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| Flying Imams fail to censor court proceedings | |
| 2007-06-28 | |
| A federal judge overseeing a lawsuit filed by six Muslim men who were removed from a US Airways flight last fall has declined to limit public access to the case. Omar T. Mohammedi, a New York attorney for the six Muslim Oh, right. The MSM is biased against our enemies. Sure. Five the the six imams were from Arizona, including Omar Shahin, former director of the Islamic Center of Tucson. [sigh] "When you think of the media, and the way they have been portraying this case, it has not been very helpful. It has been biased," Mohammedi said. "That has caused a lot of stress, a lot of stress on our clients, as well as made it difficult for us to handle this case ... in a manner that it should be handled." Mohammedi's clients are six imams — Islamic The complaint seeks an undisclosed amount of money for In a letter dated Tuesday and addressed to Mohammedi, U.S. District Judge Ann Montgomery noted that Mohammedi had requested that the court remove members of the media from an electronic distribution list, bar members of the media from attending hearings, and hold proceedings in closed session. "The Court declines to treat this case in the extraordinary manner that you request," the judge wrote. She added that the public and press have an interest in full access to judicial proceedings under the First Amendment. "First Amendment? That's not in the Koran." "You have provided no legal authority supporting your request to limit public access to this case," Montgomery wrote. "While it is regrettable that anonymous individuals have threatened violence, the Court Security Officers will insure that the United States Courthouse here in Minneapolis is secure." The judge's letter was entered in the case file, and it noted that further communications on the matter should also be filed through the court's electronic database. The letters previously submitted on the issue were filed off the record and were not made public. Judge Montgomery said through a law clerk that she would have no comment beyond her letter. Mohammedi said he and his clients have received death threats, partly because of biased coverage by most media outlets. He cited a March 30 AP story and headline that he claimed did not accurately reflect his conversation with a reporter. The AP story in question explored whether the lawsuit would discourage future airline travelers from speaking up when they see something unusual. The story included information from Mohammedi, as well as different points of view from security officials and from an attorney who offered to represent passengers who might be named as defendants in the lawsuit. "We are just asking the media to be balanced..." Conservatives have asked for that for decades. Why should you be special? "...and reflect what was said ... and to let justice take its course," Mohammedi said Wednesday. "I'm asking the media to be a little bit more responsible in reporting the facts of the case. That actually would prevent a lot of issues."
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| Posted by:Gary and the Samoyeds |
| #11 Zenster: I hope not; let the entire cat out of the bag and then watch the MSM as they twist in the wind and try to spin the facts..... |
| Posted by: USN, Ret. 2007-06-28 16:24 |
| #10 Tnak you for the important reminder, ed. Small wonder these turds are receiving death threats. Let's all hope that they are incredibly stupid enough to comply with the discovery phase. Any takers on this whole case folding during discovery? [crickets] |
| Posted by: Zenster 2007-06-28 15:18 |
| #9 Omar Shahin and the Islamic Center of Tucson In examining the Nov. 21 incident more closely, we find that among those removed, Shahin, heads a particularly intriguing organization. Founded in 1971, the ICT’s $1.5 million mosque was funded largely by the Saudi government through the North American Islamist Trust, a Saudi-backed Wahhabist group that controls a majority of the most radical mosques in North America. According to Washington-based terrorist expert Rita Katz, the Islamic Center of Tucson included what was “basically the first cell of Al Qaeda in the United States.” The connections between Al Qaeda and the ICT include Wael Hamza Jalaidan, a former ICT president, believed to be an Al Qaeda founder, and Hani Hanjour, who attended the mosque while a student at the University of Arizona and who later flew American Airlines Flight 77 into the Pentagon on 9/11. Wadih El-Hage, a personal assistant to terrorist leader Osama Bin Laden, was active with the ICT in the late 1980’s where he is alleged to have established an Al Qaeda support network, according to the FBI. In 2001, El Hage was convicted by a federal judge in New York of planning the 1998 bombings of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. Besides nurturing ICT activists who have gone on to become bone fide terrorists, the Islamic Center of Tucson has played a prominent role in raising money for terrorist front groups. The ICT raised money for the Holy Land Foundation, whose assets were frozen by the U.S. Treasury in 2001 for alleged ties to terrorist groups. Following the treasury action, ICT Imam Omar Shahin continued to defend the organization and its “charitable” intent. Further, Shahin had been a representative of KindHearts, an organization that made contributions to Hamas-related groups and was also shut down by the U.S. government for alleged connections to terrorist causes. |
| Posted by: ed 2007-06-28 14:32 |
| #8 "Mohammedi said he and his clients have received death threats, partly because of biased coverage by most media outlets." That may be, but I am willing to bet the larger part of the threats is simply because the general American public sees these douchbags for what they are: douchbags. (apologies to all good law abiding douchbags everywhere) |
| Posted by: USN, Ret. 2007-06-28 14:00 |
| #7 Well the one good thing is that it looks like USAir isn't gonna cave on this. But it's still early... |
| Posted by: tu3031 2007-06-28 10:34 |
| #6 "While it is regrettable that anonymous individuals have threatened violence, the Court Security Officers will insure that the United States Courthouse here in Minneapolis is secure." As secure as the basement of the Dallas Police Headquarters. Right Lee? |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2007-06-28 10:13 |
| #5 These gleeful fools thought that they could use the courts to pull the pants of the infidels down and make a quick buck. Apparently they have never heard the saying that, "You enter court as a pig, you leave as sausage." |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2007-06-28 09:59 |
| #4 "While it is regrettable that anonymous individuals have threatened violence, the Court Security Officers will insure that the United States Courthouse here in Minneapolis is secure." Secure until you get two steps from the stairs, that is. |
| Posted by: gorb 2007-06-28 07:48 |
| #3 And like the DC judge who sued for $56 million for lost trousers, let them pay court costs for their silliness. BIG court costs. |
| Posted by: Bobby 2007-06-28 05:52 |
| #2 As with the Anti-CAIR lawsuit, I hope like Hell that the defense requests proctological levels of discovery. The background, funding and known associates of these Islamic scumbags need to be put under a microscope and dissected with tweezers. Islamic lawfare is already commonplace as it is. We need to make it extremely uncomfortable for Muslims who seek to play the Islamophobia card on the public's dime. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2007-06-28 01:50 |
| #1 If one side is wrong, there is no requirement that the media provide sympathetic coverage half the time in fairness ... but CNN will probably try. The would grant Adolph Hitler a favorable interview if they could get the Oiji board tuned properly. It is interesting that the lawyer isn't asking for a blackout. He says he wants limited coverage, but he doesn't. He wants a big show. He is grandstanding. If the judge blacked the whole thing out he would leak and leak and then complain about all the leaking. |
| Posted by: Super Hose 2007-06-28 00:23 |
