Witness to Abuse - Human Rights Watch

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whom were immigrants, from the suspicion that was being cast upon them in the wake of September 11. According to Menepta: After the press talk, the FBI approached me. They told me: “We’d like to ask you a couple of questions. Will you meet us?” I told them sure. I met them outside the subway with [my son]. They told me: “It is in your best interest that you cooperate.” I said I’d be happy to. … They ended the interview by telling me: “We will get back to you with questions and thank you for cooperating.” The agents were really friendly. I went voluntarily. They asked whether I had any travel plans. I told them I don’t have any now. I was working. They asked to meet again. 235 Menepta met with the agents for three more interviews before more than twenty agents arrested him at his workplace. 236 In court, the Justice Department argued that Menepta was not likely to respond to a subpoena because the government had already arrested him and executed a search warrant on his premises. Then, U.S. attorneys argued that because their actions may have upset Menepta, he would not appear in court. His lawyer, Susan Otto, characterized the government’s arguments as an illogical “round robin bootstrap.” 237 The federal prosecutors further argued that there was additional national security evidence that it could not disclose that showed Menepta was a flight risk. Otto said the court, somewhat reluctantly, deferred to the government’s flight risk assessment given the national security argument. The government held Menepta as a material witness for five weeks. He was later charged with unauthorized possession of firearms found during the search of his home. Faisal al Salmi The Justice Department acknowledged how cooperative Faisal al Salmi, a Saudi national and legal immigrant, was before he was arrested as a material witness. According to the FBI, when agents approached al Salmi on September 18, 2001, he voluntarily invited the agents into his home. He later went to the FBI offices and agreed to be interviewed. He 235 HRW/ACLU interview with Mujahid Menepta, St. Louis, Missouri, July 22, 2004. 236 Ibid. 237 Interview with Susan Otto. HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH VOL. 17, NO. 2(G) 72
stayed with the FBI agents for eight hours. In addition, al Salmi agreed to be polygraphed without the presence of a lawyer. Special Agent for the FBI, George Piro, testified in court to al Salmi’s helpful demeanor: Q: And as you approached the apartment, how is it that you had access to the apartment? A: Agent Williams and I knocked on the front door. Q: And were you invited in or not? A: Yes we were. Q: Did you introduce yourself? A: Yes I did. Q: What else did you do after you introduced yourself? A: I showed al Salmi my credentials identifying myself as an agent of the FBI, as did Special Agent Ken Williams. Q: And did you in any way inform al Salmi as to the purpose of your visit? A: Yes, we did. Q: What did you tell him? A: We told him we were there to talk to him in regards to his enrollment at Sawyer Aviation and to the September 11 th attacks … Q: When you entered the apartment and identified the purpose for your visit, how would you describe al Salmi’s demeanor when you notified him you were with the FBI? A: He was calm and friendly. Q: Did he appear nervous? A: No, not at all. … Q: And the polygraph interview continued until almost 2 o’clock that morning, following morning? A: I believe the interview went till approximately 1:30, and at that point I made arrangements to take al Salmi home, and I think we left around 2:00 and got him home by 2:30. Q: Did you discuss with al Salmi the possibility of speaking with him again? A: Yes. 73 HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH VOL. 17, NO. 2(G)
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Human Rights Watch June 2005 Vol. 1
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Summary After I got in the cell I w
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were almost all the witnesses Musli
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combination with having worked in t
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Recommendations The recommendations
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o requiring the government to infor
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eflects a compromise between an ind
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the witness for immigration or prob
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those suspected of committing a cri
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Arizona, and Florida, where the nin
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testimony—you get fingerprints, y
Page 23 and 24: The FBI appeared to believe that Ma
Page 25 and 26: interrogating him, without counsel,
Page 27 and 28: Jose Padilla On May 8, 2002, the Ju
Page 29 and 30: The Justice Department has often st
Page 31 and 32: criticism on the conduct of Assista
Page 33 and 34: government failed to take Diab’s
Page 35 and 36: Eric Sears, a former federal prosec
Page 37 and 38: sentencing. The judge finally got a
Page 39 and 40: accompanied by extensive searches c
Page 41 and 42: and young children. 121 He was deta
Page 43 and 44: High Security Conditions of Detenti
Page 45 and 46: Harassment and Abuse in Jail Many m
Page 47 and 48: uised. See id. In the elevator, the
Page 49 and 50: In practice, then, court approval o
Page 51 and 52: I kept asking what am I being charg
Page 53 and 54: As Mark Foster, the lawyer for one
Page 55 and 56: Federal marshals transferred the ei
Page 57 and 58: [T]he government filed all their pa
Page 59 and 60: Federal agents have also refused to
Page 61 and 62: In many cases, the trauma of forcef
Page 63 and 64: In January 2002, another hotel gues
Page 65 and 66: abuse, international human rights 2
Page 67 and 68: It is not clear why the courts have
Page 69 and 70: Things go on behind those doors tha
Page 71 and 72: providing interviews, submitting to
Page 73: Detaining Witnesses Who Cooperate w
Page 77 and 78: government, “I’m not coming.”
Page 79 and 80: armed forces for several years and
Page 81 and 82: Congress included the deposition re
Page 83 and 84: X. Haste, Incompetence, Prejudice:
Page 85 and 86: government’s basis was weak. Thes
Page 87 and 88: target, 272 the state police ordere
Page 89 and 90: Khan and Azmath were deported in Ja
Page 91 and 92: told them I told them I had no idea
Page 93 and 94: y subletting their apartment. Altho
Page 95 and 96: The post-scripts to the stories of
Page 97 and 98: I could not ask questions. What’s
Page 99 and 100: Ayub Ali Khan and Mohammad Azmath A
Page 101 and 102: get all these kinds of questions—
Page 103: Human Rights Watch and the American
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Witness to Abuse - Human Rights Watch

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