> From: chris98@pacbell.net
> Date: Sat, 27 May 2000 21:15:25 -0700
> To: MumiaFriends@aspenlinx.com
> Subject: Solidarity with Imam Jamil Al-Amin
>
> Friends. Check this out. 'SNCC Anniversary Statement' & '10 Facts.'
> ___________________________________________________________________
>
> SNCC Anniversary Statement on Jamil Al-Amin
>
> A Statement from friends and associates of Imam Jamil
> Abdullah Al-Amin (H. Rap Brown) at the 40th Anniversary of
> the founding of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating
> Committee:
>
> April 16, 2000
>
> Raleigh, N.C.
>
> We are distressed by the recent arrest of our former
> chairman and co-worker, Imam Jamil Abdullah Al Amin, whom we
> knew as H.Rap Brown. Amin has been charged with the murder
> of one Atlanta policeman and the wounding of another on
> Thursday March 16th of this year.
>
> The officers say they were attempting to serve what
> authorities described as a "relatively inconsequential"
> arrest warrant on Al Amin. But we wonder why the Atlanta
> police would send heavily armed men, wearing flack jackets,
> into Al Amin's neighborhood at 10 at night to serve such a
> warrant. Additionally, why were 16 bounty hunters involved
> in the "search" for a man whose whereabouts and regular
> routines were well known?
>
> We are also concerned by a number of glaring
> discrepancies in the police version of events and what
> appears to be a precipitous and uncritical rush to judgement
> by the media. For example, in the immediate aftermath of the
> shooting, the Atlanta police released in rapid succession
> constantly changing and differing accounts of the incident.
> The only constant in these changing official versions was
> that the assailant had been so severely wounded as to have
> left "a trail of blood" at the scene. Yet, four days later,
> when Imam Al-Amin was arrested in Alabama, he was found to
> be completely free of physical injury!
>
> What most distresses us is that the facts as alleged
> are so completely out of character for the man we knew. For
> twenty years our brother has been a serious student of
> religion, a devout spiritual teacher, and public spirited
> community leader. Nationally, he is highly regarded by the
> council on American-Islamic Relations which in 1985
> described him as "one of the Muslim community's leading
> figures."
>
> We ourselves know him as a principled, compassionate
> man committed to justice for his people and devoted to the
> moral welfare of his constituency. Consequently, these
> allegations are totally contrary to the character of the man
> we know and greatly respect.
>
> In the Sixties, Rap Brown was hounded by authorities
> for his militant defense of all forms of black protest.
> Moreover, five years ago police pressured an Atlanta
> resident, who later recanted, into identifying Al-Amin as
> the culprit in a shooting incident. Agents of the FBI, its
> Domestic Terrorism Task Force, as well as agents of the
> Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms converged in Atlanta
> to arrest Al-Amin. In the absence of any evidence, the
> charges were dropped. There has never been any satisfactory
> explanation given for the presence and interest of this
> array of federal forces in a "routine" local incident.
>
> In the light of this past incident, the
> inconsistencies in the accounts of the current case, and our
> knowledge of his character, we urge a suspension of
> judgement pending a thorough and complete investigation of
> the events of March 16th.
> ______________________________________________________________
>
> 10 FACTS CONCERNING ALLEGATIONS AGAINST IMAM JAMIL AL-AMIN
>
> Published by the
> Coalition for Imam Jail Al-Amin, Metro Washington, D.C-Area.
>
> Fact 1
>
> In 1999, Imam Jamil was stopped while driving by Cobb County
> Police. During the stop, the officers asked Imam Jamil for proof
> of insurance of the vehicle he was driving. He had a valid
> driver's license but no insurance. According to the Imam, when
> he went to open his wallet, an officer spotted a metal badge.
> The officer was informed by Imam Jamil that the badge was issued
> to him by the city of White Hall, Alabama when that city's Mayor
> appointed him to the city's auxiliary police force. At no time
> did the Imam Jamil represent himself as an Atlanta police officer.
> (*Source: Essay of Prof. Natsu Taylor Saito, Georgia State University
> Law School, 3/20/2000)
>
> Fact 2
>
> During the stop, the Cobb County policeman a check on the car
> Imam Jamil was driving and their records listed the car as stolen.
> Imam Jamil provided the authorities with a bill of sale for the
> car, yet the police nevertheless arrested him for receiving stolen
> property. He was also charged with diving without insurance and
> impersonating an officer. (*Source: Prof. Saito, 3/20/00)
>
> Fact 3
>
> Imam Jamil attempted to seek legal representation to have these
> charges dismissed. Wanting to avoid a trial and the attendant
> publicity, he offered to plead to reduced charges and a sentence
> of a fine and community service. However, the District Attorney
> initially insisted on a minimum sentence of two years in prison,
> never offering a settlement without jail time. (*Source: Prof.
> Saito, 3/20/00)
>
> Fact 4
>
> Imam Jamil missed a court appearance in January of this year, in
> connection with these small, non violent charges. A bench warrant
> was issued for his arrest. On March 16th, the day in which Muslims
> from around the world were celebrating one of their two holy days
> -- Eid Al Adha -- two police officers came to a store which was
> owned by Imam Jamil to serve the warrant. (*Source: Prof. Saito,
> 3/20/00)
>
> Fact 5
>
> There have been various reports of what lead up to the shooting.
> Some claim that the deputies went to serve the warrant at a grocery
> store in the Black community of West End which was owned by Imam
> Jamil. Other reports, state that the officers went to Imam Jamil's
> home. Still others state that the officers knocked on the door of
> Al-Amin's store, got no answer, walked away, drove around the
> neighborhood, and then returned to the store. (*Sources: Prof.
> Saito, 3/20/00; Atlanta Journal Constitution, "FBI Issues Warrant
> for Al-Amin," 3/18/00)
>
> Fact 6
>
> There have also been inconsistencies in statements concerning how
> the shooting occurred. Some reports claim that the police officers
> were confronted with a man near a Black Mercedes Benz, near the
> store (Imam Jamil does not own such a car). When they asked this man
> to show his hands, the man fired upon the officers. Another report
> states that the man was inside the car and when asked to show his
> hands, the driver fired upon the Police. (*Sources: Prof. Saito,
> 3/20/00; Atlanta Journal Constitution, "Sheriff: Deputies blindsided
> by attack," 3/18/00)
>
> Fact 7
>
> The shooting occurred at nighttime, around 10 P.M., in a inner city
> neighborhood. Initially, the surviving deputy could not identify his
> assailant, but nonetheless a nationwide man-hunt for Imam Jamil was
> announced. The following day, in between operations, the deputy
> identified Imam Jamil from a photograph shown to him at the hospital.
> Despite these inconsistencies, the media reported that the
> surviving police officer "positively identified Imam Jamil."
> (*Sources: Prof. Saito, 3/20/00; Atlanta Journal Constitution,
> Sheriff: Deputies blindsided by attack," 3/18/00)
>
> Fact 8
>
> Atlanta and Fulton County police wrongly told the media Thursday
> night that the warrant which the police had sought to serve upon
> Imam Jamil was for aggravated assault. They now admit that the
> information they put out was false. (*Sources: Atlanta Journal
> Constitution, "Sheriff: Deputies blindsided by attack," 3/18/00;
> Hype Newswire "Media's Rush to Judgement in the H. Rap Brown -
> Al-Amin Case," Mar. 2000)
>
> Fact 9
>
> The Fulton County Police reported that the "shooter" had been
> wounded and that they were following a trail of blood. Some reports
> claimed that the blood was identified as that from Imam Jamil.
> However, medical officials have now verified that Imam Jamil is not
> wounded and thus the blood trail could not have come from him.
> (*Sources: Atlanta Journal Constitution, "Police doubt bloodstains
> linked to Al-Amin case," 3/24/00)
>
> Fact 10
>
> Imam Jamil stated that this incident was a part of a government
> conspiracy. This would not be the first. On August 7, 1995, Imam
> Jamil Al-Amin, while driving his son to school, was arrested in
> connection with the July shooting of a young man in Atlanta. After
> the arrest, the police interrogated his 7-year-old son for six hours
> before notifying someone to pick up the child. The victim initially
> pointed to Imam Jamil as being his assailant. Later, in a news
> Conference in Washington, D.C., this young man announced that he
> did not know who wounded him and that the police pressured him into
> making the identification. (Sources: Prof. Saito, 3/20/00;
> Washington Post, "60's militant arrested in Alabama," 3/21/00,
> "Al-Amin Calls Slaying Case A Government Conspiracy', 3/22/00)
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