Activists Protest Torture Flights, Demand Jeppesen Stop Facilitating CIA Renditions

By Elaine Pasquini

Protesters outside San Jose’s Federal Building denounce extraordinary rendition and torture (Staff photo P. Pasquini).

WEBSTER’S NEW WORLD Dictionary defines “Ren•di•tion” as “a rendering: to give, hand over or deliver.” “Rendition is taking a person to some other country,” Central Intelligence Agency director Gen. Michael V. Hayden told talk show host Charlie Rose in an Oct. 24, 2007 interview. But to human rights activists and organizations, “rendition” or “extraordinary rendition” is simply a “torture flight,” and they demand that San Jose-based Jeppesen Dataplan, Inc. stop participating in the CIA’s extraordinary rendition program.

In order to bring attention to Jeppesen’s role in “rendering” individuals suspected of being involved in terrorist activity to secret prisons outside of the United States for interrogations involving torture impermissible under U.S. and international law, members of the South Bay Coalition to Stop Torture protest on Second Street outside of the San Jose Federal Building every Friday afternoon.

A lawsuit against Jeppesen by the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of five plaintiffs was filed in the U.S. District Court located in that federal building. The case alleges that “Jeppesen participated in the forced disappearance, torture and inhumane treatment of Plaintiffs Binyam Mohamed, Abou Elkassim Britel, Ahmed Agiza, Mohamed Farag Ahmad Bashmilah, and Bisher al-Rawi by agents of the United States and other governments.” Mohamed and al-Rawi state they were flown for interrogation to the secret U.S. detention facility in Kabul, Afghanistan known as the “Dark Prison.”

In his declaration supporting the suit, former Jeppesen employee Sean Belcher recounted statements by Jeppesen International Trip Planning Service director Bob Overby that: “We do all the extraordinary rendition flights…these were the torture flights.”

According to Belcher, Overby made the statements to employees at an internal company meeting and also bragged that “providing services for the rendition flights paid very well…the government spared no expense and did not worry about costs....” Among other “services,” the company is accused of providing pre-departure flight planning services and procuring necessary landing and overflight permits for all legs of the rendition flights. Jeppesen, a subsidiary of Boeing Commercial Aviation Services, a unit of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, did not return this reporter’s phone calls.

In a Feb. 13 ruling, U.S. District Judge James Ware dismissed the case, but the ACLU has said it plans to appeal.

CAIR-SV Hosts Fifth Annual Media Appreciation Dinner


(l-r): Radio talk show host Christine Craft, CAIR-SV president Yousef Marmosh and executive director Basim Elkarra share a laugh after Craft receives a CAIR award (Staff photo P. Pasquini).

The Sacramento Valley chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-SV) hosted its fifth annual Media Appreciation Dinner Jan. 24 at the Persian Garden restaurant in the state capital. During the social hour prior to the program, civic, business and religious leaders of the Sacramento Valley Muslim community parleyed with prominent journalists from the area’s media outlets about current events, particularly the U.S. presidential primaries and the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

CAIR-SV president Yousef Marmosh opened the program by presenting CAIR’s Fairness and Integrity in Media Award to radio talk show host Christine Craft.

Next, Ayesha Thomas from News 10, Cathy Rodriguez of the Sacramento Bee, and this reporter competed in a rousing game of “Islamic Jeopardy.” Patterned after the television program “Jeopardy,” the game featured categories such as “religion,” “sociology,” and “demographics.” The three contestants took turns choosing a category and also, like the TV show, a monetary value from each category, with questions “worth” $100, $300 and $500. A question then appeared on a projection screen and the first person who knew the answer raised her hand and, instead of hitting a buzzer, called out, “CAIR!” I won the contest by answering questions such as: the meaning of “jihad” and “what is the third holiest site in Islam?” (Answer: “Jerusalem.”) Another question related to the meaning of “halal.” As the winner, I received a beautiful CAIR coffee mug!

Lastly, Craft and fellow panelists Lonnie Wong of Fox 40, Steven Maganini of the Sacramento Bee and the Washington Report’s Phil Pasquini discussed the importance of community feedback on media coverage. CAIR-SV executive director Basim Elkarra announced that CAIR would soon be distributing its newly published media guide entitled American Muslims: A Journalist’s Guide to Understanding Islam and Muslims to journalists across the country.

Artists, Friends Celebrate Encyclopedia of Arab American Artists Release


	(l-r): Artists Happy/L.A. Hyder, Nahda Balaa, Halla Ayla and Fayeq Oweis at the Encyclopedia of Arab American Artists book release party in Berkeley (Staff photo P. Pasquini).

A lively book release party celebrating the publication of the Encyclopedia of Arab American Artists (Artists of the American Mosaic) by San Francisco-based artist Fayeq Oweis was held at Berkeley’s Mudrakers Café Jan. 26. Zawaya, the non-profit co-founded by Nabila Mango in 2001 to promote Arab art and culture, hosted the evening event.

Published by Greenwood Press, the 350-page tome profiles some 100 artists of Arab heritage living in the United States. The Encyclopedia is an important new contribution to both the world of Arab-American art and the library of educational works on the subject.

Artists featured in the Encyclopedia range from 27-year-old painter and mixed media artist Heba Amin to 92-year-old self-taught woodworker and furniture designer Sam Maloof. In addition to individuals, two artist collectives, the House of Lebanon and the Arab Artists Collective–Detroit, also are profiled. Arranged alphabetically, the book includes artists’ biographies, 16 color images and 84 black-and-white photos. The artists’ works represent a wide variety of media, ranging from traditional painting and sculpture to modern digital art and installation pieces. War, occupation, childhood memories and the experiences of women in male-dominated societies are among the subjects that inspired the artists profiled in the book.

Although he did not feature himself in his book, Oweis is a prolific artist who designed the exterior entranceway murals and calligraphy of the interior dome of the Arab American National Museum in Dearborn, Michigan. Recently, he was co-lead designer with Susan Greene of the Palestinian Cultural Mural honoring Dr. Edward Said at San Francisco State University (see Jan./Feb. 2008 Washington Report, p. 54). The Encyclopedia is available from the publisher or at <http://www.barnesandnoble.com>. For more information visit <www.oweis.com/artists.html>.

Berkeley Women in Black Call for Ending Aid to Israel

Calling for the U.S. to discontinue financial aid to Israel until the Jewish state ends its violent acts against Palestinians, Berkeley Women in Black continue their weekly vigil near Sather Gate on the University of California at Berkeley campus. Standing at the corner of Bancroft and Telegraph for one hour on Fridays at noon as they have for nearly 20 years, the women hand out information and talk to passersby about the ongoing Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories. The group advocates equal rights for Palestinians, an end to imprisonment of adults and children without charges or trials, removal of Israel’s apartheid wall and military checkpoints, and for Jerusalem to be shared by both Israelis and Palestinians. For more information, e-mail <wibberkeley@yahoo.com>.

Elaine Pasquini is a free-lance journalist based in the San Francisco Bay Area.