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Free Speech Groups Ask Secretaries Clinton And Napolitano To Review
Denial Of Visa To Prominent Afghan Human Rights Activist
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 21, 2011
CONTACT:
Rachel Myers, ACLU, (212) 549-2689 or 2666; [email protected]
Rachel Levinson, AAUP, (202) 737-5900 x117; [email protected]
Larry Siems, PEN, (212) 334-1660 x 105 or (646) 359-0594; [email protected]
NEW YORK – The American Civil Liberties Union, American Association of
University Professors (AAUP) and PEN American Center today sent a letter
to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Homeland Security Secretary
Janet Napolitano expressing concern over the denial of a visa to Afghan
politician, writer and human rights activist Malalai Joya.
Joya was denied a visa to visit the United States for a three-week
speaking tour relating to the paperback edition of her memoir, A Woman
Among Warlords. Joya toured the U.S. last year in connection with the
release of the hardcover edition of the book. Last year, Joya was named
to the “TIME 100” list, the magazine’s annual list of the 100 most
influential people in the world, and Foreign Policy magazine named Joya
one of the “Top 100 Global Thinkers.”
In 2010, State Department Legal Advisor Harold Koh wrote that, in
assessing whether to grant a visa, the State Department would “give
significant and sympathetic weight to the fact that the primary purpose
of the visa applicant’s travel will be to assume a university teaching
post, to fulfill speaking engagements, to attend academic conferences,
or for similar expressive or educational activities.”
According to today’s letter, “[t]he factors that Mr. Koh outlined in his
letter weigh in favor of granting a waiver to Ms. Joya…. Ms. Joya has an
extraordinary story and a great deal to add to the ongoing discussion
about the lives of the Afghan people, women in particular, about the
current political and social realities in her country, and about the
wisdom and success of American diplomatic and military efforts in
Afghanistan. Americans should not be denied the chance to meet with her,
to hear her speak, and to engage her in debate.”
More information about ideological exclusion is available online at
www.aclu.org/exclusion
The full text of the letter is below and available online at:
https://www.aclu.org/national-security/letter-secretaries-clinton-and-napolitano
March 21, 2011
Hon. Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State
U.S. Department of State
2201 C Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20520
Hon. Janet Napolitano
Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Washington, DC 20528
Dear Secretaries Clinton and Napolitano,
We are writing to express our deep concern about the reported denial of
a visa to Afghan politician, writer, and human rights activist Malalai
Joya. Ms. Joya is an important figure in Afghan politics and a leader
of the Afghan women’s rights movement, and Americans should not be
denied the opportunity to meet with her in person and to hear her speak.
We urge you to issue her a visa that would allow her to visit the
United States.
We understand that Ms. Joya has been denied a B visa that would have
allowed her to visit the United States for a three-week speaking tour
relating to the paperback edition of her memoir, A Woman Among Warlords.
It is our understanding that Ms. Joya has already toured widely in
connection with the hardcover edition of this book, travelling without
difficulty to the United States last year and to countries including
Australia, the UK, Canada, Norway, Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal,
France, and the Netherlands. She is, as you must know, an
internationally recognized and acclaimed voice from a country where
women are frequently endangered simply for seeking to speak out and to
lead. Because of her harsh criticism of Afghan warlords, Ms. Joya has
been the target of several assassination attempts in Afghanistan, and
she has been forced to live in hiding. In recent years, she has become
a vocal critic of the Karzai government and of the American-led war
effort against the Taliban. Last year, TIME magazine named Ms. Joya to
its “TIME 100” list, the magazine’s annual list of the 100 most
influential people in the world. Foreign Policy Magazine named Ms. Joya
one of the “Top 100 Global Thinkers.”
When she was in the United States last year, Ms. Joya spoke to American
audiences about her own experiences in Afghanistan, including her
experiences as the first woman elected to the Afghan parliament, and
about the ongoing conflict in her country, and we expect she would do
the same this year. We are not aware of any reason why Ms. Joya would
have been deemed inadmissible to the United States since her last visit.
If you have concluded that she is inadmissible, however, we urge you to
use your authority to waive inadmissibility. As you may recall, the
undersigned organizations were among those that wrote to Secretary
Clinton in February 2010 asking that the State Department take steps to
ensure that the immigration laws do not unwarrantedly become barriers to
the free exchange of ideas across international borders. In a
constructive response to that letter, State Department Legal Advisor
Harold Koh wrote in a December 2010 letter that, in assessing whether to
recommend a waiver of inadmissibility, the State Department would
consider “the recent nature and seriousness of the activity or condition
causing the visa inadmissibility, the reasons for the proposed travel,
and the positive or negative effects, if any, of the planned travel on
U.S. public interests.” Mr. Koh also wrote: “In evaluating the reasons
for the proposed travel, the Department will give significant and
sympathetic weight to the fact that the primary purpose of the visa
applicant’s travel will be to assume a university teaching post, to
fulfill speaking engagements, to attend academic conferences, or for
similar expressive or educational activities.”
The factors that Mr. Koh outlined in his letter weigh in favor of
granting a waiver to Ms. Joya. Ms. Joya seeks to enter the United States
in order to speak to American audiences. She has already scheduled
speaking engagements in New York, New Jersey, Washington DC, Maryland,
Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Illinois,
Minnesota, Oregon, Washington and California. Moreover, Ms. Joya has an
extraordinary story and a great deal to add to the ongoing discussion
about the lives of the Afghan people, women in particular, about the
current political and social realities in her country, and about the
wisdom and success of American diplomatic and military efforts in
Afghanistan. Americans should not be denied the chance to meet with
her, to hear her speak, and to engage her in debate.
Thank you for your attention to this letter.
Sincerely,
American Civil Liberties Union
American Association of University Professors
PEN American Center
cc: Harold Koh, Legal Advisor to the Secretary of State
Janice L. Jacobs, Assistant Secretary, DOS Bureau of
Consular Affairs
Anne-Marie Slaughter, Director, DOS Policy Planning Staff
Scott Busby, Director for Multilateral Affairs, National
Security Council
Kelly Ryan, Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for
Immigration and Border
Security, DHS (Office of Policy)
John R. Sandweg, Counselor to the Secretary and the Deputy
Secretary,
DHS (Office of the Secretary)
Esther Olavarria, Counselor to the Secretary, DHS
Gary Grindler, Acting Deputy Attorney General, DOJ
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