Arab-Americans criticized federal law enforcement officials Wednesday, saying that prosecutors have unfairly targeted them, The Detroit Free Press reported.
In a meeting at the Lebanese-American Heritage Club in Dearborn, Mich., several Arab-Americans said they were concerned by the recent prosecutions of two men: Muthana Al-Hanooti, who allegedly worked for the regime of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, and Tim Attallah, an attorney who was charged in May in connection with an investigation into a motorcycle gang.
Local, state and federal law enforcement officials attended the meeting, which was part of a statewide program called BRIDGES — Building Respect in Diverse Communities — that was founded after the Sept. 11 attacks to increase communication between the community and law enforcement.
“We’re very disturbed by what’s happened,” Suehaila Amen, a community advocate, said at the meeting.
Imad Hamad, co-chair of BRIDGES and head of the Michigan office of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, also raised the case of the death of Imam Luqman Ameen Abdullah, a Muslim leader suspected of dealing in stolen goods who was killed during a shootout with FBI agents, saying Arab-Americans “can’t help but think who could be next.”
U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan Barbara McQuade said her office does not target people based on their ethnicity.
“Our focus is on activity and not on anyone’s ethnicity,” McQade said.
“We focus on individuals involved in criminal activity or threats to national security to the United States,” Andrew Arena, special agent in charge of the Detroit FBI office, told the paper after the meeting.
Arena reiterated that the agency does not target people based on their religion or ethnicity.
“Terrorists are from all walks of life, and there are different groups out there,” Arena said.
