April 6, 2003 4:33 PM

What will you do when they come for you?

Engineer Held as Part of Portland Probe: U.S. Citizen Is Confined Without Charges as 'Material Witness'

The story of Maher Hawash is a cautionary tale for anyone who feels that their government would never use anti-terrorism statutes against US citizens. Hawash IS a US citizen, albeit a naturalized one whose only apparent crime was being born in Nablus, on Israel's West Bank.

SEATTLE, April 4 -- An Intel Corp. software engineer, detained without charges two weeks ago in Oregon, is being held in connection with the prosecution of six Portland, Ore., suspects charged last year with conspiring to fight in Afghanistan against U.S. forces, according to sources familiar with the case.

Maher Hawash, who was born in Nablus on the West Bank and is a 15-year U.S. citizen who lives near Portland, is being held as a material witness in the federal terror prosecution, the sources said.

The Justice Department said today it would release no information about the case. "We do not comment on material witnesses or even confirm whether someone is or is not a material witnesses," said Mark Corallo, a spokesman in Washington.

So the bottom line seems to be that US-citizen, a long-time resident of this country who just happens to be an Arab male, can be jailed indefinitely without charges being filed. What's more is that a federal gag order prevents anyone from discussing Hawash's case, or even confirming that he is in federal custody.

Of course, I cannot speak to what Hawash may or may not be guilty of, or even accused of. He may well be a terrorist or someone who supports terrorist activties. Nonetheless, as an American citizen, there are certain protections that Hawash is guaranteed under the Constitution- like the right to face one's accusers, the right to a speedy trial- never mind the right to know what he is actually being charged with. This sounds like something out of a Franz Kafka novel.

If the government can deprive Hawash- an American citizen- of his liberty, what will stop them from coming for you and I? Who will speak up for you when they come knocking at your door?

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This page contains a single entry by Jack Cluth published on April 6, 2003 4:33 PM.

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