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Assalamu'alaykum John,

As we close out another year funding the work that makes justice
possible, we wanted to share just how life-changing your support has
been over the years.

After investing 5 years into a case we strongly believed in, we were
grateful to have secured the reversal of one of the first terror
convictions in the aftermath of 9/11. Having served 14 years for a crime
he did not commit, Hamid Hayat is now free, thanks to the work of his
incredible legal team and donors like you.

Without your belief in our mission and trust in our work, he could still
be behind bars today.

 

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How did Hamid, a young American citizen of Pakistani descent,
end up in such a nightmare?

Hamid's story begins in 2000 after a visit to Pakistan. While studying
the Quran there, he contracted meningitis, a disease which wore him down
physically and mentally. He returned to his family in Lodi, California,
where he led the life of a typical teen, engrossed in video games and
cricket matches - until he befriended a new man in town that would
change his life forever.

It was this toxic relationship with Naseem Khan, an undercover FBI
informant whose own mother testified to being nothing more than a
"bagful of lies," that led Hamid Hayat from a simple life to one
supposedly embedded in a 'sleeper cell of terror' to the confines of
a federal prison cell in the span of a few years.

FBI informants are known to entrap vulnerable, innocent Muslims -

in fact, many cases we fund have elements of FBI involvement.

With your help , we can protect and
defend our community

from falling victim to these traps.

The FBI paid Naseem Khan $230,000 over the span of three years to prey
on Hamid's vulnerability and radicalize him by encouraging him to go
to 'jihad'. His friendship evolved into bullying and threats. Hamid
eventually distanced himself from Naseem and tried to move on. He
married a woman in Pakistan, and boarded a flight home to Lodi to
arrange for her arrival and their new life together.

That's when the FBI closed in. Hamid's flight was diverted to Tokyo,
his name popping up on the "no fly" list. He was questioned by the FBI
about training at a terrorist camp - which he denied - before being
allowed to continue on to America. Once in Lodi, FBI agents appeared at
his home and asked him to come in for another interview at their local
office.

Hamid innocently complied. He went into the FBI office alone, while his
father waited outside. It was during this interrogation (lasting nearly
11 hours, of which only a portion was recorded) that Hamid, with minimal
education and understanding - timid, tired, and trusting - said whatever
he thought the agents wanted to hear so that he could finally go home.
He made up stories in answer to leading questions and falsely confessed
to attending terrorist training camps in Pakistan, awaiting orders to
wage holy war in America. Hamid did not get to go home that night.

Despite the holes in his story and contradictory information that was
withheld and even disputed by the agents themselves, the FBI proceeded
to use this confession to charge him with material support of terrorism
and lying to the FBI.

The government played on Islamophobic tropes to paint Hamid as a
dangerous criminal, without any evidence of actual wrongdoing. Their
closing statement to the federal grand jury: "Hamid Hayat had a jihadi
heart and a jihadi mind."

***

Despite little evidence and lack of an actual crime, Hamid Hayat was
convicted on all counts in 2006 and sentenced to 24 years in a federal
prison. His family lost their house trying to pay legal fees, lost their
son to false imprisonment, and lost their hope of a better life in
America.

But Hamid's case was fraught with problems - from the ineffective
representation by his novice defense lawyer, to the secret evidence used
against him at trial, to the absence of witness testimony that would
have corroborated his innocence, and even allegations of jury
misconduct.

In 2014, Muslim Legal Fund of America financially supported expenses
related to a 2255 motion, the equivalent of a habeas corpus petition, to
argue for Hamid Hayat's innocence and freedom.

MLFA funded witness and expert testimony that could prove Hamid's
innocence. In 2018, a Federal judge finally agreed to hear the evidence.
Earlier this year, she wrote a 116-page recommendation that the
conviction of Hamid Hayat be vacated. The case ended up back in the
court of the Judge who originally presided over Hamid Hayat's first
trial in 2006 - but this time, he overturned Hamid's conviction.

A few weeks later, Hamid was back in Lodi with his family - just in time
for Eid.

You gave Hamid his life back. Will you give hope to others facing
daunting challenges to their civil rights and freedoms? The work of
justice is not always quick or easy, but it is possible - Hamid's
story is one such example. We can't do it without your support.

Read more about Hamid's case and join
us in our Winter Fundraising Appeal to
help many more people overcome injustice and protect their families,
homes, and communities. You can help us achieve this noble goal by
making a year-end, tax deductible donation
today.

In faith and for justice,

 

Yes, I'll Give the Gift of Hope

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Muslim Legal Fund of America, 833 E Arapaho Rd, Suite 209, Richardson, Texas 75081, United States