TAREK MEHANNA

Who is Dr. Tarek Mehanna?
Tarek Mehanna is a 28-year old American-born Muslim Egyptian. Highly educated, he holds a doctorate in pharmacy from the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy. He is a devout, tolerant Muslim who is not only respected in the local Islamic and interfaith communities, but who also gives back to his community by fulfilling the roles of brother, educator, mentor, scholar, and friend. Tarek is described by those who know him well as humble, reserved, warm, peaceful, charismatic, knowledgeable, and dedicated.

His Case
For several years Tarek has been a victim of FBI surveillance and harassment. The Boston FBI recognized that he was a religious Muslim who was active in the local Islamic community, had earned the respect of many, and was beloved to the youth. The FBI recognized in Tarek an individual who is intelligent, charismatic, influential and trusted by many in the local Islamic community. They decided that they wanted Tarek on their side, and began to approach him in an effort to recruit him as an informant. Their objective was to secure Tarek as a tool to corroborate any FBI claims or accusations against members of the community that might arise, at the discretion of the FBI. Mr. Mehanna refused the FBI’s proposal to become an informant.
The FBI then proceeded to repeatedly approach Tarek over the coming months, each time pressuring him more and more to collaborate with them. This pressure most often came in the form of blackmail; Tarek was told that unless he consented to cooperating with the FBI, they would continue finding new ways to disrupt his life and to deprive him of a sense of security. He was told outright by interrogators that they knew he was innocent, but that they would not be satisfied with his refusal to cooperate.

On December 16, 2006, Tarek Mehanna was interviewed by two members of the JTTF (Joint Terrorism Task Force). Much of the interview concerned a trip by Mehnna and two other individuals (Ahmad Abousamra  and one other who is now apparently a cooperating witness) to Yemen in 2004 and his knowledge of the whereabouts of a man named Daniel Maldonado (who in January of 2007 was charged in the Southern District of Texas, pleaded guilty to one count; information alleging that he received military-type training from a foreign terrorist organization and was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment).

Regardless of whether their methods were unethical, coercive, or failed to respect his civil rights, the FBI were quite fortunate in catching an opportunity to arrest Tarek in 2008 based on a weak accusation of issuing "false statements" to a federal officer. Mehanna was charged in a complaint (signed by Special Agent Andrew Nambu) with violation of title 18, United States code, section 1001, for lies concerning Maldonado to members of the JTTF. After two months of imprisonment, Mehanna’s court-appointed attorney, Jay Carney, Jr., was able to negotiate a bail settlement of $1,250,000. Tarek was subsequently released after this absurdly inflated amount was paid by his parents, who were desperate to have him return home safely.

A U.S. indictment on 1/15/09, charged Dr. Mehanna on one count: Count 1: False Statements (From statements he made at an interview with the JTTF agents in December 2006). One should question the delay the U.S. government had in charging Mehanna for his alleged crime.

During the early hours on October 21, 2009, FBI agents showed up at the Mehanna home doorstep at 5:00AM in the morning. Despite the lack of ANY new evidence since the prior arrest, the agents came with an arrest warrant and Mehanna was arrested again.

A Superseding Indictment of 11/5/09 added an astounding five more counts; of the counts two are material support charges to support terrorists, two are conspiracy charges, and two are false statements charges. The complaint alleges that, beginning in or about 2001 and continuing until in or about May 2008, Mehanna conspired with Ahmad Abousamra, and “others” to provide material support and ”resources” to terrorists. A second Superseding Indictment was made on 6/17/10 adding an additional charge of “Conspiracy to Provide Material Support or Resources to a Designated Foreign Terrorist Organization,” totaling 7 counts.

The usage of unreliable cooperating witnesses and informants in cases such as Tarek’s has been a common method of the government to build a frivolous case against an individual. Furthermore, the vague and general language in material support statutes is a tactic that has been used in several cases against individuals (primarily Muslims) in the United States.

His Upcoming Trial
Dr. Tarek Mehanna is currently being held in solitary confinement, 23-hour lockdown facing accusations of aiding and abetting terrorism. His trial is set to begin Monday October 3rd, 2011 in Massachusetts.

(From FreeTarek.com)

 Official Website
www.freetarek.com