This piece was reprinted by OpEd News with permission or license. It may not be reproduced in any form without permission or license from the source.
"Last night Shukri Baker, here in CMU, got a call from his family that his daughter Sanabil is dying in the hospital. She has cystic fibrosis, Thalassemia major and diabetes. She is not eligible for lung transplant. She is only 24 who has only 2 months left to finish college.
He is distraught. With tears in his eyes he kept asking:
'What did I do to this country to deny me enough time to talk to my dying daughter by phone? Why am I not allowed to hug my baby in her last days of her life? Who is going to council my young daughters and their mother in this hour of grief and uncertainty?'
He asked for extra phone calls to straighten things out. He was given the run around. The Chaplain claimed that he is new and does not know the procedure for approval. Those who can be talked to are no where to be found. It was late Friday when he learned of his daughter's condition.
It broke my heart to see this great man who helped save the lives of millions in places far away from here, who never hurt anyone intentionally, and who dedicated his life to saving and relieving children and needy people be denied the right of a human being to see his dying daughter off and to help his own children.
It is cruel to imprison one for providing relief but it is far worse in cruelty to deny such person the comfort of talking to his dying child. Would one then wonder why these calamities befall the world all over?"
Dr. Rafil Dhafir's Wrongful Conviction for His "Crime of Compassion"
Activist Katherine Hughes explained Dhafir's case in her 2006 article by that title. A Muslim American of Iraqi descent, he practiced oncology until wrongfully convicted for violating Iraqi Sanctions Regulations (IEEPA), using his own funds and what his Help the Needy charity raised to bring desperately needed aid to Iraqis in the 1990s.
Yet, he was convicted on 59 of 60 bogus charges, including tax fraud, money laundering, mail and wire fraud, imprisoning him for 22 years. Like Shukri Baker and other Muslims, he's incarcerated at Terre Haute's infamous CMU. More on it below.
Next Page 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
5
4
3
