[Marxism] "Terror" Verdict Against Charity a Bitter Fruit of Bipartisan Policy

[Dbachmozart at aol.com]

Empire Burlesque - Chris Floyd
 
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If the Holy Land Foundation "terrorism" case had been held  in Russia, we 
would now be enduring a flood of thundering commentary from every  leading 
orifice of the corporate media, denouncing yet another travesty of  justice in the 
sham democracy controlled by the Kremlin. Yet a decorous  editorial silence 
covers the convictions of five charity officials whose only  crime was helping 
needy and oppressed people through agencies used by  international charities 
such as the Red Cross, and by the United States  government itself. _As 
Alternet.com  reports_ (http://www.alternet.org/rights/108740) :


On Monday afternoon, a jury in Dallas,  Texas found five Palestinian men 
guilty of more than 100 charges in the  nation's largest terrorism financing trial 
since 9/11...

Edward Abington, the former number two intelligence  official at the State 
Department (and ex-US consul in Jerusalem), told jurors  he was never told that 
the Palestinian charity committees supported by Holy  Land were part of Hamas 
in the daily intelligence briefings he received. In  fact, these same 
charities, or "zakat committees," still receive donations  from the U.S. Agency for 
International Development and the International Red  Cross.

This was the second trial  against Holy Land. Last year, the government's 
case ended in embarrassment and  defeat when jurors returned after 19 days of 
deliberations with no guilty  verdicts. At least one of the defendants would have 
been completely acquitted  had a juror not changed her mind at the eleventh 
hour, backing out of her  decision to acquit when the judge polled the panel 
about their votes. Another  juror later said she refused to discuss the evidence 
during deliberations,  simply explaining that she relied on her "feelings."

The stark differences between the two juries became  apparent at the 
conclusion of the second trial. "Twelve good American citizens  in the first trial 
didn't convict anyone of anything," Linda Moreno, one of  the defense attorneys 
on the case, told the Associated Press. "And 12 good  American citizens in the 
second trial convicted everyone of everything. If you  can make sense of that  
explain it to me."

...Over fervent objections from the defense, the judge  in the Holy Land 
trial allowed the prosecution to present testimony from an  anonymous Israeli 
intelligence agent. This bizarre episode marked the first  time in American legal 
history that testimony has been allowed from an expert  witness with no 
identity. If the witness, who was introduced to the jury  simply as "Avi," lied or 
committed perjury, he faces no consequences. He is  officially non-existent, 
after all.


 
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