: Tension Mounts for New Haddad Hearing

After spending months in jail since his charity was shut down by federal authorities on terrorism concerns, Rabih Haddad will get his day in (open) court. A federal judge ordered the Justice Department to charge or release Haddad on Sept. 17th. “An open hearing will assure the public that the government is honoring the very principles that the terrorists sought to destroy,” said US District Judge Nancy Edmunds. The decision was quickly praised by Haddad’s wife and supporters, who had been decrying the closed hearings and secret evidence used against Haddad, tactics strengthened by last year’s PATRIOT Act. Although the Justice Department is not pleased with the decision (calling it “an unwarranted intrusion”), it granted the open hearing anyway on October 1st. Well, it’s sort of open… the Department may “close those portions …where sensitive information will be introduced which could prove valuable to terrorists seeking to harm America” (a box cutter sale at Office Depot, perhaps?). And despite granting the hearing, the Department will appeal the decision, ex post facto. Meanwhile, Haddad claims he’s no security risk, a preparation for his possible release. Supporters still consider this a victory. “Abuse flourishes in secrecy,” says Mary Bejian of the ACLU. “We can’t have a democracy without openness.”

Zahed Amanullah is associate editor of altmuslim.com.  He is based in London, England.