Vol. 71/No. 8      February 26, 2007

The government claimed the two had violated U.S. laws in aiding the Palestinian organization Hamas, which Washington alleges is carrying out “terrorist” activities against Israel.

Representatives of the Mosque Foundation, the Islamic Council, and the legal defense team, as well as the two defendants, spoke at the celebration.

Salah was arrested in 1993 by Israeli soldiers at a military checkpoint in the Gaza Strip. He was accused of being a leader of Hamas and funding “terrorist” activity. During two months of interrogation, he was tortured by Israeli Secret Service agents, who forced him to sign a false confession.

After serving five years in a military prison in Israel, he returned home in 1997 to his family in the United States. The U.S. government classified him as a “Specially Designated Terrorist.” All of his family assets were frozen. Salah had to obtain approval from the Treasury Department to get a job, retain an attorney, open a bank account, or to receive medical care and other services. He was under house arrest, wearing an electronic tracking anklet.

The court proceedings were blatantly undemocratic. The trial was closed to the public during six days of testimony about Salah’s torture, when the prosecution tried to make a case that Salah willingly confessed.

His wife, Maryam Salah, who speaks publicly in his defense, explained the truth was very different. Salah was thrown hooded and handcuffed into the back of a jeep and driven to an interrogation center, she said. He was questioned for nine hours at a time and forced to crouch on an undersized and unbalanced stool with his hands handcuffed behind him. The Israeli agents kept him awake, put him in a cold refrigerator cell, covered his head with a urine-soaked canvas bag, and threatened his family.

Even the defendants were not allowed in the courtroom for two days while two Israeli Secret Service agents testified anonymously.

At the celebration, Mohammed Salah thanked those who went to court in his support. A bus from the Bridgeview mosque took supporters to the courthouse every day. Salah said supporters helped put food on the table for his family during the trial.

Although acquitted of the main charge against them, Salah and Ashqar were found guilty of lesser charges. Salah was convicted of obstruction of justice, stemming from when he denied being a member of Hamas in a civil suit by the parents of a U.S. teenager killed in 1996 in a drive-by shooting while visiting Israel. Ashqar was convicted of criminal contempt and obstruction of justice. They now face maximum sentences of five years, as opposed to 40 years to life imprisonment if they had been convicted on the main charge. Sentencing is scheduled for June 15.
 
 
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