Rabih Haddad’s case and the thousands of detained and disappeared in this country has caused barely a blip inmainstream public opinion or the US media in the prevailing mood of indulgence towards law enforcement agencies. Thepassage of the USA PATRIOT Act and recent executive actions by the Bush administration offer some context for the newwave of repression against Muslim-American communities and activist communities across the country.

On Sunday, New York City activists gathered to talk about illegal detentions, security culture, and repression in theactivist community, then and now. Among the speakers were Ward Churchill, co-author of ??Agents of Repression: TheFBI’s Secret War Against the Black Panther Party and ??The COINTELPRO Papers, and Natsu Saito, attorney andprofessor of law at Georgia State University in Atlanta. We turn now to Natsu Saito.

Tape:

• Natsu Saito, attorney and professor of law at Georgia State University in Atlanta. Recorded by JustinLipman of the New York City Independent Media Center.

Related links:

• ACLU
• Council on American Islamic Relations
• American Muslim Council
• New York Indymedia Center

??
????
????
????
??