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It is time for the FBI to respond to its charges | Ideas

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On November 18, a New York judge overturned the sentencing of Muhammad Aziz and Khalil Islam, 55 years after the two men were convicted of the murder of Malcolm X February 1965. The New York police department and the FBI did not disclose details, leading to of release.

Judge Ellen Biben, who presided over the case, spoke of “serious misconduct”, while the district attorney, Cyrus Vance, apologized for “gross violations of the law and public trust” by the FBI and NYPD, and said. that the defendants did not receive a fair trial and that their sentences should be set aside.

The opposition of the men was not surprising. Historians, journalists, and jurists have long recognized the guilt of the two men, while the men remained innocent for a long time. Surprisingly, the NYPD and the FBI did not comment on their expulsion information, apparently satisfied to see two innocent men arrested and detained for years on a charge they had not been given. Blacks and other oppressed people have also learned for years to distrust the FBI, thanks to the organisation’s well-known reputation against them.

However, this strange perversion has raised serious questions: Were the actual killers working with the FBI? And why did the FBI hide so much? Is it alleged that the only witnesses who placed Aziz and Islam at the scene of the crime were FBI informants? We do not know the answers because the NYPD and the FBI still need to be identified.

Confidential evidence was secretly collected as part of a well-known FBI counterintelligence program from the 1950s to 1970s called COINTELPRO. It wanted to “not interfere” with powerful black leaders through illegal means such as surveillance, infiltration, and disruption. For those who are well aware of the atrocities and this time to a greater extent, the FBI’s suspicious role in this case was not surprising.

U.S. Attorney Bobby Rush, a former Black Panther leader from Chicago, immediately pointed the finger at the FBI for the wrong reasons. In a statement on November 18, he said, “I am deeply moved by the horrible and horrible fact that two men have been in prison for decades for the conspiracy and deception of J Edgar Hoover’s FBI. Malcolm X was a shining example of manhood and humanity. of Black America For him, J Edgar Hoover – a lowly life – living in the midst of his assassination is indeed an American tragedy and he flies in the face of Malcolm’s high morals. “

Indeed, if the FBI had supported Malcolm X’s assassination, it would not have been their first assassination. The FBI has now paid a large sum for COINTELPRO’s involvement in the killing of Black Panther Party freedom fighters Fred Hampton and Mark Clark on December 4, 1969. Thirty years in prison, while secretly keeping evidence from their COINTELPRO investigation that it was 640 miles from when he was killed.

The “discovery” of the items released in the murder of Malcolm X indicates that the FBI should urgently review all of its COINTELPRO files to determine which cases may be involved and what other innocent individuals may be released.

The anonymity of Malcolm X’s assassination is even more significant when we consider how the FBI acted in the war against terrorists. In the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, the FBI was tasked with preventing a subsequent terrorist attack that had to be carried out by many terrorists in the US.

The FBI used major national security forces to spy on Muslims and other unincorporated areas, and soon discovered that there were no terrorists in the US. All the surveys that have taken place over the past two decades have not found a single terrorist plot.

But instead of declaring that terrorism did not originate with a group of American Muslims, the FBI began recruiting terrorists from innocent Muslims to prove false allegations of the impending threat. Hundreds of Muslims have been deliberately opposed, accused of engaging in illegal activities such as verbal or physical acts. Others were arrested and charged with felony criminal mischief for firing on a sculpture with a shotgun, according to The Associated Press.

The FBI has put innocent Muslims on the wrong track, to force them to inform their communities. It is now alleged that FBI intelligence agents have committed more than 22,000 crimes over the past decade, costing taxpayers $ 42m a year.

Former FBI expert and whistleblower Terry Albury commented on his search for Muslims:

“There is this myth about the war on terror, and the FBI, which has given agents the power to destroy the lives of innocent people on the basis of the country of origin, or the religion they practice or the color of their skin. And I did that. I helped destroy the people. 17 years […] We have made all these weapons and proved to the whole world that in every mosque there are terrorists and that every newcomer Muslim secretly hates America, and because we have promoted these false ideas, we must prove it. […] It was clearly stated from day one that the enemies were not just a small group of unaffected Muslims. True Islam was an enemy […] I have serious and legitimate concerns about FBI tactics in the Muslim community regarding arrests, baseless investigations, and intimidation of those who know them. I am also deeply moved by the principles of organizations that ignore the daily denial of the fundamental freedoms that we all love. “

Instead, FBI agents posed a threat to Muslims. After it became known that mosques and their members were heavily monitored by electronic and physical bodies, Muslims were forced to test themselves, to avoid contact with strangers or close friends who might be FBI informants, or have difficulty sharing them on television.

Muslim families who were wrongly accused of terrorism were often shunned by their communities. Jobs were destroyed by false FBI allegations and long prison terms. However the FBI was able to denounce their terrorists in the Muslim community and make it appear that the Muslims were dishonest and violent.

The release of Malcolm X’s co-defendants confirms the long-running FBI’s operation without transparency and proper oversight to disrupt justice and destroy lives. Forcing innocent men to spend years in prison for concealing secret evidence was out of the question.

Now is the time to take a closer look at the FBI’s legacy from COINTELPRO to the war on terrorism. One way for the public to respond is to violate the Rush Bill, the COINTELPRO Full Disclosure Act, which would force the FBI and other government agencies to release all documents related to COINTELPRO.

Finally, it is time to establish independent monitoring as part of the decision-making process in the Department of Justice to ensure that the FBI protects all U.S. citizens and citizens equally, and does not evict people who are unable to defend themselves.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Al Jazeera.



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