Oregon Muslims Protest Monthlong Detention Without a Charge
By Rachel L. Swarns
April 19, 2003

PORTLAND, Ore., April 18 — Behind the metal doors of a federal penitentiary near here, Maher Hawash has been imprisoned for 29 days without charge, linked to a terrorist plot in ways that the government refuses to describe.

Mr. Hawash, an American citizen, is considered a material witness in a case against six people accused of conspiring to join the Taliban and Al Qaeda to fight against United States forces in Afghanistan, said government officials who spoke on condition of anonymity. Friends of Mr. Hawash, who is known as Mike, said that he prayed in the same mosque as two of the terrorism suspects, and that they fear the federal authorities may be preparing to accuse him in connection with the case.

But so far, Mr. Hawash has not been indicted. The secrecy surrounding his case has generated outrage and uncertainty in the Muslim community here, raising many questions about the government's use of detention of material witnesses as a weapon in the fight against terrorism.

Since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, more than two dozen people — including several American citizens — have been detained without charges as material witnesses in terrorism cases across the country. Government officials, who will not disclose how many people have been detained, say the detentions are necessary to deter attacks.

Critics says that officials are unlawfully rounding up suspects and holding them as witnesses because they lack enough evidence to prosecute.

Friends of Mr. Hawash, a 38-year-old Palestinian-American who worked as a software designer at Intel for nearly a decade, said they have known him as a volunteer soccer coach and a devout Muslim.

Some Muslims say that since his arrest on March 20 they have remained silent rather than speak up at community meetings, fearful of government retaliation. Other Muslims who want to support Mr. Hawash have refrained from contributing to his legal defense fund, saying they are fearful that the donations might draw unwelcome attention.

"People are saying, if this could happen to him, this could happen to any of us," said Zaha Hassan, a Palestinian-American lawyer who knows Mr. Hawash. She and other Muslims argue that if the government believes Mr. Hawash has committed a crime, it should indict him so he can have an open and public hearing.

"Then we could defend him, or accept that he had done something," Ms. Hassan said. "All we can do now is support him and say the process is wrong and stand up against this kind of secret detention."

The judge has barred the public from court hearings on the case and prohibited Mr. Hawash's lawyers from discussing it. Mr. Hawash is to appear at a closed hearing on April 29.

 
For more information about Mike Hawash, see www.freemikehawash.org