Witness to Abuse - Human Rights Watch

Adding insult to injury, the arrests and detentions have tainted the reputations of these
men and their families in their home communities. Because the arrests were often public
and completed with numerous gun-wielding agents, often in small towns, rumors spread
that the witnesses were terrorist suspects. In addition, although in court the Justice
Department has insisted on complete secrecy for all records, there have been numerous
government leaks to the press of the arrests, often in highly sensationalist terms, to
suggest the government was triumphing in the war against terror. Newspaper stories,
citing unnamed government sources, have celebrated the capture of local terrorist
suspects. 294 The stories have created pervasive and lasting suspicions of the witnesses in
their communities, suspicions that did not abate when the material witnesses were
released.
Because almost all the material witnesses were limited to talking to their lawyers or
family members while incarcerated, and lawyers faced gag orders, the witnesses were
often unable to mount efforts to clear their names until after they were released.
Moreover, closed court proceedings and sealed records have prevented the public,
including the press, from being able to probe the leaked accusations against the
witnesses and assess the strength or weakness of the government’s evidence.
The consequences of arrest and detention for many material witnesses also included lost
jobs and businesses. Many had to move away from their homes and communities to
rebuild their lives.
The government’s arbitrary detention of Muslim men without cause and without due
process has led to their loss of faith in the American justice system, a loss of faith shared
by many other Muslims. The arbitrary arrests of Muslim men when they stepped forward
to visit an FBI office, like Eyad Alrababah, or on mere suspicion without probable
cause, like Tajammul Bhatti, run the risk of creating reluctance among many Muslims to
assist the U.S. government in its investigations. Indeed, many believe that the material
witness arrests are evidence that the U.S. government believes the sacrifice of the rights
of Muslims is acceptable in the “war on terror.”
294
Lois Romano and David S. Fallis, “Questions Swirl around Men Held in Terror Probe,” Washington Post, Oct.
15, 2001; Ted Bidris, “FBI Suggests Terrorist Bombing Plot in Court Papers,” AP Worldstream, March 26, 2002;
Chuck Raasch, “Virginia City Is Newest Front in Terror War,” Indianapolis Star, March 31, 2001; David
Ashenfelter, "Suspect Plotted Terrorism, FBI Told; Indictment Attempts Prove Unsuccessful," Detroit Free
Press, June 3, 2004; "Man Held in Attacks is Moved," The Dallas Morning News, Jan. 4, 2002; "US
Investigating Two Arab Americans' Possible Suicide Bombing Plans," The Bulletin's Frontrunner, March 27,
2002.
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