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U.S. NEWS A5
Wednesday 14 October
Court reinstates suit over NYPD surveillance of Muslims
MICHAEL R. SISAK else.” Kameelah Rashad demonstrates outside the U.S. Courthouse
Associated Press The city called the intel- in Philadelphia. A federal appeals court on Tuesday, Oct. 13,
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A ligence gathering an ap- 2015, reinstated a lawsuit challenging the New York Police
federal appeals court on propriate and legal anti- Department’s surveillance of Muslim groups in New Jersey after
Tuesday reinstated a law- terrorism tactic and said it the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, saying any resulting harm came
suit challenging the New never spied on people or from the city’s tactics, not the media’s reporting of them.
York Police Department’s businesses solely because
surveillance of Muslim they were Muslim. Such a (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
groups in New Jersey af- practice would be con-
ter the Sept. 11 terrorist at- trary to its values, a spokes- vived in part so they could firmed that police can-
tacks, saying any resulting man for the city’s Law De- learn more about the pro- not use religion and courts
harm came from the city’s partment said. gram. cannot accept untested
tactics, not the media’s re- “There’s been no finding Their lawyer, Baher Azmy, national security claims as
porting of them. by the court that the NYPD said Tuesday’s ruling af- justification for spying.q
The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court did anything wrong or any-
of Appeals, reversing a thing illegal,” said Law-
judge’s decision last year rence Byrne, the NYPD’s
to dismiss the case, found deputy commissioner for
the Muslim plaintiffs raised legal matters. “It’s simply a
sufficient allegations of re- procedural opportunity for
ligious-freedom and equal- the plaintiffs to see if they
protection violations and can prove their case.”
put the case on track for tri- A senior NYPD official testi-
al. The court compared the fied in 2012 that the demo-
spying to other instances of graphics unit at the heart of
heightened scrutiny of re- the program never gener-
ligious and ethnic groups, ated any leads or triggered
including Japanese-Ameri- a terrorism investigation,
cans during World War II. but former Mayor Michael
In dismissing the lawsuit, U.S. Bloomberg, former police
District Judge William Mar- Commissioner Raymond
tini had concluded the po- Kelly and other officials
lice could not keep watch have said the surveillance
“on Muslim terrorist activi- helped the nation’s largest
ties without monitoring the police department identify
Muslim community itself” and thwart terror plots.
and concurred with the city Current police Commis-
in blaming reporting by The sioner William Bratton dis-
Associated Press, which ex- banded the unit last year
posed the surveillance pro- and reassigned its detec-
gram, for any harm. tives. Officials said a review
The appeals court said the concluded the same in-
attempt to blame the AP formation could be better
was akin to saying, “What collected through direct
you don’t know can’t hurt contact with community
you. And, if you do know, group.
don’t shoot us. Shoot the During oral arguments in
messenger.” January, the appellate
The lawsuit revived Tues- panel questioned wheth-
day was among legal ac- er police had any spe-
tions that followed reports cific leads to justify surveil-
by the AP that revealed lance of Muslim business-
how city police infiltrated es, mosques and student
Muslim student groups, put groups in New Jersey from
informants in mosques and 2002 to at least 2012.
otherwise spied on Muslims The city argued that any
as part of a broad effort to injuries suffered by Mus-
prevent terrorist attacks. lims were “self-imposed,
The reporting was honored based on subjective fears”
with a Pulitzer Prize. that may have led them to
Plaintiff Farhaj Hassan said avoid gathering with other
he was “extremely ecstat- Muslims after the 9/11 at-
ic” about the court’s deci- tacks. A city lawyer told
sion. the appeals court that the
“I’m very happy we will plaintiffs couldn’t simply
get our day in court,” said infer the intent of the pro-
Hassan, a U.S. Army ser- gram was discriminatory.
geant who served in Iraq. The Muslim plaintiffs — in-
“Muslim-Americans were cluding a grade school
the innocent community in principal and members of
this matter, and lo and be- the Muslim Student Asso-
hold their civil rights should ciation at Rutgers University
be protected like everyone — wanted the lawsuit re-
