Lynne Stewart

international | crime and justice | news report Friday February 11, 2005 10:19 by Jim Monaghan

McCatyhyism rises again

American progressive lawyer railroaded into gaol

Dear friends & comrades,

I am very sorry to announce that Lynne Stewart has been convicted of
aiding and abetting terrorism today by a court in New York. Lynne is
a progressive attorney who had been representing the Egyptian cleric
Omar Abdel Rachman (the man accused of the 1995 World Trade Center
bombing). She was charged with aiding and abetting terrorism for
holding a press conference on behalf of her client - a common practive
for attorneys to do.

This ruling is a severe blow to civil liberties, and will no doubt
send a chill throughout the entire legal and progressive communities.

Below is a statement on the ruling by Jeff Mackler, the National
Secretary of Socialist Action a a leader of the Lynne Stewart Defense
Committee.

"Red"ily yours,


Adam Ritscher

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Lynne Stewart Falsely Convicted on Aiding and Abetting Terrorism Charges!

In a travesty of justice and after a seven-month trial progressive New
York attorney Lynne Stewart was convicted today on conspiracy to aid
and abet terrorism charges

Co-defendants Mohammed Yousry and Abdel Sattar also convicted.

Defendants face 20-40 years in jail.

Stewart has announced plans to appeal.

Stewart is currently free on bail but limited to travel in New York
State.

Lifelong progressive attorney Lynne Stewart was convicted on frame-up
conspiracy charges of aiding and abetting terrorism, of defrauding the
U.S. government and of violating a government Bureau of Prisons
Special Administrative Order (SAM) when she released a press statement
from her 1995 client, the Egyptian cleric Omar Abdel Rachman.

Rachman was convicted of conspiracy charges to blow up New York City
landmarks. Stewart's co-counsel in the Rachman case was former U.S.
Attorney General Ramsey Clark, who testified for Stewart at the recent
trial.

Stewart has announced her intention to appeal the charges against her.
She is currently free on $500,000 bail but limited to travel within
New York State.

During the course of Stewart's seven-month trial government
prosecutors failed to produce a single witness or piece of evidence
linking Stewart to a single act of terrorism or to any other illegal
activity.

Stewart repeatedly stated that the duty she owed to her client, Sheik
Rachman, required diligent and forceful advocacy on her part that was
not in conflict with government regulations or U.S. law.

Stewart's conviction demonstrates the continued erosion of fundamental
civil liberties in an era where the protections of the Bill of Rights
have been subordinated through new legislation to a fear generated by
the government's insistence that terrorists are everywhere.

The government admitted that it had engaged in 85,000 acts of
wiretapping of Stewart's emails, faxes and phone calls. The government
eavesdropped, through hidden cameras and microphones, on Stewart's
meetings with her client.

Stewart's national and local defense committee will continue to work
for the reversal of her conviction.

Details of the conviction will be presented at the media conference.

Representatives of the San Francisco legal community will be present
at the media conference.
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Urgent note: An emergency defense committee meeting is set for: 298
Valencia Street at 14th Street, San Francisco at 7 pm, Sayurday,
February 12.

Press Conference/Media Conference
-for immediate release-

Date: Friday, February 11, 10:30 am
Location: Law offices: Van Der Hout, Brigagliono & Nightingale
180 Sutter at Kearney, Fifth Floor
San Francisco

Contact person: Jeff Mackler 415-255-1080

Media conference speakers:
-Attorney Mark Van Der Hout
-Attorney Stephen Bingham, former defendant in the San Quentin 8
-Carlos Villarreal, Executive Director, SF National Lawyers Guild
-Riva Enteen, KPFA Local Advisory Board
-Jeff Mackler& Larry Felson, Lynne Stewart Defense Committee
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Lynne Stewart Defense Committee
298 Valencia Street, San Francisco, CA 94103
415-255-1080
February 10, 2004
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