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Updates on Portland, the "War on Terrorism," and Police Spying --In late March, federal agents arrested Mike Hawash, a Palestinian-American citizen and an employee of computer giant Intel, to hold him in custody as a "material witness." Hawash's friends and family protested his secret detention, part of a pattern since 9/11 of Middle Eastern men being held without being charged or allowed to see attorneys. What made his case different was that many of his friends are employees at Intel, one of Oregon's largest employers, and many media outlets actually picked up on the case. Senator Ron Wyden has requested a private hearing on the matter. --In early November, Chief Kroeker called a meeting of Portlanders and created the Arab and Muslim Police Advisory Council. In its first meeting, residents expressed concerns about the Portland Joint Terrorism Task Force (PJTTF), security issues, and civil rights matters. In their second meeting, they asked whether members of their community were under surveillance. PJTTF point man Lieutenant Randy Kane assured them they were not (The Skanner, December 11). --The Portland Tribune, which ran a long story on police spy files unearthed from the 1980s, used portraits of 11 activists in an ad promoting the paper (December 13). This was the first such multi- part story on police accountability issues in the Tribune since the shooting of José Mejía Poot in 2001. It would be great to see more substantive journalism on current matters. In a follow-up story on January 14, the Tribune reported that a couple from Portland who now live in Connecticut discovered that a Portland Police informant infiltrated their chapter of the Revolutionary Communist Party back in the '70s. The informant "didn't just infiltrate their group to befriend them. He also tried to provoke them into illegal acts." --In the case of the "Portland Six," six Muslims accused of being a "sleeper cell" for Al Qaida (specifically, conspiring to wage war against the United States), will face trial later this year. While lawyers are working on their behalf and trying to provide legal counsel to witnesses, the federal government seems to be trying to expand the case to include other defendants (Tribune, January 10). --Sheikh Mohammed Kariye pleaded guilty to minor charges of fraud. While he had been detained originally as a potential terrorist because of suspected TNT traces in his brother's luggage (see PPR #28), it turned out his worst crimes involved "lying about his income to qualify for Oregon Health Plan benefits and using a false Social Security card to obtain those benefits" (Oregonian, March 4). --A federal magistrate dismissed the case Peace and Justice Works (Portland Copwatch's parent group) brought against the City of Portland for keeping files on its political activity in apparent violation of ORS 181.575 (see legislation article in this issue). The magistrate agreed with the City's contention that PJW filed the lawsuit too late (although it was within a two-year statute of limitations) because they should have known about documents the Bureau handed over to the City Attorney's office prior to July, 2000when the documents were first mentioned in a City brief. PJW is appealing the decision. |
May, 2003
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Portland Copwatch Portland Copwatch is a grassroots, volunteer organization promoting police accountability through citizen action.
People's Police Report
#29 Table of Contents
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