[act-ma] Lynne Stewart speaks tomorrow

[christy at riseup.net]

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LYNNE STEWART SPEAKS
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WHEN: Tomorrow, Tuesday, 4/10 at 3:15pm

WHERE:  Northeastern University School of Law (400 Huntington Ave)
Room Cargill 97 (It is in the basement)

Lynne Stewart is a radical human rights attorney known for her outspoken
political views and representation of controversial clients. Last year,
Lynne was convicted of providing material support to a terrorist
organization for representing a client accused of terrorism. Already
barred from practicing law, Lynne is 67 years old and battling breast
cancer. The government sentenced her to 28 months in prison, and Lynne is
free on appeal.

WHAT HAPPENED in Lynne Stewart’s case?

Lynne was indicted in 2002 on information based on governmental monitoring
of conversations between Stewart and her client, Shiek Omar Abdel Rahman,
an Egyptian Islamic scholar convicted in the 1993 World Trade Center
bombing. The evidence against her was that she openly gave the press
information that her client personally opposed a ceasefire in hostilities
in Egypt in June of 2000, violating a regulation prohibiting him from
communicating with anyone except his wife and attorney. With many
administrative sanctions available, including fines and disbarment, the
government chose to put Lynne on trial for aiding and abetting terrorism.
In 2005 Lynne was found guilty of defrauding the government, conspiracy,
and providing support for terrorism. Arabic interpreter Mohammed Yousry
and paralegal Ahmed Abdel Sattar were also convicted in this case. Lynne
was sentenced to 28 months in prison.

WHAT DOES this verdict mean?

According to the Center for Constitutional Rights: “We saw it for what it
was; part of a strategy designed to weaken the Bill of Rights and to
frighten lawyers who might represent unpopular and even distasteful
clients. What is at stake is the power of the government to eavesdrop on
discussions between lawyer and client and, on a broader scale, an assault
of historic proportions on the 4th, 5th and 6th Amendments.”

Lawyers rely on private conversations to be able to zealously defend
clients. Without this privacy, where does that leave lawyers?