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Patriot Act, initiatives disturb civil libertarians
By Tanya Weinberg
Staff Writer Sun-Sentinel
May 11, 2003
As a naturalized U.S. citizen, Ahmed Koko thought that he would be protected by the Constitution, like any other American.
For the most part he maintained that belief in the months after the Sept. 11 attacks, as he juggled college studies with his security guard job -- even as he found himself treated like a potential terrorist at the airport, at work and at home.
But when federal agents visited his Pompano Beach home for what he said was the seventh time, Koko, 31, felt as if his rights had evaporated.
This time agents didn't come to ask if he was a terrorist, if he knew Osama bin Laden, or what he could tell them about local Islamic leaders and others from the mosques he attends. Although it was not Moroccan native Koko the agents sought -- but an Iraqi neighbor for one of thousands of war-related interviews -- Koko landed in jail for the night.
Koko's story stirred gasps last week during a town-hall meeting at Florida International University, where civil libertarians decried the federal government's tactics in the war on terrorism. As part of national awareness-building efforts groups such as the American Civil Liberties Union, the American Library Association and the Council on American Islamic Relations urged people to fight federal initiatives and legislation they consider part of an ongoing assault on civil rights.
Koko's experience was cited as an example of what can happen in the current climate.
One week into the war in Iraq, an immigration agent and FBI agent entered Koko's home -- without his permission, Koko says. After verifying his identity and citizenship, the agents first refused to show him their identification. The FBI contends the agents had already done so before Koko invited them in.
"The right thing is they are supposed to show me their names. What if I want to press charges? I need to see their stuff," Koko said.
He called the police. A spokeswoman for the Broward Sheriff's Office said deputies responded, then arrested Koko on charges of resisting arrest without violence because he was disruptive. Koko said he became emotional after deputies asked to search his house. He admits he refused to sit down as ordered but said he was demanding access to his phone to call a lawyer.
His story disturbed activists at the meeting, which took place Tuesday, the same day Broward County became the 100th legislative body in the nation to pass a resolution urging governmental respect for constitutional rights in light of recent and proposed anti-terror legislation.
Right to investigate
At issue are investigative techniques, new security programs and legislation such as the USA Patriot Act, the anti-terrorism law Congress passed weeks after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Justice Department officials say the law has been key in the fight against terrorism. The new ability to share intelligence between agencies has led to developments such as the recent terror-related indictment against suspected Palestinian Islamic Jihad leader Sami Al-Arian, a Tampa professor the government had been investigating for years.
But critics say the Patriot Act was ramrodded through Congress in an atmosphere of near-hysteria. They claim the law gives the government unchecked authority to search homes and private records.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/broward/sfl-spatriot11may11.story
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