[May 16, 2002] Jamal Saleem , an INS detainee being held at Passaic County Jail in Paterson NJ, has been on hunger strike since 4 am on Thursday May 9. Jamal Saleem (Date of birth 2-11-62; A# 76 558 148) is a Palestinian who was arrested by INS in October 2001 for overstaying his visa; in November he was ordered deported and then was informed by INS marshalls that he could not be deported since his country was at war. In May 2002, it will be six months since he has been told by INS that he cannot be deported, and since he cannot be deported, he should be released. He was the sole breadwinner for his family in Palestine; since he has been in jail for over 7 months, they are starving. He began his hunger strike on Thursday May 9th with the following demands
- that he brought before a judge so he can be released or offered bail;
- medical treatment for his back ailment; he is suffering severe pain in his back - his back was X-rayed months ago in the jail and the doctor told him that his bones are old and weak; he was not given any treatment, only calcium tablets which did not help
- to call attention to the plight of his family in Palestine
- to protest against the arrest and detention of hundreds of Arab, Muslim and South Asian immigrants since Sept 11, who are being held without due process, without access to legal counsel, without any medical care for those seriously ill, subjected to both verabl and physical abuse in the jails
On Friday May 10, he was served notice to appear in court on Tuesday May 14 at 1 pm; on Saturday he was provided medical care for his back
On Tuesday May 14th he was brought to the INS building at Newark, but was taken back to the jail without seeing a judge; he told us that at 11 am, in the waiting room the INS detainees were served a meal which he refused since he is on hunger strike; the INS officer present first tried to force-feed him and then said that since he is on hunger strike, he will not be brought before a judge because "we don't want you collapsing in front of 15 witnesses". Friends who went to court at 1:00 pm to support him were told that he went back early beacuse he was feeling sick.
He is still on hunger strike; is only drinking water with a little salt.
Please find ways to support his heroic act of resistance; please post and circulate this news widely
for more information
Shubh Mathur - 718-832-6243 or ekajanabi@yahoo.com
Yvonne Liu - yvonne@riseup.net - vox 646 321 5710
Immigration Action Alerts | Stop the Disappearances! http://www.itapnet.org/chri/
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[posted 5/19/02]
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