In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

ALERT: Muslim Activist Released on Home Detention but Unable to Attend Religious Services.

A federal judge in Chicago released two Muslim activists charged with financing Mideast terrorism and placed them on home detention. Dr. Abdulhaleem Al-Ashqar, 46, of Alexandria, Virginia, and Muhammad Salah, 51, of Bridgeview, Illinois, will have to wear electronic monitoring bracelets while they are awaiting trial, according to the order entered by U.S. District Judge Amy St. Eve. The men’s wives will serve as custodians, and the defendants can leave home only to attend previously approved court hearings and visits to their attorneys, St. Eve ordered. She refused to make an exception for religious services. Additionally, Dr. Al-Ashqar will be attached to a global positioning tracking device because he lives out of state. The defendants’ next court date is September 29th.

Mahdi Bray, Executive Director of MAS Freedom Foundation, stated: “First and foremost, they should be set free, period. The government once again is going down that all too often road of targeting and criminalizing political positions that run contrary to existing government geopolitical polices, and is using terrorism as the pretext.”

“Let’s get real here; Palestinian activists who resist the illegal occupation of Palestinian land and move to the U.S. are targeted for prosecution and harassment at the behest of Israel,” said Bray. “Now with the Patriot Act, our government can use prejudiced intelligence submitted by foreign governments as evidence for prosecution of dissidents in American courts without letting the defendant know.

“The evidence is classified as national security and is secret. It’s the old “hide the ball” routine,” he commented. “It violates all the rules of fairness and due process, but unfortunately, it’s the law.

“We’ve got to change it,” Bray charged.

Commenting on the defendants’ inability to attend religious services, Bray said, “However, there is no law denying a defendant the right for religious service. They should be allowed to go to Jumu’ah [Friday] prayer, and in addition to legal advocacy, that is where we will continue to focus.

“There is no reason to deny access to religious service, absolutely none,” Bray charged.

Relatives and friends of Salah had pledged property with equity of about $1.35 million for his bail, while supporters of Dr. Al-Ashqar had raised $2.5 million in property for his release.
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*The Freedom Foundation is the public affairs arm of the Muslim American Society (MAS), a national grassroots religious, social, and educational organization. Learn more at www.masnet.org.
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MAS Freedom Foundation
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Washington, DC 20036
Tel: (202) 496-1288
Fax: (202) 463-0686
URL: http://www.masnet.org/index_publicaffairs.asp
Email: freedom@masnet.org