Tarek Mehanna, 27, was arrested October 21st during a 5AM FBI raid on his and his family’s home in Sudbury. He has since been kept in solitary confinement at the Plymouth House of Correction. Mehanna faces charges of aiding terrorists and conspiring to commit acts of terrorism at home and abroad against civilians and US officials. If convicted, he could be spending the rest of his life in jail. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges thus far.
The mainstream media condemned Mehanna from the outset, painting a picture of a wannabe terrorist who had tried many times to kill in the name of “Jihad,” but was ultimately a failure. According to the FBI affidavit, Mehanna and a friend had attempted to join a “jihadist training camp” in Yemen, in 2004, but were rejected. The FBI also claims that the plans of the two to carry out attacks were thwarted when their attempts to purchase automatic weapons failed. These claims inspired a cruel mockery from the mainstream press. The AP described Mehanna as an “incompetent wannabe,” and accused him of plotting to kill US troops overseas and US officials at home. The Boston Globe and Herald, the local outlets that broke the news, also based most of their description of Mehanna on the FBI affidavit rather than attempting to describe Tarek Mehanna as a person with a real life.
The facts of the case speak loudly enough. Mehanna had no prior convictions before his first arrest last year for supposedly lying to FBI agents (more on that later). There is no physical evidence or crime that has actually been committed, just claims. The FBI’s most recent evidence is from 2006, but they waited to arrest him (the first time) until 2008, the day before Mehanna was planning to leave the country to start a new job in Saudi Arabia. What case does the FBI have, and how did it come about?
Mehanna is a deeply religious man, making him an easy target for the FBI and the mainstream media. He holds a PharmD from the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy (related to his job offer in Saudi Arabia) and teaches elementary school. His students and his community see him as a mentor. As a prominent, highly respected member of Greater Boston’s Muslim community who gives numerous lectures and translates religious texts, outsiders could easily misrepresent him.
The FBI seized Mehanna’s computer, which they now claim holds information on his terrorist plot, as well as his writings, which have been denounced as “extremist” and calling for violent “jihad.”
On inspection of Mehanna’s blog (http://iskandrani.wordpress.com), the casual observer may note the peaceful and reflective tone of Mehanna’s writing. Where he mentions Jihad, he directly contradicts the “extremist” attitude of “holy war” that has precipitated some violence and widespread profiling of Muslims. Mehanna writes on a blog post titled, “The Purpose of Jihad,” from February 9, 2009:
…and this is from the greatest of qualities of Islam, since the goal of the Jihad in this religion is not simply to control people or bring them under the submission of others, nor is the goal death and destruction, nor is it oppression under the guise of justice (as it is the goal of the wars fought by those who have strayed from the correct religion). And because of this, its results have differed from others. So, the results of the Jihad of Islam are the spreading of justice and mercy and goodness and happiness and success and righteousness, and the results of others are death and destruction and enslaving the creation and oppressing them in regards to their blood and wealth and lives.
Mehanna preaches the proliferation of justice, mercy, goodness, and happiness. Much of Mehanna’s writing, while overtly religious, calls for human understanding, peace, and avoiding violent or “satanic” doctrines. The word “jihad” in itself does not even translate to “holy war,” but rather “struggle” whether internal or external, and is an important concept within Islam.
Blog posts aside, the prosecution’s only evidence is the 55-page FBI affidavit, which is based on testimony from two cooperating witnesses. The FBI could easily have used these witnesses to entrap Mehanna; the affidavit claims that both their testimonies rely on “personal knowledge, including actions and statements by Mehanna.” The affidavit also relies on testimony from a third witness: Daniel Maldonado, who is now serving a 10-year sentence for similarly false conspiracy charges, and whose phone conversations with Mehanna the FBI has supposedly recorded. The two allegedly used code words pertaining to sandwiches that actually meant “jihad.”
Mehanna’s attorney, Jay Carney, revealed that FBI agents had been attempting to use Mehanna as an informant for years, using blackmail to try to get him to snitch on his Muslim community. The FBI harassment actually precipitated Mehanna’s first arrest in December 2008. He was charged with misleading the FBI as to the whereabouts of Daniel Maldonado. They claim Mehanna knew that Maldonado was in Somalia and lied to FBI agents from the Joint Terrorism Task Force about his location. They arrested Mehanna and held him on trumped up charges resulting in a bail of $1,250,000. His family desperately got the money together to free their son from jail. From that point on, Mehanna continued to teach science and lived a quiet life under his imposed curfew.
New allegations have been made with no further evidence regarding the previous arrest and Mehanna has been denied bail despite an outcry of public support. During his bail hearing on November 12, a crowd exceeding 150 packed the courtroom and flooded the hall to show support for Tariq Mehanna. Supporters included his students and their parents, co-workers, Muslim community members, college classmates, friends, family, political activists, and even out-of-state supporters. Letters describing Mehanna’s character were given to Judge Leo T. Sorokin, some from students saying that he had taught them the importance of non-violence.
The prosecutor, Assistant US Attorney Aloke S. Chakravart, claimed that Mehanna was leading a “double life” that connected him to Al Qaeda. The prosecution also claimed that while free speech is protected (such as declarations to kill other people) under the first amendment, Mehanna had committed actions that suggested an immediate threat. At the end of the hearing, Sorokin decided to deliberate further on whether to offer bail.
On November 19, Judge Sorokin decided that Mehanna would remain held without bail for having “demonstrated his ongoing support of terrorism, both by his own recorded statements and by investing his time and effort in promoting terrorism.”
This parade of injustices marches to the relentless drum of xenophobic racism against Muslims, beaten by the mainstream media, and by several blogs who also make unsubstantiated claims about Mehanna. Yet here in Boston, activists, Muslims, community members, friends, students, co-workers, and the intersections of the above have banded together to help get their loving friend out of prison.
Mehanna recently wrote his first letter from prison this past week. In it he talks about the injustices of the “correctional” system and is thankful for what he does have. He has supporters; believers in justice, who have put aside the relentless hum of the media, and used their own reasoning to support Mehanna.
