Since the passage of the 1996 Anti-terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act, Arab and Muslim civil liberties have been severely compromised. The 1996 bill came about in response to the Oklahoma City bombing, which was originally suspected to be the work of "Middle East terrorists," but was in fact orchestrated by former U.S. Army serviceman Timothy McVeigh. The Anti-terrorism bill has since allowed the INS to arrest, detain, and deport non-citizens based on secret evidence gathered against an individual. The secret evidence used against an individual is not known to either the individual or their attorney. The court’s decision on the case which is entirely based on secret evidence, including secret charges and secret witnesses, is also kept confidential.
According to the American Muslim Council, the use of such secret evidence is in direct violation of the Uniform Declaration of Human Rights, and the First, Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Amendments of the Constitution. Nonetheless, since the passing of the Anti-terrorism bill, more than 20 of the 25 who have been subjected to the use of secret evidence are Muslims and Arabs. Many of these individuals have remained in jail to this day for 2-3 years without trial, charge, possibility of bail, and without contact with their families.
The Secret Evidence Repeal Act of 1999 has rallied the support of a broad range of civil rights, immigrant rights, and lawyers’ organizations, including the National Organization of Women (NOW). Some of the American Muslim and Arab organizations supporting the bill are the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), the Council on American-Islamic Relations(CAIR), American Muslim Alliance (AMA), the American Muslim Council (AMC) and many others.
The passage of the Campbell-Bonior 1999 bill can protect and restore the civil liberties that were guaranteed under the Constitution for not only Muslims and Arabs but all non-citizens of the United States. The use of secret evidence is unconstitutional and the targeting of Muslims and Arabs is discriminatory. All Americans should support The Secret Evidence Repeal Act of 1999 because passage of this bill will preserve what this country was founded on. The use of secret evidence is contrary to what America stands for and what our forefathers set out to accomplish in composing the United States Constitution.
 |
Go To Page: 1 2
