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ACLU offers Muslims legal help Washington, DC, Aug. 5, 2004 (UPI) -- The American Civil Liberties Union said Thursday it is offering free legal help to Arabs and Muslims caught up in the latest FBI "dragnet" interviews. "This dragnet technique used by the FBI is simply racial profiling and violates our most cherished fundamental freedoms," said Dalia Hashad, the ACLU's Arab, Muslim and South Asian advocate, in a statement. The ACLU action came in response to an announcement the FBI would launch a new round of dragnet-like interviews in Arab and Muslim communities nationwide. The ACLU said the FBI questioned more than 8,000 Muslim and Arab men in 2001 and 2002, but that questioning did not yield a single arrest of a suspected terrorist. The organization said ACLU attorneys who have accompanied members of the community to such interviews allege the line of FBI questioning includes inquiries about religious practices and family members, and agents can become coercive. The ACLU alleged agents threatened to interfere with the marriage plans of a Muslim man if he did not agree to become an informant.
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