Let us begin by thanking all of you for your continued support for Tarek and your concern over the injustices that the government has perpetrated against him.  I would like to announce that, with respects to the goals we laid out for this hearing, July 20^th was a great success for Tarek and his supporters!

Among the goals that we had, an important one was to ensure that supporters were able to fill the courtroom.  At the last hearing, we failed to anticipate a dirty tactic where the available seats were filled early on by reporters and FBI agents, so that when Tarek entered he only saw a handful of familiar faces.  This time, we had a much larger room to fill (20 benches compared to only 8 or so), and when Tarek walked in, 19 out of those 20 were filled with supporters.  The 20^th bench was reserved for 3 FBI agents, and you can imagine how shocked they were to find themselves surrounded by a sea of our supporters!  When Tarek walked in and saw all of the people who had come to see him and lend their support, an ear-to-ear smile came across his face.  It was a beautiful thing to see!

There were roughly 150 people in the courtroom during the hearing.  Another 40 or so waited in the hall outside the room.  Another 30—50 people waited outside the entrance to the courthouse, executing a rally consisting of carefully designed signs and banners, and chanting “Free Tarek!”  The media was present, and supporters were free to make statements to them, although myself and my parents declined to do so, on the legal team’s request.  In total, roughly 300 people were involved in our overall effort—50% more than in the previous hearing.  We are steadily gaining momentum, and our presence is growing stronger.

During the hearing, Tarek’s body language and his voice both showed very clearly that he still has very strong spirit.  He was not at all hunched over or weak-like.  His attitude was definitively one of confidence and resolve, and this could not be missed when he plead “NOT GUILTY” to the new charge that was brought against him some weeks earlier. For the sake of clarification, this hearing was a second indictment hearing due to the superseding charge that was announced weeks ago.  It is called ‘superseding’ because it was based on an already existing charge against Tarek, one which was basically reworded into a more specific false accusation against him.  With respects to how we organize and coordinate his defense, it makes no difference, however. It just replaces the previous wording of the same charge (as opposed to being an additional charge on top of the others).

Another important change is that the previous magistrate has been replaced now by Judge O’Toole.  O’Toole appears to be a far more experienced, competent, and confident judge than the previous magistrate.  According to Jay Carney Jr., Tarek’s attorney, it is to our benefit that O'Toole was the randomly selected official taking over Tarek’s case.

We are currently still in the ‘pre-trial’ stage of Tarek’s case.  Each case has 2 phases—the ‘pre-trial’ and the actual trial itself.  During the hearing, the date of Tarek’s trial was decided as October 3^rd, 2011.  However, there is a lot that will happen between now and then.  While it is possible that Tarek might be let out on bail, there are certain things that his attorneys have to see to before we can have a better idea.

In the coming months, we have plans in place to become much more aggressive in reaching out to the American public, through allies and affiliates who are in positions of influence.  Americans must know that this is an issue of the First Amendment, not a terror case!  We encourage those who are confused to investigate the fact that despite the news media frenzy stories about a plan to shoot people at shopping malls, the formal charges against Tarek as addressed in the court’s affidavit fail to address any such rumors. More than simply puzzling, this reflects the effort of the FBI and its media allies to play on the ignorance of the public by spreading lies that they hope the public will not look into more deeply.

In addition, we have built strong bridges with the Islamic community in Worcester, where there are hundreds of people who have consistently expressed a desire to be given a more active role in defending Tarek and supporting him through our public efforts.  Ramadan will be a very busy time, and we have many events planned in advance.  It is long over-due for us to enlist Muslims in our effort.  I would remind everybody that these efforts are to the benefit of both Muslims and Americans.  It is both our duty and in our best interests as Muslims to support one of our own when he is unjustly accused; the reputation of the individual member reflects on that of the entire group. Whether Muslim or not, we must to strive to restore justice for those to whom it has been ruthlessly and unethically denied.  My family and I thank you all for your support, and the Support Committee urges you all to continue taking as active a role as possible in making progress towards this goal.  Free Tarek, and all those who share his experience!