Saturday, July 24, 2004
10:00am
The Islamic Cultural Center
1711 Third Avenue, Manhattan
1. 7/24 SAT, 10 am: Prayer Service for Farouk
A Memorial and Prayer Service to Honor and Commemorate
the Passing of Our Beloved Brother Farouk Abdel-Muhti
When: Saturday, July 24, 2004 at 10 am
Where: The Islamic Cultural Center
1711 Third Avenue, Manhattan
(between 96th and 97th Streets; take the #6 train
to 96th Street and walk one block east to Third Avenue)
Open to the public; everyone welcome.
Appropriate attire required (no shorts or short skirts; upper arms and
shoulders should be covered; women are asked to cover their hair).
For more information, please contact:
Tarek Abdel-Muhti, 718-491-0321
Sharin Chiorazzo, 201-951-6919
Nicaragua Solidarity Network, 212-674-9499
Emails: nicadlw@earthlink.net or abufkheida@maktoob.com
We will be holding another memorial for Farouk in the future,
probably in August. We will notify you as soon as plans are confirmed.
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2. Donations for funeral expenses
Donations are requested to help cover funeral expenses. Please make
checks payable to CHRI (Coalition for the Human Rights of Immigrants), write
“Farouk” on the memo line, and send to CHRI, 330 Lafayette Street, New York,
NY 10012. (Any excess funds will go toward work against immigration
detention and toward assistance for Farouk’s family.) These contributions
are not tax-deductible.
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3. 7/26 MON: Honor Farouk with solidarity for detainees
Farouk was a fighter who spoke out–literally to his last hour–for the
rights of immigrants and for peace with justice in Palestine. There is no
better way we can honor his memory than by carrying on his work.
We are asking you to take a few minutes on Monday, July 26, 2004, to
remember Farouk by making phone calls or faxing letters in support of two
other immigration detainees: Pakistani immigrant Ansar Mahmood, currently
held in Batavia, NY, and Salim Yassir, a Palestinian who has been held in
the Elizabeth Detention Center in NJ for four years. Immigration authorities
undermined Farouk’s health by holding him unlawfully for two years; let’s
work to stop them from doing the same to other immigrants.
For Ansar Mahmood:
Call the office of Department of Homeland Security head Tom Ridge at
202-282-8000 and ask him not to deport Ansar Mahmood.
Ansar was a legal resident in the Hudson Valley area arrested soon after
9/11 because he wanted a photo of local scenery to send back to family in
Pakistan; the scenery included a reservoir. After establishing that Ansar
was not in fact a terrorist, the government used minor violations under
rarely enforced immigration laws as a pretext for ordering Ansar’s
deportation. His supporters, along with a number of members of Congress,
have asked Homeland Security to grant Ansar deferred action status, which
would permit him to stay in the US and return to his job as a pizza delivery
person.
In addition, contact your senator and/or representative and ask them to put
pressure on Mr. Ridge to stop Ansar’s deportation. (Call 1-800-839-5276).
For more information: Bob Elmendorf, 518-766-2992,
poetapoetus@earthlink.net, http://www.chathampeace.org
For Salim Yassir:
Fax: John Tsoukaris, United States Department of Homeland Security
US-ICE Headquarters Post-Order Detention Unit, fax # 202-353-9435
Ask him to release Salim Yassir (A78 820 978) since there is no possibility
of his removal from the US. Both Israel and the PLO have confirmed in
writing that, pursuant to the Oslo Accords, Salim is ineligible for
repatriation into the territories or Israel proper. He has two sponsors who
will provide him with housing, job training/assistance and food and will
take responsibility to ensure that he obeys any terms of supervised release.
For more information and a sample letter: contact Teresa Woods, Catholic
Legal Immigration Network, Inc, 973-733-3516 X208, clinicteresa@aol.com or
Joshua Bardavid, Law Office of Theodore N. Cox, 212-925-1208, JEB7006@aol.com
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Committee for the Release of Farouk Abdel-Muhti
PO Box 20587, Tompkins Square Station, New York, NY 10009
Phone: 212-674-9499 * Email freefarouk@yahoo.com
Websites: www.freefarouk.org * freefarouk.netfirms.com
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