Da: "Graeme Bacque" Oggetto: [stop-polabuse] Fwd: An Example is Set - Shakir Baloch Indicted and Denied Bail. Data: domenica 27 gennaio 2002 4.18 ------------forwarded message------------ Date: Sat, 26 Jan 2002 19:43:32 -0500 (EST) From: Ontario Coalition Against Poverty To: announce@ocap.ca Subject: An Example is Set - Shakir Baloch Indicted and Denied Bail. ----------------------------------------------------------- An Example is Set - Shakir Baloch Indicted and Denied Bail ---------------------------------------------------------- Shakir Baloch, a doctor born in Pakistan who has held Canadian citizenship since 1994, was indicted and denied bail in an American courtroom on Friday, January 18th. Charged with illegal entry into the United States, following his arrest and detention four months ago, Shakir remains imprisoned in segregation, in a maximum security jail in Brooklyn. Lawyers for Shakir say he will now be forced to navigate the American criminal 'justice' system, rather than face any expedient removal to Toronto, where his wife and daughter live. Deportation of 'illegals' is often the course of action chosen by Immigration and Naturalization Services (INS). However, Shakir - like countless men of Middle Eastern and Asian descent currently being held in American jails - has been subjected to months of segregated imprisonment, interrogation, and mistreatment at the hands of federal agents and prison staff. Prosecuting lawyers will now be forced to provide details of the specific evidence against Shakir, who has no criminal record - but who traveled frequently to New York City in efforts to gain appropriate certification to work as a doctor in North America and to support his family and himself. The Department of Foreign Affairs in Canada, responsible for the welfare of its citizens abroad, has been extremely reluctant to intercede in Shakir's case. Consular officials visited Shakir in detention after his story went public, prompting the INS to bring the case before the courts, but stopped short of ensuring an expedient return to Canada for Shakir or even his transfer into the general prison population, somewhat less onerous than segregation. After the US Department of Justice leaked a document allegedly signed by Shakir, indicating that he had waived his rights to consular assistance, the Canadian government took the position that they had acted accordingly and sufficiently. This reticence on the part of John Manley and his department was displayed in the weeks leading up to the Minister's promotion to deputy prime minister, stepping up his role in Canadian/American relations and leadership in the 'fight against terrorism' - Manley continues to head the cabinet committee on public security. While the free flow of goods across the Canada/US border has been prioritzed following the events of September 11th, any hope for fair and humane treatment of persons travelling the same route is quickly disappearing. The example of Shakir Baloch and his fellow detainees may well be a deliberate move to set the stage for how the American state and its allies intend to treat people of Middle Eastern and Sub-South Asian descent living within their walls. OCAP stands by Shakir and his family, and all those unjustly disappeared and detained. We do not accept the silence. Given the current circumstances, it is without a doubt the responsibility of Foreign Affairs and their Consular officials in the US to intervene on behalf of every Canadian citizen 'disappeared' during the US crackdown. OCAP calls on those concerned to pressure the new Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bill Graham, who has issued no statement on Shakir's situation, nor intervened to ensure this Canadian citizen receives fair treament, after months of mistreatment and neglec, nor investigated or demanded the release of any other Canadian citizens similarly 'disappeared'. Please address letters of concern to Minister of Foreign Affairs Bill Graham, and forward the demands listed below. As OCAP will deliver the letters en masse, please fax the letters to the Coalition at the following - (416) 925-9681 or email us at ocap@tao.ca. We demand the following: 1. an assurance of the immediate transfer of Shakir Baloch out of segregation into the general prison population, at the Metropolitan Detention Centre in Brooklyn, while he awaits trial. he is facing a minor crinimal charge - illegal entry into the US - has no prior criminal record, and has been jailed under horrific conditions since late September - four months ago. 2. an assurance that Shakir's trial will take place within a month of his last appearance - by February 20th 2002 - in order that he may be returned to Canada as soon as possible. 3. the immediate release of Canadian citizens who have been similarly jailed and continue to be held without charges in the US. 4. a guarantee that those who are not released are not held in segregation against their will, and do have full access to legal counsel, the Canadian consulate, and their families. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Details for this update provided by legal counsel in New York City. For more information, contact Stefanie Gude OCAP Immigration (416-925-6939) ocap@tao.ca -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > BACKGROUNDER: > ------------ > > Following the bombings of the World Trade Centre, Shakir was in New > York City on one of his frequent stays in the US, where he has at times > attended school and worked. On September 20th, he was arrested and has > been held since then in terrible conditions in a detention centre in > Brooklyn. > > Shakir's whereabouts were not known until at least six weeks after his > arrest, at which time he was permitted two phone calls, one made to let > friends in NYC know he was alive and the other he was led to believe was > to Legal Aide, but the call put through by the jail guards neither reached > an answering machine nor legal assistance of any kind. > > Granted Canadian citizenship in 1994, Shakir Baloch is a certified medical > practitioner in Pakistan who worked with the poor and in several hospitals > within the socialized health care system in Pakistan. Shakir has spent the > past 10 or so years attempting to gain equivalent certification in North > America, training to become a taxi driver in order to make money. He has a > close relationship with his 14 year old daughter, who was diagnosed with > diabetes in 1997, with whom he has now been unable to speak for nearly 3 > months. > > Shakir's actual whereabouts remained a mystery to his family and his > friends, until his wife and a lawyer were able to crack the wall of > secrecy built by the American Government and the Immigration and > Naturalization Services. He is being charged with illegal entry into the > US, but is being held with others under conditions which are a far cry > from 'standard' immigration detainees. > > Held in cells measuring 6 1/2 feet by 7 feet, Shakir and fellow inmates > are held under bright lights 24 hours a day. Physically searched each time > they go to see their lawyers with full-body stripsearches, the detainees > are shackled in handcuffs and leg iron once outside of their cells. > > Denied access to any medical care for weeks, Shakir has described > humiliating and insulting treatment by guards who mock the detainees for > their religious beliefs. Hallal conditions are not accessible and it is > not possible to get honest answers about whether or not pork is an > ingredient in their meals - as a result, the prisoners have lost their > appetites. > > Describing 90% of his fellow inmates as being of South Asian or Arabic > descent, Shakir has told his counsel the men are repeatedly subjected to > taunts by the prison staff about alleged involvement in the terrorist > attacks of September 11th. For 8 weeks, people were questioned by the FBI, > the investigators demanding to know if the detainees 'knew anyone who was > involved' in the terrorist attacks. He tells of at least two men having > attempted suicide, one by banging his head against a wall, the other by > trying to hang himself with a bed sheet. Shakir describes feeling > "surprised - we are human beings but not criminals."