Post by addisona on Nov 23, 2022 12:11:12 GMT
The forgotten Muslim-American families wounded by the 'war on terror'
It's been more than six years, but Suad Abdelaziz still cannot believe what happened to her cousin.
In June 2016, a US court found 25-year-old Muhanad Badawi guilty of "aiding and abetting the attempt to provide material support" to the Islamic State (IS) group.
According to prosecutors, her cousin had purchased a one-way ticket for his friend, Nader Elhuzayel, to travel to Syria to join IS.
The Department of Justice said both men had drawn the interest of law enforcement interest in 2013, after posting several messages of support for IS on social media. They were subsequently monitored, and when Elhuzayel purchased a one-way ticket to Turkey via Israel, they were both arrested and charged.
But 28-year-old Abdelaziz says the case was bogus.
In June 2016, a US court found 25-year-old Muhanad Badawi guilty of "aiding and abetting the attempt to provide material support" to the Islamic State (IS) group.
According to prosecutors, her cousin had purchased a one-way ticket for his friend, Nader Elhuzayel, to travel to Syria to join IS.
The Department of Justice said both men had drawn the interest of law enforcement interest in 2013, after posting several messages of support for IS on social media. They were subsequently monitored, and when Elhuzayel purchased a one-way ticket to Turkey via Israel, they were both arrested and charged.
But 28-year-old Abdelaziz says the case was bogus.
She says Badawi loaned his credit card to a friend. He didn't know that Elhuzayel was allegedly joining IS. "I say allegedly because the state did not prove that he was joining IS either," she told Middle East Eye.
Instead, she claims, prosecutors used the two men's comments on social media to establish anti-America animus and relied on jury prejudice against Muslims to conclude they were terrorists.
Both men pleaded not guilty to the charges of terrorism but were convicted and sentenced to 30 years each. The trial lasted two weeks.
"They [the courts] don't need evidence of specific intent to commit or support a violent act. They just need to establish that the person has knowledge that these organisations are considered terrorists," said Abdelaziz, who is now finishing her third year of law school and is an intern for Palestine Legal, a civil liberties organisation in the US.
Instead, she claims, prosecutors used the two men's comments on social media to establish anti-America animus and relied on jury prejudice against Muslims to conclude they were terrorists.
Both men pleaded not guilty to the charges of terrorism but were convicted and sentenced to 30 years each. The trial lasted two weeks.
"They [the courts] don't need evidence of specific intent to commit or support a violent act. They just need to establish that the person has knowledge that these organisations are considered terrorists," said Abdelaziz, who is now finishing her third year of law school and is an intern for Palestine Legal, a civil liberties organisation in the US.