Take action: Write a letter urging release of Mufid Abdulqader, Palestinian political prisoner in U.S. jails

Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network strongly supports this urgent and important call from the Coalition for Civil Freedoms. Free Mufid Abdulqader and the Holy Land Five! 

ACTION ALERT: WRITE A LETTER TO JUDGE SAM A. LINDSAY URGING THE RELEASE OF HLF PRISONER MUFID ABDULQADER WHO IS BATTLING COVID-19

On July 7, Holy Land Foundation political prisoner Mufid Abdulqader, who is serving an unjust 20-year prison sentence for charitable work, tested positive for COVID-19 at a federal prison in Seagoville, Texas. According to the Bureau of Prisons, FCI Seagoville reported its first COVID-19 related death a few days ago and that more than 74% of inmates there had tested positive for the virus.

Time is of the essence:

Mufid Abdulqader’s attorneys filed for an emergency compassionate release motion on his behalf last week. CCF calls on all people of conscience to advocate on behalf of Abdulqader and take swift action to urge the judge to grant his immediate release. Email your letter on behalf of Abdulqader to CCF by Monday night, July 20th at 8:00 PM EDT.

Take Action:

  • ADDRESS YOUR LETTER to U.S. District Judge Sam A. Lindsay, 1100 Commerce Street, Room 1544 Dallas, Texas 75242-1003

TALKING POINTS:

  • Urge the judge to grant Mufid Abdulqader immediate compassionate release due to his COVID-19 diagnosis and your concern for his life.
  • State your concern for the lack of appropriate medical attention in the facility.
  • If you know Abdulqader personally, attest to his character.
  • You must emphasize that Abdulqader, who has already served 75% of an unjust prison sentence, was not convicted of any violent crimes and was prosecuted in a politically-motivated case that is considered by many to be a miscarriage of justice.
    • Remind the judge that by the government’s own admission, every cent the Holy Land Foundation raised and distributed went to providing food, shelter, hospital equipment, and health care to the needy. Refer to the “Background” section below for more information on the case.
  •  EMAIL YOUR LETTER TO CCF! DO NOT MAIL YOUR LETTER DIRECTLY TO THE JUDGE!
  • Email → legal@civilfreedoms.org by no later than Monday, July 20 at 8:00 PM EDT. CCF will mail the collection of written letters to the courthouse.
  • SHARE THIS ACTION ALERT across all social media platforms, and with your groups and friends, with the hashtags #FreeMufidNow #FreetheHLF5 #FreeThemAll

Background:

The Holy Land Foundation Five are Palestinian-American prisoners of conscience who ran the largest Muslim charity in the United States, and were convicted in the post-9/11 hysteria on false charges of “providing material support for terrorism.” They were given draconian sentences ranging from 15 to 65 years in prison, and were put in Communication Management Units (CMUs), often dubbed the “Gitmo North” due to the severity and discriminatory nature of their conditions. While all five men were unjustly prosecuted for constitutionally-protected activities such as associations, speech, and charity, the government’s citation of Mufid Abdulqader’s singing with his band at HLF fundraisers as “evidence” of “material support for terrorism” further underscores the absurdity and utter cruelty of the HLF case in particular, and the arbitrariness of material support laws more broadly.

For more information on the HLF case, please read Injustice: The Story of the Holy Land Foundation 5 by Miko Peled, and refer to these links: https://www.pymusa.com/holyland5 and http://freedomtogive.com/.