[osint] Leftist, Islamic terrorist lawyer cites need for violence

Tue Nov 9 05:55:03 PST 2004

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To: "Bruce Tefft" <btefft at community-research.com>
Thread-Index: AcTGW926BrmmPrOpQHC2HrbnSiYYSw==
From: "Bruce Tefft" <btefft at community-research.com>
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Date: Tue, 9 Nov 2004 07:58:54 -0500
Subject: [osint] Leftist, Islamic terrorist lawyer cites need for violence
Reply-To: osint at yahoogroups.com

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A35232-2004Nov8.html

Lawyer Facing Terror Charge Cites Need for Violence

By Michelle Garcia
Special to The Washington Post
Tuesday, November 9, 2004; Page A08

A New York lawyer facing charges of supporting terrorism told a federal jury
that she viewed violence as essential to dismantling institutions that
perpetuate "sexism and racism."

As a federal prosecutor questioned her statements and support for a
"people's revolution," Lynne Stewart, 65, testified that her lifelong
philosophy included fighting "entrenched ferocious capitalism that is in
this country today."

Lynne Stewart emphasized that she does not support terrorism.

"I believe that entrenched institutions will not be changed except by
violence," Stewart said. "I believe in the politics that lead to violence
being exerted by people on their own behalf to effectuate change."

Stewart cited the American Revolution and the struggle to end slavery as
such examples but emphasized that she did not support terrorism, saying, "I
do not believe in civilian deaths or wanton massacres."

Federal prosecutors presented Stewart's statements in an effort to show that
Stewart sought to aid a militant group. If convicted, she could face a
40-year sentence.

The case centers on her role in delivering a communique from her client,
blind cleric Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman, who is serving a life sentence after a
jury convicted him in 1995 of seditious conspiracy in a plot to blow up New
York bridges, tunnels and landmarks.

That communication, expressing the sheik's disapproval of a cease-fire
between the Islamic Group and the Egyptian government, is at the heart of
the government's case. Prosecutors say that by conveying the message,
Stewart violated her agreement to special prison rules that restricted the
sheik's communication to the public and allowed him access to his followers
in the Islamic Group, a U.S.-designated terrorist organization.

Her attorney, Michael Tigar, objected to the prosecution's focus on her
beliefs, saying "everyone of us is protected by the First Amendment."

U.S. District Judge John G. Koeltl said Stewart's view of violence was not
"irrelevant" or "straying into an impermissible area."

U.S. Attorney Andrew Dember methodically recounted the events that led up to
Stewart reading a handwritten statement to a Reuters reporter. Dember
pointed to excerpts from a transcript from taped conversations in which
Stewart referred to Patrick Fitzgerald, the U.S. attorney who prosecuted
Rahman, as a "devil" and showed that Stewart viewed her relationship with
the government as "adversarial."

At times, Stewart sparred with Dember over terminology. She took issue with
his suggestion that by signing an agreement to the prison rules she had
agreed with their intent. She said she viewed it as necessary to gaining
access to her client. When Dember showed the jury a copy of the agreement
specifying restrictions over mail, she said she understood the term to mean
envelopes delivered by the Postal Service.

Dember asked Stewart to explain her motivation for continuing to visit
Rahman in a Minnesota prison after he had exhausted his appeals.

"I think that our legal system reacts differently to people who are paid
attention to," she said. "I think the worst thing is the way it treats
people who are nobody."

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