Progressive Media and the Sattar Case

Principle dictates that civil rights advocates be concerned about the rights of political prisoners on principle, not on creed. Yet, progressive media and organizations concern for civil liberties seems wholly absent in the cases of "high profile" Muslim prisoners. Perturbed, I wrote to Democracy Now's Amy Goodman.

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Subject: Why No DN Coverage of Ahmed Abdel Sattar Case?
Date: Thu, October 19, 2006 4:58 am
To: mail@democracynow.org

Dear Amy,

In this time of corporate media and embeds, I have long regarded your show as one of the last bastions of independent journalism, and you, as personally restoring dignity to the word “journalist.” While I appreciate and agree with your pointed analyses and views on most issues, I am very disappointed by your failure to cover the railroadings of most high profile Muslim political prisoners, previously Imam Jamil El-Amin and the Virginia Seven, and now notably, Ahmed Abdel Sattar.

All proceedings in Ahmed’s case were held in New York, where his wife and children also live. You are based out of New York, yet you did not bother to interview any of them.

You might consider that a government which lies about WMDs, spies on its own citizens, and engages in McCarthy-style labeling, blacklisting, and jailing of opponents just might have lied, labeled, and blacklisted--in order to jail--in this case as well. The government spent tens of thousands of dollars to railroad Ahmed, and held him for 4.5 years, while creatively building a case against him. Sadly, Democracy Now!’s excellent coverage of Lyn Stewart was sorely juxtaposed by its corporate media-style blackout of the railroading of Ahmed Abdel Sattar.

You might also consider that defense lawyers are not the only ones whom this trial was meant to terrorize. The Egyptian dissident community is ever more terrified of speaking out against the considerable abuses of Hosni Mubarak, after observing the jailing of yet another outspoken and courageous Egyptian patriot. Democracy Now! missed a prime opportunity to educate its listeners on the U.S. government’s silencing of foreign dissidents on U.S. soil.

Ahmed is not so different from the Filipino dissidents, assassinated on U.S. soil during the Marcos reign; or Orlando Letelier, murdered at Sheridan Circle in Washington, DC; or Alex Odeh, blown up as he worked in his own office. They are/were all courageous dissidents who fought to wrest their countries from imperialist domination, whether under Mubarak, Marcos, Pinochet, or Israeli apartheid—and paid for it with lives or, in this case, liberty.

I am hopeful that you will investigate this case independently, and not simply swallow the U.S. government’s characteristic unsavory labels (“Islamic fundamentalist,” etc) and fear mongering, used to ensure the conviction of this and other innocent Muslims, regardless of evidence.

Sincerely,