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Civil Rights Attorney Lynne Stewart Sentenced to 28 Months
In Jail; Remains Free On Bail
Report From Iraq: Civil War Intensifies From Baghdad to Balad
Iraqi Judge Sentences U.S. Citizen To Death After U.S. Military
“Demanded” the Man Be Executed
Tariq Ali on Hugo Chavez, the Axis Of Hope and His New Book
“Pirates of the Caribbean”
Civil Rights Attorney Lynne Stewart Sentenced to
28 Months In Jail; Remains Free On Bail
Civil rights attorney Lynne Stewart is claiming victory
today in a case that could have landed her in jail for the
rest of her life. On Monday, Stewart was sentenced to twenty-eight
months in prison. She’ll remain free on bail while her
conviction is appealed. [includes rush
transcript]
Stewart was facing up to thirty years after being found guilty
of conspiring to aid terrorists and lying to the government.
She was convicted of distributing press releases on behalf
of her jailed client - Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman - also known
as the blind sheikh - who is serving a life sentence on terror-related
charges. Stewart was found to have helped Rahman communicate
followers in Egypt with messages that could have ended a cease-fire
there and ignited violence.
U.S. District Judge John Koeltl ruled Stewart is guilty of:
"extraordinarily severe criminal conduct." But he
rejected prosecutors’ argument she presents a threat
to national security, and said there is no evidence anyone
has been harmed by her actions. Judge Koeltl also rejected
prosecutors’ request for the maximum jail term, citing
Stewart’s years of representing the poor and underprivileged.
Judge Koeltl wrote: "It is no exaggeration to say that
Ms. Stewart performed a public service not only to the court
but to the nation."
Stewart’s two co-defendants were also sentenced. Ahmed
Sattar, a postal worker who acted as a paralegal for Abdel-Rahman,
was given 24 years in prison for conspiring to kill people
outside the US. Mohammed Yousry, an Arabic translator, was
given twenty months for aiding the smuggling of Abdel-Rahman’s
messages.
Shortly after her sentencing, Lynne Stewart stepped outside
the courtroom to a crowd of cheering supporters.
Civil rights attorney Lynne Stewart. She’s free now
pending an appeal of her conviction. Also speaking outside
the courtroom was Lynne Stewart’s husband, Ralph Poynter.
Report From Iraq: Civil War Intensifies From Baghdad
to Balad
Los Angeles Times Baghdad Bureau Chief Borzou Daragahi joins
us from Baghdad: “The level of bloodshed between Sunni
and Shiites as well as the number of attacks on U.S. and Iraqi
forces… is as bad as I have seen it.” [includes
rush
transcript]
Four days of slaughter in the town of Balad killed at least
91 people by Monday. The bloodshed began with the beheadings
of 17 Shia workers on Friday. In response Shiite militias
poured into the area and went on a killing spree. Fifty Iraqis
were killed in other attacks across the country, including
up to 30 dead from two major bombings in Baghdad. Iraqi police
also reported finding 67 corpses scattered throughout the
capital on Monday.
Meanwhile, President Bush telephoned Iraqi Prime Minister
Nouri al-Maliki to reaffirm his full support for the Iraqi
government. White House spokesman Tony Snow said that Bush
urged Maliki to ignore rumors that Washington has set a deadline
for the Iraqi government to control the activities of insurgents.
This comes as a White House panel of advisers is said to
be ready to call for a major shift in Washington’s policy
on Iraq. Members of the panel, which is led by former US Secretary
of State James Baker, told the Los Angeles Times that this
could include large troop withdrawals. The U.S. death toll
in Iraq has been soaring this month. Fifty nine U.S. soldiers
have died so far in October, putting it on pace to be one
of the deadliest months of the war for US forces.
- Borzou Daragahi, Baghdad bureau chief for the Los Angeles
Times. He joins us on the line from the Iraqi capital.
Iraqi Judge Sentences U.S. Citizen To Death After
U.S. Military “Demanded” the Man Be Executed
An Iraqi-born US citizen is in a battle to save his life
as he tries to avoid execution in Baghdad. But he’s
not up against insurgents groups – he’s up against
the Iraqi and US governments. [includes rush
transcript]
The man, Mohammad Munaf, was arrested by US troops last year.
He was charged with kidnapping three Romanian journalists
and holding them hostage for nearly two months. Last week,
Munaf was sentenced to death. He’s being held in a US-run
prison at the Baghdad airport.
Munaf maintains his innocence. Just weeks ago, it appeared
he would be set free. Munaf’s attorneys say the presiding
judge promised to dismiss the charges after he concluded there
was no material evidence to support a conviction.
But then came a strange intervention. Two US military officers
appeared in court to advocate giving Munaf the death penalty.
One of the officers claimed to be acting on behalf of the
Romanian embassy and said Romania “demanded” Munaf
be put to death. The two officers then held a private meeting
with the judge – without the defense in the room. When
he returned, the judge ruled Munaf was guilty and ordered
his execution.
The Romanian government says it did not authorize any US
official to speak on its behalf and that it is not seeking
the death penalty. Munaf’s attorneys are asking a federal
court to stop the US military from handing him over to the
Iraqi government. In an emergency motion filed last week,
the attorneys write: “Mr. Munaf was convicted and sentenced
to death by an Iraqi court operating under glaring procedural
deficiencies and the direct manipulation of US military personnel."
Lawyers have also filed a motion arguing the US has no legal
right to turn Munaf over to a government where he might face
torture.
For more on this case, I’m joined now by one of Mohammad
Munaf’s attorneys. Jonathan Hafetz is Associate Counsel
for the Liberty & National Security Project at the Brennan
Center for Justice at NYU School of Law.
- Jonathan Hafetz, attorney for Mohammed Munaf and Associate
Counsel for the Liberty & National Security Project
at the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law.
Tariq Ali on Hugo Chavez, the Axis Of Hope and His
New Book “Pirates of the Caribbean”
Ali examines Hugo Chavez’s influence and his legacy
and how Chávez’s views have polarized Latin America
and examines the aggression directed against his administration.
Together Ali argues Venezuela, Bolivia and Cuba form an “Axis
of Hope.” [includes rush
transcript]
Voting in the race for Latin America’s open seat on
the UN Security Council will go into a second day after delegates
failed to end a deadlock between frontrunners Venezuela and
Guatemala.
Neither country obtained the 125 votes needed to win, but
after ten rounds of voting, Guatemala established a wide lead
with 110 to Venezuela’s 77. The balloting resumes Tuesday
and could last days until one country prevails or the Latin
American group decides to bring forth a compromise candidate.
Guatemala’s bid for the open seat is heavily backed
by the United States.
Venezuela’s President, Hugo Chavez, has become one
of the foremost challengers of neo-liberal policies and a
constant critic of American foreign policy. First elected
in 1998, Chavez’s influence continues to be felt throughout
the region. Just this weekend, presidential elections were
held in Ecuador that resulted in a run-off between two candidates
- leftist economist Rafael Correa will face- off against Alvaro
Noboa in a run-off next month. Correa is a close ally of Chavez,
while Noboa is openly pro-Washington. Chavez’s social-democratic
reforms and his constant taunting of the Bush administration
have brought intense hostility from Washignton. Venezuela’s
U.N. Ambassador Francisco Arias Cardenas has complained that
the US is actively trying to prevent Venezuela from winning
the rotating seat on the U.N Security Council.
Well a new book examines Chavez, his influence and his legacy.
In "Pirates of the Caribbean: Axis of Hope," author
Tariq Ali looks at how Chávez’s views have polarized
Latin America and examines the aggression directed against
his administration. Ali also analyzes the leaders of two other
countries – Cuba and Bolivia and looks at how together
with Venezuela, they are sharply challenging American foreign
policy.
Tariq Ali joins me in the firehouse studio. Author of several
books, his latest is "Pirates of the Caribbean: Axis
of Hope."
- Tariq Ali, author of several books including "Bush
in Babylon: The Recolonization of Iraq" and "Clash
of Fundamentalisms." His new book is called "Pirates
of the Caribbean: Axis of Hope."
For a copy of today’s program, call 1 (800) 881 2359.
Our website is www.democracynow.org.
Our email address is mail@democracynow.org.
Democracy Now! is produced by Mike Burke, Sharif Abdel Kouddous,
Ana Nogueira, Elizabeth Press, Jeremy Scahill and Parvez Sharma.
Mike Di Filippo is our engineer.
Thanks also to Uri Galed, Angela Alston, Orlando Richards,
Simba Russeau, Johnny Sender, Rich Kim, Joe Murgio, John Randolph,
Chris Zucker, Karen Ranucci, Denis Moynihan, Eric Rweyemamu,
Jenny Filipazzo and Isis Phillips.
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