Three civil rights activists spoke out against U.S. abuse of human rights, as well as the U.S.A. Patriot Act, during a series of presentations in White Gravenor last Tuesday night.
The speakers, Wendy Patten, U.S. advocacy director for Human Rights Watch, King Lyon, the father of a man accused of assisting the Taliban and Imam Mahdi Bray, a Muslim religious leader, focused on their opposition to the legislation. The U.S.A. Patriot Act gives the government certain powers to in hopes to curb terrorism.
“The attorney general has used the powers he has to eviscerate the rights of non-citizens,” Patten said.
Although all of the speakers opposed the Patriot Act, Patten said it was only part of the problem. The government is using powers outside the scope of the act and committing vast abuses, she said.
In 2002, Human Rights Watch released a report on post-Sept. 11, 2001, actions by the government. Patten detailed the report’s findings to the audience.
“We found a number of abuses,” she said. “We found cases of prolonged detention without charge, cases of interference with the right to council, harsh conditions of confinement, and some cases of physical and verbal abuse.”
Lyon’s son was accused by the government, along with 11 Virginia men, of being part of a network focused on assisting the Taliban in its fight against the United States.
Stating his belief that his son is not a terrorist, Lyon emphasized the fear many Muslims have of being unjustly caught in a post-Sept. 11 dragnet.
“Muslims are afraid to have conversations about certain subjects,” he said. “You must be careful of what you say.”
Lyon is a former U.S. soldier and civil servant. He said he supports the ideals of the United States, yet opposes the methods the government has used to try to stem terrorism.
“I’m for arresting any terrorist who’s a threat to the United States of America, both internal or external,” he said. “But in many of these cases the government is not going after the real terrorists.”
Saying that all Americans want a “safe country,” Lyon said law enforcement should be able to achieve this without “putting a majority of its citizens under mental duress.”
Bray was the evening’s final speaker, and referred to historical documents including the Koran, and the writings of Thomas Jefferson and Charles Dickens, to illustrate his opposition to current government actions.
“I came tonight to encourage you to be active,” he said. “I truly believe we’re fighting for the soul of our nation. America has always read like A Tale of Two Cities. It has been the best of times. It has been the worst of times.”
Bray described the fear many Muslims have of being interrogated by government agents.
He told the story of members of a Silver Springs, Md., mosque that were approached by representatives of the FBI. When religious leaders refused to let the agents interrupt weekly services to question parishioners, the agents wrote down the license plate numbers of all the cars in the parking lot, he said.
“They took all the license plate numbers then they came knocking on doors at night,” he said. “They’re terrorizing my community.”
Bray also said terrorism did not start on Sept. 11, 2001.
“Ask Native Americans about the Trail of Tears,” he said. “Ask about how I felt as a five-year-old boy laying on the floor as the [Klu Klux] Klan tried to burn us out.”
Many spectators felt they learned something from the evening.
“I was expecting all lawyers, but I’m glad it had an aspect of not just law but also a man who’s son is personally affected by ignorance of Islamic culture in the court system,” said Joe Sciarrillo (SFS ’06), a member of the Georgetown Solidarity Committee. “We got to hear from citizens who have seen the expanded powers of the executive branch directly affecting their community.”
The event was sponsored by Amnesty International, Campaign to End the Death Penalty, the Georgetown Solidarity Committee, GU Peace Action, the Muslim Student Association and Students for Justice in Palestine and Campaign Civil Rights. It was a special presentation as part of the Muslim Student Association’s Human Rights Week.