Join THAW (Theaters Against War) and SAMAR (South Asian Magazine for Action and Reflection) in a letter-writing campaign to Fahad Hashmi. As you may be aware, Fahad has been held in pre-trial detention at the Metropolitan Correctional Facility for over 850 days in severe solitary confinement. He has been detained over 1350 days in all. During this time, under what the government calls “Special Administrative Measures,” Fahad has been allowed only very limited contact with his family and has been denied access to much of the evidence the government claims to have against him. While Fahad continues to spend day after day alone in confinement, many of us have come together to fight his detention, to express anger at how the country has cheapened the meaning of civil liberties, and to create a network of support in the face of these harrowing times. Unfortunately, Fahad has not been allowed to connect with the movement inspired by his struggle. We aim to resist Fahad’s isolation by flooding the prison with letters of support. Join us in writing to Fahad, express your solidarity, tell Fahad how his struggle has touched you. Though these letters will likely not make it past the prison censors, posting them will offer a simple and necessary challenge to the inhuman conditions of Fahad’s detention and help send a message to Fahad’s jailers, the U.S. Government and Attorney General Holder, that the world at large cares for Fahad and is outraged at the violations of his civil and human rights.
THAW will then publicly read selected letters outside the prison in March and April, and SAMAR will publish a series of letters in its next issue. The deadline for letter submissions for publication in SAMAR is Wed, Feb 24th.
To participate in the action:
1. Write a letter to Fahad, addressed to:
SYED FAHAD HASHMI ? REG#60011-054
MCC NEW YORK
METROPOLITAN CORRECTIONAL CENTER
150 PARK ROW
NEW YORK, NY 10007
2. Email a copy of your letter to us at: letters2fahad@gmail.com (by Wed, Feb 24th for publication in SAMAR)
THAW will be in touch with you if your letter is chosen to be read publicly.
SAMAR will contact you if your letter is accepted for publication.
Who we are:
THAW is an international network of theater artists responding to the United States’ ongoing “War on Terror,” aggressive and unilateral foreign policies, and escalating attacks on civil liberties in the US and throughout the world. Since October 2009 THAW has been hosting “Radio Free Fahad” performance/vigils outside of the Metropolitan Correctional Center: www.thawaction.org
SAMAR Magazine is an online journal devoted to the progressive and critical analysis of issues concerning the South Asian diaspora. We can be found at: www.samarmagazine.org
More on Fahad?s case at: http://www.freefahad.com
Sign a statement of support at: http://www.educatorsforcivilliberties.org
Syed Fahad Hashmi is a Muslim American citizen being held in a federal jail on two counts of providing material support and two counts of making a contribution of goods or services to Al Qaeda. The fundamentals of the indictment against Fahad are: for two weeks, he allowed an acquaintance to stay in his apartment who had a suitcase full of waterproof socks and rain ponchos that is alleged to have been delivered to a member of Al Qaeda and that this same acquaintance allegedly used Fahad’s cell phone to call co-conspirators. Based on this spurious indictment Fahad has been held for over 2 years in solitary confinement under “Special Administrative Measures” at the Metropolitan Correctional Center (MCC) in lower Manhattan. A US citizen and Brooklyn College graduate who grew up in Flushing, Queens, Mr. Hashmi is allowed no contact with anyone except his lawyer and his parents; no calls, no letters, no radio, no newspapers until they are 30 days old and censored by his jailers; no contact with other prisoners; no group prayer or worship; and for more than 30 months now, no fresh air or sunlight. His cell is electronically monitored inside and out, so he showers and goes to the bathroom in view of the camera. He is allowed only one hour “out” of his cell but must exercise alone in a solitary cage. Under the Classified Information Procedures Act but in direct contradiction to basic due process, the U.S. government has not allowed Mr. Hashmi to review all of the evidence against him.
