ACLU in Federal Court Today to Challenge Government’s Ban on Renowned Scholar
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 25, 2008
9:44 AM
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CONTACT: ACLU
James Freedland, ACLU national, (212) 519-7829 or 549-2666; media@aclu.org
Christopher Ott, ACLU of Massachusetts, (617) 470-5553; cott@aclum.org |
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ACLU in Federal Court Today to Challenge Government’s Ban on Renowned Scholar
Group Says Unsubstantiated Visa Refusal Is Censorship at the Border
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BOSTON - June 25 - The American Civil Liberties Union and ACLU of Massachusetts will be in federal court today challenging the government’s refusal to grant a visa to respected South African scholar Adam Habib. In oral arguments before the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, the ACLU will argue that the Departments of State and Homeland Security must grant Habib a visa because the government has no legitimate basis for preventing him from speaking to U.S. audiences.
In September, the ACLU filed a lawsuit charging that the government's exclusion of Professor Habib amounts to censorship at the border because it prevents U.S. citizens and residents from hearing speech that is protected by the First Amendment. The ACLU brought this case on behalf of organizations that have invited Professor Habib to speak in the U.S., including the American Sociological Association, the American Association of University Professors, the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee and the Boston Coalition for Palestinian Rights.
WHAT:
Oral arguments today in a lawsuit brought by the ACLU to challenge the government’s refusal to grant a visa for Professor Adam Habib
WHO:
Melissa Goodman of the ACLU National Security Project will appear before Judge George A. O'Toole, Jr. of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts
WHEN:
Today, June 25, 2008 at 2:00 p.m. EDT
WHERE:
U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts
John Joseph Moakley Courthouse
1 Courthouse Way, Suite 2300
Boston, MA 02210
More information about ideological exclusion — including a podcast with Adam Habib, plaintiff statements in support of Habib, and the legal complaint in today's case — is available at: www.aclu.org/exclusion
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