of Muslim inmates in Alaska and Washington state.
SEE: Judge Orders Alaska Prison to Stop Serving Pork Products to Muslim Inmates
https://www.newsweek.com/ramadan-cair-muslims-alaska-department-corrections-lawsuit-945434
CAIR Press Release: Judge Orders Prison to Stop Starving Fasting Muslim Inmateshttps://www.cair.com/federal_court_orders_washington_prison_to_feed_starving_muslim_inmates_within_hours_of_cair_filing_suit
CAIR is also suing jail officials in Virginia and Maryland who have systematically disfavored Muslim inmates while conferring privileges on inmates of other faiths.
SEE: The Appeal: Virginia Jail Accused of Favoring Christians who Agree to Live in ‘God Pod’
https://theappeal.org/virginia-jail-accused-of-favoring-christians-who-agree-to-live-in-god-pod/
CAIR Welcomes Federal Court’s Decision to Allow Suit Challenging Maryland Islam-Specific Prison Policy to Move Forward
The Washington-based civil rights organization offers an educational toolkit, called “A Correctional Institution’s Guide to Islamic Religious Practices,” to help correctional officers and administrators gain a better understanding of Islam and Muslims.
SEE: A Correctional Institution’s Guide to Islamic Religious Practices
http://tinyurl.com/CAIRCorrectionalGuide
CAIR is America’s largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance understanding of Islam, protect civil rights, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.
La misión de CAIR es proteger las libertades civiles, mejorar la comprensión del Islam, promover la justicia, y empoderar a los musulmanes en los Estados Unidos.
Become a Fan of CAIR on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/CAIRNational/
Subscribe to CAIR’s Email List
http://tinyurl.com/cairsubscribe
Subscribe to CAIR’s Twitter Feed
http://twitter.com/cairnational
Subscribe to CAIR’s YouTube Channel
END
CONTACT: CAIR Senior Litigation Attorney Gadeir Abbas, 720-251-0425, gabbas@cair.com; CAIR National Litigation Director Lena Masri, 202-742-6420, lmasri@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, ihooper@cair.com
(WASHINGTON, DC, 2/22/19) – The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, welcomed a magistrate judge’s decision in Alexandria, Virginia earlier today ordering the federal government to fully disclose how and why and with whom it shares the terror watchlist.
AP: Judge Orders Feds to List Private Groups Receiving Watchlist
https://apnews.com/be5c1138b2d3483db46cd311026ddb67
“We applaud the judge’s decision to shed light on the government’s misuse of this illegal watchlist that has the potential to negatively impact the lives of so many innocent people,” said CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad. “Congress must follow this federal court’s lead and demand a comprehensive accounting of why so many private entities have access to the illegal watchlist and what they are doing with that access.”
In issuing the order, federal magistrate Judge John Anderson ruled that the federal government had not complied with an earlier court order requiring the FBI and other agencies to provide “detailed, complete, and specific” information about how, why, and to whom they provide watchlist information to.
Read the federal court’s order: https://tinyurl.com/WatchlistOrder
Today’s hearing was scheduled to deal with the revelation from earlier this month that the federal government disseminates its watchlist to more than 1,400 private groups.
CAIR: Feds Share Terrorist Watchlist with 1,400 Private Groups (AP)
https://apnews.com/ae4779a057c04947a332fce64f6cf345
The federal government’s disclosure comes in response to a court order obtained by CAIR in its legal challenge to the watchlisting system (El Hady v. Kable). After years of denying that the watchlist is available to private companies, the government’s disclosure raises critical questions about how the watchlist is shared and what recipients of watchlist information – which include hospitals and universities, among other private entities – do with that access.
For years, CAIR has represented innocent Muslims – people who have not been charged, arrested, or convicted of a violent offense – who have been targeted by the watchlisting system. Some have lost jobs, been separated from their families, and all have been stigmatized by being treated as a “terrorist” by their own government.
SEE: Detroit Mother Calls Out Feds For Breaking Up Family, Files Lawsuithttps://www.wxyz.com/news/metro-detroit-father-calls-out-us-government-for-breaking-up-family-files-lawsuit
CAIR is America’s largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance understanding of Islam, protect civil rights, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.
La misión de CAIR es proteger las libertades civiles, mejorar la comprensión del Islam, promover la justicia, y empoderar a los musulmanes en los Estados Unidos.
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CONTACT: CAIR National Litigation Director Lena Masri, 202-742-6420, lmasri@cair.com, CAIR Senior Litigation Attorney Gadeir Abbas, 720-251-0425, gabbas@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, ihooper@cair.com; CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw, 202-742-6448, rmccaw@cair.com
(Source: cair.com)