By Munir K. Nasser
Chief Correspondent, Washington, DC
Albawaba.com
Under pressure from some members of Congress and the Arab American community, the US government released Algerian politician Anwar Haddam from jail after being held for almost four years on the basis of secret evidence.
However, Haddam's legal status remains unclear following Attorney General Janet Reno's order to block the release for 45 days. But as a result of protests from ADC and Democratic Congressman David Bonier, Reno allowed Haddam to be released on bail on Thursday night. Bonier, the most powerful Democrat in congress, had called on Reno to resign as a result of her decision.
According to ADC communications director Hussein Ibish, the precise legal status of Haddam is not clear “because there is a stay, and yet they gave him bail.”
He told Albawaba.com that Haddam's attorneys are still working on his case. “His attorneys are feeling that they want to really be sure what is his exact legal situation before they say much,” he said.
Last week, the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) ordered the release of Anwar Haddam. But the INS has appealed directly to Attorney General Janet Reno to overturn this decision and refuses to release Haddam. On Thursday, however, Attorney General Janet Reno granted a 45 day stay of the BIA's decision to grant Anwar Haddam political asylum and order his release.
On Wednesday, a Florida Immigration Judge in Tampa ordered the release of Arab American professor Mazen Al-Najjar, who has been held for over three years in jail on the basis of evidence withheld from him, his attorneys and the public. The INS received a 24-hour stay on the release order and appears to be determined to keep him in jail.
The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), the nation's largest Arab-American membership organization, renewed its call on the Justice Department to release both men. In a letter to Attorney General Reno, ADC President Hala Maksoud wrote “after so many years in jail without being accused of any crime, and after repeated rulings by numerous judges that they should be freed, it is accused of any crime, and after repeated rulings by numerous judges that they should be freed, it is unconscionable that Mazen Al-Najjar and Anwar Haddam should remain in jail. We urge you inthe strongest possible terms not to interfere with the judges' rulings and release these men, who should never have been imprisoned in the first place.”
A Florida immigration judge ruled this week that Al-Najjar may be released on bond after being held for more than three years based on secret evidence that was not revealed to him or to his attorneys.
Dr. Mazen Al-Najjar, a professor at the University of South Florida, was detained because of allegations that he supported terrorism, was scheduled for release Thursday, but the government requested a 24-hour stay of the judge's order.
A federal judge ruled recently that Al-Najjar's rights were violated because he had not been able to see or respond to the secret evidence being used against him. On October 27, a Florida judge ruled that the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) lacked sufficient evidence to continue holding Al-Najjar. The INS later agreed to provide an unclassified summary of their evidence.
Al-Najjar's ruling comes after a yearlong struggle to free the 43-year-old teacher waged by civil rights groups and, more recently, more than 100 members of Congress.
"The fact that a person can be held in an American jail for more than three years without charge and without knowing why he is detained should be a wake up call for all those who love justice," said Ibrahim Hooper, spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a Washington-based Islamic advocacy group.
Hooper added that secret evidence is used almost exclusively against Muslims and Arabs. He said that every time a court has the opportunity to address the use of secret evidence, the practice is found to be unconstitutional and the detainee is released.
The actions of the Justice Department in refusing to release Al-Najjar and Haddam come in the context of growing support in both houses of Congress for legislation abolishing the use of secret evidence, which seems very likely to be become law. Both the Gore and Bush campaigns have also endorsed this legislation.
Arab American leaders said that legislation banning most uses of secret evidence in immigration cases passed through the House Judiciary Committee this year, but was not offered for a vote in the full House. The Secret Evidence Repeal Act sponsored by Representatives David Bonior and Tom Campbell is expected to be re-introduced in the next Congressional session.
© 2000 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
