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-Caveat Lector- Chicago courtroom to be closed forfirst-ever testimony from Shin Bet agents in US
Written by Madeleine LeeA local ABC affiliate in Chicago reported Friday on the case of Muhammed Salah, on trial for supporting terrorism.[1] -- The case against him rests almost entirely on a confession that Salah, a used-car dealer from the Chicago suburbs who was arrested in 1993 while on a trip to Israel, says was extorted from him after 53 days of torture at the hands of Israelis. -- "Late Friday afternoon," ABC 7-Chicago reported, "Judge St. Eve announced that the Salah confession hearing will go forward on Monday, with secret testimony by two Israeli Police who interrogated Salah back in 1993. -- Her courtroom in the Dirksen Federal Building will be swept for eavesdropping devices and explosives this weekend, and then sealed off for the Israeli agents' testimony beginning Monday morning, closed to public, closed to the media and some are saying, closed to justice." -- "[T]here is no question that Israel allowed and even encouraged the torture of suspected Hamas militants in the 1980's and 90's," ABC 7-Chicago notes. "[I]n 1999 the supreme court of Israel ruled that it had been standard practice, following petitions filed by human rights organizations." -- "When Salah returns to court on Monday, some of the Israeli police who questioned him for 53 days will not be seen. They will be allowed to testify in a closed courtroom. They will be asked about the Shabak technique, which was widely used and accepted by Israeli police, including the hooded detainment of suspected Hamas members, the short-legged kindergarten chair that suspects would be handcuffed to, the kicking and beating across the groin and chest, and what was known as the painful frog crouch. -- Many times the Shabak technique would continue for days or weeks." -- AP noted that Salah is an American citizen, a detail not mentioned in every account.[2] -- The Chicago Tribune's Michael Higgins reported: "The hearing marks the first time that agents of the Israeli Security Agency will testify in an American court."[3] -- In addition, "terrorism and legal experts will be closely watching for St. Eve's ultimate decision, said Juliette Kayyem, a former U.S. Justice Department official who now teaches at Harvard University. -- 'I think this is huge,' Kayyem said. When it comes to using foreign interrogations, 'courts have hinted that there is a line, but I don't think we've seen it yet. . . . So this is going to be very interesting.'" -- The Chicago Tribune has formally protested the closing of the courtroom to take testimony from the Israeli agents. -- The Muhammed Salah story is being widely overseas; Le Monde (Paris) carried an AFP account (translated below).[4] -- WBBM Newsradio 780 in Chicago said "Arab groups and civil libertarians are hoping a federal judge will not let prosecutors use a 1993 confession by Muhammad Salah in his upcoming trial."[5] -- "Salah's lawyers will not have access to the normal tools of cross-examination, such as a list of all the agents involved or manuals that describe interrogation procedures in use at the time," Michael Higgins reported.[3] ...
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1.NewsA TERRORISM CASE IN THE HEART OF AMERICA** Judge urged to throw out statements as product of torture **ABC 7 (Chicago)
March 3, 2006[PHOTO (no caption)]A suburban man who has admitted to laundering money for the terrorist group Hamas went to court Friday. But Muhammad Salah says he was tortured by the Israelis into giving that confession.A federal judge will decide if that confession could be used as evidence against Salah. Muhammed Salah is a used car dealer from suburban Bridgeview. While on a trip to Israel in 1993, Salah was arrested and charged with being an operative for the terrorist organization Hamas. He did five years in an Israeli prison.Now, back in Chicago, the U.S. government has charged Salah with supporting terrorism, largely based on that Israeli confession. But in a federal court hearing Friday, Salah contended he was tortured into confessing.Salah is free on bond and left court Friday afternoon following a several hour hearing to determine whether the signed confession from 1993 will be allowed as evidence during his trial this October."We are not going to allow this kind of evidence. We have a Constitution, we have a Bill of Rights, we have a sense of fairness. That is what we're going to focus on," said Robert Bloom, Salah's lawyer.Judge Amy St. Eve's courtroom was blocked off by extraordinary federal security Friday as Salah's lawyer Michael Deutsch told her that the so-called confession followed 53 days of torture by Israeli security agents, from physical beatings to mind games and sleep deprivation, and that the FBI was feeding Israeli secret police certain questions to ask Salah."To the members of the Palestinian-American community, it is about whether any Palestinian is safe, even here on American soil, from illegal and discriminatory practices of the Israeli military occupation and the Palestinian homeland," said Ali Abunimah, Arab-American Action Network.Salah's supporters and lawyers say his constitutional rights as an American were violated and the Israeli confession should not be allowed."If torture must not be used, then evidence acquired through torture must not be used, either," said Abdul Malik Mujahid, Council of Islamic Organizations.In arguing for the confession, Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Ferguson said that Salah is a liar, and Ferguson repeated the word "lie" dozens of times in court when describing each one of Salah's allegations of torture.Chicago attorneys say when they won a $156 million civil judgment against Salah in a Hamas murder case, his confession was ruled legal."Somebody should think about the hundreds and thousands of Israeli citizens who have been the victim of Hamas terror, and should ask him what he was doing with so much money, and how is it that he lived in this country having his day-to-day existence financed by an al Qaeda financier," said Stephen Landes, Chicago lawyer."This is not about Israel as a democracy. There are those who want to turn this into a mandate on U.S.-Israeli relationship," said Jay Tcath, Jewish Federation of Chicago.Late Friday afternoon, Judge St. Eve announced that the Salah confession hearing will go forward on Monday, with secret testimony by two Israeli Police who interrogated Salah back in 1993.Her courtroom in the Dirksen Federal Building will be swept for eavesdropping devices and explosives this weekend, and then sealed off for the Israeli agents' testimony beginning Monday morning, closed to public, closed to the media and some are saying, closed to justice.EVIDENCE SHOWS ISRAEL ENCOURAGED TORTUREThe intelligence is conclusive, there is no question that Israel allowed and even encouraged the torture of suspected Hamas militants in the 1980's and 90's.The question in the case of accused Chicago terrorist Muhammad Salah, is whether Israel used torture to obtain his confession in 1993. The U.S. government says he wasn't tortured. Salah says he was.U.S. prosecutors Friday pointed to earlier scenes as proof that Muhammad Salah was not tortured in 1993 when Israel police arrested him as a Hamas terrorist. During his 53 days of interrogation, they say, Salah never showed scabs, scars, or bruises. But in Chicago district court Friday, Salah's lawyers contended that Israeli secret police used more subtle methods of coercing confessions."See this chair? They cut off the legs. They have people sit on this for hours. They have them hooded with a hood that smells like feces and vomit. They tie their hands behind them. They tie his legs to the front. It's not just him. They do it all the time," said Robert Bloom, Salah's lawyer.The agents were part of what was known as the GSS, General Security Service, also called shin bet, the Israeli internal security service. Five-thousand employees strong, in Hebrew, the organization's emblem translates to: the "defender who shall not be seen."When Salah returns to court on Monday, some of the Israeli police who questioned him for 53 days will not be seen. They will be allowed to testify in a closed courtroom. They will be asked about the Shabak technique, which was widely used and accepted by Israeli police, including the hooded detainment of suspected Hamas members, the short-legged kindergarten chair that suspects would be handcuffed to, the kicking and beating across the groin and chest, and what was known as the painful frog crouch.Many times the Shabak technique would continue for days or weeks."Israel's GSS interrogators have tortured thousands of detainees intentionally inflicting severe pain and suffering," said Ali Abunimah, Arab-American Action Network. "The United States government has chosen to make secret evidence of Israeli and evidence of torture of Mr. Salah. We think it's a very serious program particularly since the Bush administration continues to engage in torture and tries to keep it secret around the world," said Steven Saltzman, Center for Constitutional Rights.How do we know the Israeli intelligence division practiced such torture? Because in 1999 the supreme court of Israel ruled that it had been standard practice, following petitions filed by human rights organizations.The high Israeli court voided interrogations guidelines and struck down torture as a police technique. However, the ruling left some wiggle room for Israeli agents in situations where national security was in jeopardy.2.NationWiresHAMAS CASE JUDGE URGED TO TOSS STATEMENTS
By Mike RobinsonAssociated Press
March 3, 2006CHICAGO -- The lawyer for a Chicago man charged with laundering money for the Palestinian group Hamas told a judge Friday that his client was tortured and beaten into admitting being part of the terrorist organization.The statements signed by Muhammad Salah should not be allowed as evidence at his trial, set for October, attorney Michael E. Deutsch argued at a federal court hearing.Deutsch said Salah would never have signed the statements after his 1993 arrest if he had not been deprived of sleep by his Israeli captors, made to sit in a tiny chair with a foul-smelling hood over his head and kept at times in a "refrigeration cell."Prosecutors contend Salah's statements were made voluntarily and therefore meet the standards imposed by the American system of justice for evidence at criminal trials.They acknowledge Salah was housed by the Israelis in a prison where inmates pretended to be Hamas leaders and got him to write a report on his activities.Salah's actions included "recruiting efforts, military training efforts, financing efforts and other activities," prosecutor Joseph M. Ferguson said.Over defense objections, U.S. District Judge Amy St. Eve has set aside time next week for two Israeli agents to testify in a closed courtroom under assumed names. They are expected to say that Salah was not tortured while he was in their custody.Salah was born in Jerusalem and moved to the United States in 1970. He is a naturalized American citizen.He was indicted in August 2004 along with Abdelhaleem Hasan Abdelraziq Ashqar of Alexandria, Va., and Mousa Mohammed Abu Marzook, believed to be living in Damascus, Syria, on charges of taking part in a racketeering conspiracy to provide money for terrorist acts in Israel.Salah and Ashqar deny the charges. Marzook, who is described by federal officials as the deputy military leader of Hamas, is classified as a fugitive.Salah was on what he described as a charity mission to Israel in 1993 when he was arrested. He pleaded guilty in 1995 to helping to funnel $650,000 to Hamas and served nearly five years in an Israeli prison.3.RARE CLOSED FEDERAL COURT HEARING ON TERRORISM BEGINS
By Michael HigginsChicago Tribune
March 3, 2006A landmark hearing in federal court in Chicago will address one of the most pressing issues in the prosecution of terrorism: How should American courts treat confessions obtained by foreign governments?Federal prosecutors say Muhammad Salah of Bridgeview is a top Hamas official who confessed to funneling hundreds of thousands of dollars to the militant Islamic group during a 1993 interrogation in Israel.Salah contends that he was beaten and threatened, kept cold and awake, and forced to sit in painful positions until he gave a false statement to Israeli security agents.In a hearing set to begin Friday, U.S. District Judge Amy St. Eve must decide whether Salah's 53-page statement can be used against him.The hearing has already sparked controversy over St. Eve's decision to close the courtroom for some testimony.Now, terrorism and legal experts will be closely watching for St. Eve's ultimate decision, said Juliette Kayyem, a former U.S. Justice Department official who now teaches at Harvard University."I think this is huge," Kayyem said. When it comes to using foreign interrogations, "courts have hinted that there is a line, but I don't think we've seen it yet. . . . So this is going to be very interesting."Though the U.S. war on terror is more than five years old, standards for the use of foreign evidence remain unclear, said Karen Greenberg, executive director of the Center on Law and Security at New York University School of Law."The goal is to get terrorists off the street," Greenberg said. "We can't have a legal system that impedes that. But it's a complex issue, and we can't just institute rules because they're convenient for the moment."The hearing marks the first time that agents of the Israeli Security Agency will testify in an American court. For security reasons, St. Eve has agreed to close her courtroom for that testimony -- a ruling she made over the objections of Salah's attorney, various Islamic and civil rights groups, and the Tribune."For Israeli officials to show up in a U.S. court is a big deal because it's just not usually done," Kayyem said. "It suggests the Israelis are putting a big premium on this conviction -- and that our government has probably done a lot behind the scenes to persuade the Israelis."Prosecutors allege that Salah and two co-defendants participated in a 15-year conspiracy to finance Hamas, funneling millions of dollars to the Mideast, including money that went to buy weapons.In his role, Salah traveled from the U.S. to London, Israel, and the West Bank on behalf of Hamas from 1989 until his arrest in Israel on Jan. 25, 1993, prosecutors said.Salah pleaded guilty to similar charges in Israel and served almost five years in prison before being released in 1997. But Salah's lawyer Michael Deutsch contends his client pleaded guilty only because his coerced statements made a fair trial impossible, and he faced an even longer sentence if he fought the charges.Salah now says that he provided only humanitarian aid for Palestinians. But Assistant U.S. Atty. Joseph Ferguson said Salah's statements while in custody in Israel show he provided military aid as well. The statements constitute a "core body of the evidence" that prosecutors want to present at Salah's trial in October.In court filings, Ferguson declared "Salah's claims of torture and mistreatment to be fictional in that the claims are, in various instances, either total falsehoods or gross exaggerations."Ferguson said Salah's story evolved over time, growing more dramatic from a hearing in 1994 in Israel to a 1995 affidavit in a federal court in New York to a radio interview in 1998. He said Salah met with U.S. officials Jan. 31, 1993, and many times afterward and people who saw him did not report signs of torture.Salah's statement was admitted into evidence in a civil lawsuit filed against Salah and others by the parents of David Boim, a teenager who was killed in a drive-by shooting in the West Bank in 1996."When Salah was arrested, it was a very public event," said Stephen Landes, an attorney for the Boim family, which won a $156 million verdict in 2004. "It would not have been smart for Israeli officials to subject Salah to the torture he is claiming."But Salah's attorney said he plans to introduce evidence showing that Salah's claims of mistreatment match closely with practices that human rights groups say were standard procedure during the period. In 1999, the Israeli Supreme Court outlawed many of the techniques.Salah also said he was tortured brutally by Palestinian prisoners working for the Israelis -- known as "birds" -- who beat and tortured him and threatened him with a razor.Deutsch said Salah complained of abuse to some officials who visited, but didn't trust others, and in some cases was too afraid. "He was always told if he complained things would get worse for him," Deutsch said.Another battle in the case is over whether prosecutors can introduce evidence showing that Salah's statements later proved to be correct. For example, they say information from Salah helped agents find the body of a murdered Israeli soldier.In theory, the testimony of the two agents will help Judge St. Eve sort out the conflicting claims. But the agents will testify on their terms, not under the normal procedures of the federal courts.Salah's lawyers will not have access to the normal tools of cross-examination, such as a list of all the agents involved or manuals that describe interrogation procedures in use at the time. "We're getting two out of 10 interrogators and none of the birds" as witnesses, Deutsch said.Defense lawyers will urge St. Eve to draw a "negative inference" regarding any withheld document or unanswered question. But it is up to the judge to decide how much to penalize prosecutors for Israel's refusal to provide classified information.To prosecutors, the issue is not whether Salah got all the rights guaranteed by the American system, but whether his confession was forced because Israeli agents mistreated him so badly that his will was "overborne."But Deutsch and some legal experts disagree. "The bottom line is that in an American interrogation, no physical coercion is permitted, not even the threat of physical coercion," said David Cole, a law professor at Georgetown University.4.[Translated from Le Monde (Paris)]WiresAN AMERICAN DENOUNCES IN COURT ISRAELI INTERROGATION TACTICSAFP
March 3, 2006On Friday an American citizen detained for five years in Israel accused the Hebrew State's army of having forced statements from him by torture and challenged its interrogation methods before a court in Chicago (northern Illinois).The lawyers of Muhammad Salah, detained in Israel after having been accused of having furnished matériel and money to the radical movement Hamas, asked on Friday that the statements made by their client to Israelis be tossed out because they were obtained by torture and are not considered admissible under American law.His trial is to take place in October."What happened to him was shocking," said Michael Deutsch, his lawyer, told the court, describing beatings, sexual harassment, sleep deprivation, and other psychological pressures endured by his client.Prosecutors called Salah a liar and said that they would bring Israelis as witnesses to prove that Salah was never tortured.Salah spent nearly 5 years in an Israeli prison in the 1990s after having admitted to crimes committed for Hamas.After his liberation and his return to the United States, he was arrested in August 2004 for having organized operations to supply matériel to terrorists with the help of another American citizen and a Hamas official who has fled to Syria.Salah described the court the humiliations he endured and the laughter of Israeli soldiers when he asked for a lawyer whom he only met 13 days after his arrest."We're talking about the deprivation of constitutional rights," Deutsch told the court, adding that Salah was interrogated for 53 days before being formally charged.The prosecution replied that even if a considerable number "of historical practices" by Israeli forces "do not correspond to legal concepts," Salah was not tortured and his declararations were voluntary.The preliminary hearing are expected to last two weeks. A judicial ruling to determine whether or not the statements can be admitted as evidence is not expected before April.--
Translated by Mark K. Jensen
Associate Professor of French
Department of Languages and Literatures
Pacific Lutheran University
Tacoma, WA 98447-0003
Phone: 253-535-7219
Home page: http://www.plu.edu/~jensenmk/
E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]5.Local NewsGROUPS WANT SALAH'S CONFESSION THROWN OUT
By Nancy HartyWBBM Newsradio 780
March 3, 2006CHICAGO -- Arab groups and civil libertarians are hoping a federal judge will not let prosecutors use a 1993 confession by Muhammad Salah in his upcoming trial.The Palestinian man claims he was tortured by Israeli security agents before saying he funneled money for the terrorist group Hamas.Salah attorney Robert Bloom says his client had to sit in a child's chair with his hands and feet tied behind him for hours and wore a hood that smelled of feces and vomit.Federal Judge Amy St. Eve has already ruled that the public and press will not be able to hear Israel agents testify about questioning Salah.Defense attorneys are upset with that decision -- saying Salah's constitutional rights are being trampled.Abdul Malik Mujahid, chairman of the Council of Islamic Organizations of Greater Chicago, says if Congress has condemned torture, then information obtained through torture should not be allowed.Salah and another man were arrested in August 2004 and accused of racketeering conspiracy.Lawyer Stephen Landes won a 156 million dollar civil judgement against Salah for the murder of David Boim.Landes says it's not as if the defense has no recourse. Lawyers will be able to question the Israeli agents during the trial.
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