On July 12, a federal judge in Chicago sentenced Palestinian community organizer Muhammad Salah to 21 months in federal prison, $25,000.00 in fines and 100 hours of community service. Salah was convicted in February for allegedly lying under oath.
The outrageous sentence is part of an ongoing government assault that seeks to silence the Arab, Palestinian and
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What is Salah’s crime in the eyes of U.S. imperialism? His “crime” is raising funds to provide humanitarian aid to Palestinians living under a brutal military occupation.
The federal government prosecuted Salah for allegedly raising money for Hamas and for lying in an earlier civil suit. The government did not bring the earlier civil suit—it was brought by the family of an American teenager who died in a bombing in the occupied West Bank.
In its case against Salah, the government alleged that he lied when he failed to state that he was a member of Hamas. The jury acquitted Salah on the terrorism-related counts, but convicted him on the lesser charge of lying under oath. This was a victory for Salah and his supporters—a defeat for the government.
According to Salah’s attorney, Michael Deutch, the charges Salah was found guilty of are usually met with fines or lesser punishments, if they are prosecuted at all. In this case, however, the government demanded a lengthy prison sentence and attempted to retry the case by presenting arguments that, for example, Salah promoted terrorism.
When the prison term was announced, Salah’s 6-year-old daughter burst into tears.
Judge Amy St. Eve’s explanation of the sentence was flimsy at best. She said that her sentence was based on the fact that she believed that Salah had lied not only in the earlier civil suit, but also in an affidavit where he accused Israeli secret service interrogators of torturing him. Salah’s account of his torture was corroborated by expert testimony during the trial.
Salah has been ordered to turn himself over to federal authorities by Oct. 11. But he should not spend one single day in jail.
Free Muhammad Salah!
Click here for background on the Salah case from PSLweb.org.
