Florida Muslim held on secret evidence may be freed

A Florida immigration judge ruled on Wednesday that a Muslim professor may be released on bond after being held for more than three years based on secret evidence that was not revealed to him or to his attorneys, says the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a Washington-based Islamic advocacy group.

Mazen Al-Najjar, a professor at the University of South Florida detained because of allegations that he supported terrorism, may leave prison Friday morning after posting $8,000 bail. Al-Najjar was scheduled for release Thursday, but the government requested a 24-hour stay of the judge's order.

A federal judge ruled recently that Al-Najjar's rights were violated because he had not been able to see or respond to the secret evidence being used against him. On October 27, Judge Kevin McHugh ruled that the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) lacked sufficient evidence to continue holding Al-Najjar. The INS later agreed to provide an unclassified summary of their evidence.

The latest ruling says the documents provided by the government failed "to provide (Al-Najjar) with notice of the evidence against him and a meaningful opportunity to defend against that evidence."

"The fact that a person can be held in an American jail for more than three years without charge and without knowing why he is detained should be a wake up call for all those who love justice," said Ibrahim Hooper, spokesman of the Council. Hooper added that secret evidence is used almost exclusively against Muslims and Arabs. He said that every time a court has the opportunity to address the use of secret evidence, the practice is found to be unconstitutional and the detainee is released.

There are an estimated six million Muslims in America and some 1.2 billion worldwide. Islam is one of the fastest growing religions in this country and around the world, says CAIR.