Dear Common Dreams Readers:
For Immediate Release
Mason Clutter, (202) 580-6930 or mclutter@constitutionproject.org
Family Members of 9/11 Victims Welcome the Federal Prosecution of Some Detainees While Criticizing Use of Military Commissions for Others
*September Eleventh Families for Peaceful Tomorrows available for media inquiries**
WASHINGTON - In light of the announcement by Attorney General Eric
Holder designating several alleged 9/11 conspirators held at Guantanamo
to be tried in civilian federal courts in New York, the organization
September Eleventh Families for Peaceful Tomorrows announced its
support for the decision. The September Eleventh Families for Peaceful
Tomorrows represents family members of 9/11 victims and advocates for
trying the detainees in U.S. federal courts, and not in military
commissions. They believe it is of the utmost importance for those
accused of these heinous acts to be treated in a constitutionally sound
manner. Only in that way will they get the justice they deserve.
Representatives
from The September Eleventh Families for Peaceful Tomorrows will be
available for a conference call with the press at 2:30 pm today.
Representatives available include Donna March O'Connor, John Leinung,
Valerie Lucz, Talat Hamdani, Loretta Filipov, and Nancy Meyer. To join the call, please dial 1-800-816-4134, access code 69922.
Talat Hamdani lost her first-born 23
year old son, Mohammad Salman Hamdani, at WTC II on September 11, 2001.
Salman worked at Howard Hughes Medical Institute in Manhattan. He was
an NYPD Cadet and NYS Certified Paramedic. He responded to the call of
duty voluntarily. Being a Muslim American, his noble actions were
investigated and the family was notified six months later, on March 20,
2002, that his remains were indeed found near the second tower on
October 23, 2001. Salman is also mentioned in the Patriot Act for his
heroism as a Muslim American. Talat's husband also died of a broken
heart on July 21, 2004. Talat Hamdani has since become an activist for
civil liberties and human rights.
Nancy Meyer is
an Environmental Education Consultant and Project Director, September
11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows. She is the sister-in-law of
United Flight 93 victim Lauren Catuzzi Grandcolas and mother of three
living in rural Nebraska, where she is a School Board member.
John
M. Leinung is the step-father of Paul J. Battaglia, WTC Tower 1, 100th
floor, Marsh & McLennan. Paul was 22 yrs. old, a 2000 graduate of
Binghamton University School of Management. He was the former General
Manager of WHRW, the B.U. radio station.
at Syracuse University. She lost my daughter Vanessa Lang Langer on
9/11. She worked in the WTC Tower II. She was four months pregnant
and her body was found whole and intact on 9/24/2001.
member of Peaceful Tomorrows. She had four children and seven
grandchildren, and lives in the same house she resided in when her son,
Firefighter Timothy Welty, was born. He was lost in the line of duty at
the World Trade Center on 9/11 and left a young son and daughter. In
2004, Adele traveled to Afghanistan to meet with civilian families
affected by the military campaign there. She also participated in a
delegation to Amman, Jordan, in 2005, bringing humanitarian supplies
to Iraqi refugees from Falluja. In 2007, she spoke at a Human
Rights Conference in Guantanamo, Cuba and joined activists protesting
the prison there. In 2008, she attended a meeting of LaOnf in Erbil,
Iraq and helped kick start the PT LaOnf Campaign here in the states.
She has been active in calling attention to challenges faced by
underrepresented minorities affected by 9/11, and has lobbied to remove
negative provisions from proposed immigration legislation. She opposes capital punishment and testified for the defense in the Moussaoui trial.
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