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San Jose Mercury News – Oct. 21, 2004 ACLU seeks FBI data on handling of Muslim interviews By David Kravets SAN FRANCISCO - The American Civil Liberties Union sued the FBI on Thursday (10/21/2004), trying to get more information about the agency's questioning of Muslims and Arabs as it investigates the possibility of pre-election terror attacks. The ACLU, which describes the unannounced interviews at homes, workplaces and mosques "interrogations," is seeking internal documents under the Freedom of Information Act about whether the government is protecting the constitutional rights of those interviewed. "We are trying to get much greater sunshine over these activities," said ACLU attorney John Crew. Among other things, the group wants to know how the agency chooses who it will interview. "These random interviews or interrogations raise the concern that the FBI and the Joint Terrorism Task Forces operating in Northern California are infringing upon the civil rights and civil liberties of immigrants, U.S. citizens and organizations by interrogating them without any valid basis, rationale, or individualized suspicion for doing so," the ACLU's FOIA request says. The FBI has done more than 13,000 interviews this year as part of its '04 Threat Task Force effort to detect and disrupt a potential election-year terror attack. Officials say these people were identified through ongoing terrorism investigations, through intelligence information and because of indicators such as recent travel to countries with links to terrorism, according to senior law enforcement officials who spoke on condition of anonymity. The interviews are voluntary and are not meant to indicate that the person is a suspected terrorist. Still, Muslim groups have expressed concern that they are being singled out for unfair scrutiny. Joe Parris, an FBI spokesman in Washington, D.C., said the agency had no comment because of "pending litigation." The ACLU's suit comes a month after the FBI refused the group's request to immediately respond to its Freedom of Information Act claim. In a letter to the ACLU, the FBI said it would process the request in a "first-in-first-out" basis, a process that would take more than a year. http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/states/california/the_valley/9980263.htm ACLU Press Release – Oct. 21, 2004 ACLU sues FBI and Department of Justice SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 21 - 2004 -- The ACLU of Northern California, under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), today filed a lawsuit seeking expedited processing and release of FBI and other Department of Justice documents pertaining to the ongoing investigation, interviews and questioning of Muslims and U.S. citizens of Middle Eastern descent in Northern California. The ACLU-NC is concerned that the questioning by FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Forces (JTTF's) of immigrants and U.S. citizens may violate their First Amendment rights and have a chilling effect on the exercise of constitutional rights. The JTTF's are made up of state and local officers working with agents of the FBI and officers of the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The ACLU's lawsuit charges the federal government with stalling the release of public records that would reveal the scope, purpose and policies behind controversial tactics currently being pursued throughout Northern California by the FBI's JTTFs. The documents sought by the FOIA request would (among other things) reveal the scope of JTTF operations in Northern California and whether the FBI's JTTFs have any written policies that -
The ACLU-NC based its lawsuit on regulations that require expedited treatment of FOIA requests when substantial due process rights are at stake or when the request concerns a matter of widespread and exceptional media interest in which there are possible questions about the government's integrity which affect public confidence. The FBI refused to expedite the processing of the FOIA request, saying there was "no particular urgency" to inform the public about its activities. In 2003, the typical time for the FBI to respond to Freedom of Information Act requests without expedited treatment was 370 to 558 days, according to the Department of Justice. "The ACLU-NC filed the lawsuit today because the government has given us no other alternative," said Amitai Schwartz, ACLU-NC cooperating attorney. "We hope that this lawsuit will lead to the release of government documents that will shed light on the FBI's activities in Northern California." The ACLU and other legal, community and religious organizations in Northern California have received multiple reports in recent weeks of members of the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Forces showing up by surprise at the homes, workplaces and mosques of local Muslims. Sometimes working in teams of three -- an FBI agent, a so-called "special federal officer" (actually local law enforcement), and an ICE agent - JTTF officers have, according to reports, pressured subjects to immediately answer prying questions about religious beliefs, practices and associations as well as political views. Individuals politely asserting their right to have an attorney present have nonetheless faced pressure to immediately comply with the FBI JTTF's requests for this sensitive, personal information. "No one should have to answer questions about the places they worship at or their views on the conflict in Iraq," said Shirin Sinnar, President of the Bay Area Association of Muslim Lawyers. "It is simply not the job of government to be probing into First Amendment activity." The ACLU encourages individuals who are contacted by the FBI to seek legal advice before agreeing to respond to questions. The National Lawyers Guild has made available a free legal hotline at 415-285-1041. http://www.aclunc.org/pressrel/041021-foia.html Kansas City Star - Oct. 22, 2004 FBI interviews scary, says Kansas Muslim leader By Mary Sanchez The FBI has stepped up interviews with Muslims across the country amid concern about a possible terrorist attack to disrupt the Nov. 2 elections. Muslim leaders in the Kansas City area say they are willing to cooperate but think their community is being unfairly singled out. They say they fear that interviews considered voluntary by federal agents will turn into interrogations. "Of course, we want peace and security for ourselves and for our families," said Zulfiqar Malik of Overland Park, who regularly sends out news to area Muslims through e-mail. "But this is scary." FBI officials stress that the interviews are part of continuing terrorism prevention efforts. "This is part of an ongoing effort to prevent a terrorist attack in response to intelligence gathered last spring," said Jeff Lanza, FBI spokesman in Kansas City. "Nothing gathered to date has changed thatthreat. The only thing that has changed is the window of time." Some area Muslims think the interviews may be especially intimidating to new immigrants… http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/local/9982011.htm |