------------------------- Via Workers World News Service Reprinted from the Dec. 5, 2002 issue of Workers World newspaper -------------------------
MASSACHUSETTS PALESTINIAN ACTIVIST JUBRAN WINS RELEASE By Elijah Crane Boston After 17 days of illegal detention at the prison ACI Cranston in Rhode Island, a federal immigration judge ordered Amer Jubran freed on bond on Nov. 21. Judge Leonard Shapiro said there were no grounds for the illegal detention of Jubran, a leader in the Palestinian and anti-war movements. In releasing Jubran on bond, the judge acknowledged the dozens of letters he had received from Jubran's supporters attesting to his character and community involvement fighting for justice for all. His supporters packed the courtroom and the entire lobby and corridor outside. But the INS's effort to deport Jubran on baseless allegations of violating INS technicalities continues. The judge set the next hearing date in the case for Feb. 20, 2003. Supporters are continuing to send letters to the INS and the judge demanding the charges be dropped. Immediately following the hearing, Jubran's supporters-- including the Amer Jubran Defense Committee, the New England Committee to Defend Palestine, the ANSWER coalition and others--held a spirited picket line outside the building, demanding freedom for Palestine and an immediate end to the frame-up against Jubran. These committees see the hand of 'homeland security' behind the illegal detention and proceedings against Jubran. On Nov. 4, INS and FBI agents illegally raided his home. He was told he would be home by noon if he cooperated with the FBI, or else he would "rot for 50 years." The INS told his lawyer it was their intention to detain him indefinitely, but gave no justification or grounds for doing so. A strong people's movement immediately went into action, sending letters, holding pickets at the INS, and protesting this illegal frame-up. The INS is attempting to use a smokescreen of baseless allegations of INS technicalities to try to deny Jubran his right to stay in the country. But the real issue is his refusal to cooperate with the FBI in attacking the anti-war movement and his outspoken activism in defense of the rights of the Palestinian nation. Just two days before the raid on his home and Jubran's arrest, he had led a march through the streets of Boston past the Israeli consulate in defense of Palestinian rights. The march was sponsored by the New England Committee to Defend Palestine, which Jubran co-founded. His detention was an attempt to chill and intimidate the growing anti-war movement and movement in defense of Palestine. This is not the first time the state has tried to silence him. In June 2001, Jubran was targeted by Brookline police and arrested for leading a demonstration against the Israeli Independence Day celebration. A defense committee was quickly formed out of the offices of the International Action Center, and after many months of struggle, he finally won justice. Jubran has worked with the ANSWER coalition on numerous protests against the brutal and genocidal Israeli occupation of Palestine, including a march of 2,500 on April 6 in Boston, and a march June 9 to protest the Israeli Day festival. Jubran's release was forced by the struggle in the streets. Countless, nameless others are being illegally detained on racist, frame-up charges in prisons across the U.S. because they do not have the benefit of organized defense committees. Working to free Jubran is also working to free others like him. This attack on Amer Jubran is part of a broader attack on the anti-war movement as a whole. But a united movement can resist the Bush administration's three-prong strategy of incarceration, intimidation and disinformation. It can win Amer Jubran's unconditional freedom. Demands that the charges be dropped immediately can be sent to USINS District Director Steven J Farquharson, Room 1700, JFK Federal Building, Boston, MA 02203. A copy should be sent to USINS Commissioner James W. Ziglar, Immigration and Naturalization Service, 425 I Street, NW, Washington, D.C., and to the Amer Jubran Defense Committee, P.O. Box 755, Jamaica Plain, MA 02130. To sign an online email letter to the INS District Director and for updated information on how to support the case, go to www.iacboston.org/amerjubran. n - END - (Copyright Workers World Service: Everyone is permitted to copy and distribute verbatim copies of this document, but changing it is not allowed. For more information contact Workers World, 55 W. 17 St., NY, NY 10011; via e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe [EMAIL PROTECTED] Support the voice of resistance http://www.workers.org/orders/donate.php) ------------------ This message is sent to you by Workers World News Service. To subscribe, E-mail to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To unsubscribe, E-mail to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To switch to the DIGEST mode, E-mail to <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Send administrative queries to <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
