Loading ...What You Need to Know about Undercover Cops, Informants, and Cooperating Witnesses
The San Fransisco Bay Area’s chapter of the National Lawyer’s Guild has released a community information report that can benefit Arab Americans and Muslims. This information piece tells you what are undercover cops, informants, cooperating witnesses, and entrapment methods. The report also includes examples so community members can detect when entrapment may be happening. Since the FBI’s recent announcement to increase its recruitment of informants in Arab American communities, this information is essential to know. Read the guide on how to detect undercover agents below.
Since 9/11, (actual or perceived) Arabs and Muslims have been viewed by law enforcement as a potential threat on no basis other than religion or ethnic background. Multiple law enforcement agencies – including local police, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and a partnership of these agencies called the Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) – have diverted public resources to monitoring and entrapping* members of these communities as part of the United States’ “War on Terror.”
As part of these practices, law enforcement agencies pressure members of the targeted com- munities to engage in “community policing” to secretly assist in surveillance and entrapment of speci c individuals and organizations. Since these tactics by law enforcement are becoming more common, it is important for you to know what types of individuals may be part of community po- licing. There are three main categories of people who secretly may be collecting information for law enforcement or trying to ensnare you in illegal behavior:
Undercover Cops are police of cers who don’t identify themselves as such. They may claim to be interested in joining your social/religious/activist group, having political discussions, or worship- ing with you.
Informants are not sworn of cers employed by the government but they may be paid or coerced or provided other incentives. They are often people with ties to a community or movement or a group who can be leveraged to provide assistance.
Cooperating Witnesses are people who agree to provide information to law enforcement and testify against others usually in exchange for leniency in their own cases.
We will refer to them collectively as “undercover agents.” Here are some important things to know:
Undercover agents are commonly from within your religious, political, cultural, or ethnic communities.
Undercovers do not have to tell you that they are working for the police (even if you ask them).
Undercover agents can participate in, and even encourage, illegal activities in furtherance of a legitimate law enforcement purpose. For example, they can provide drugs or other contraband to their targets, and they can provide the means or materials to commit a crime.
Example 1: Ahmed Ferhani, an Algerian-American man, who has a long history of mental illness, was befriended by an undercover of cer of the New York Police Department (NYPD). The un- dercover of cer encouraged Ferhani to become involved in various schemes, including gun sales and purchasing cars to be exported and sold on the black market. As they became friendlier, the undercover of cer initiated conversations hostile towards zionists, and began encouraging Fer- hani to attend pro-Palestinian rallies.
Later, the undercover of cer suggested blowing up a synagogue, but Ferhani was more interest- ed in making money off gun sales. Ferhani met with another undercover of cer pretending to be a “weapons dealer.” This undercover again initiated discussion of the synagogue plans with Fer- hani. Although there is much controversy around the tactics used by the NYPD, and Ferhani’s ac- tual interest or involvement with the synagogue plans, he was arrested by the NYPD. On Decem- ber 4, 2012, he took a plea deal in which he was forced to admit guilt to nine terrorism-related charges and one hate-crime charge. In March 2013, Ferhani was sentenced to 10 years in prison. On April 7, 2016, Ferhani attempted suicide by hanging himself in Attica Correctional Facility.
Example 2: Khalil Abu Rayyan was a shy young Palestinian-American in Detroit who met a young woman online. The two became romantic and Abu Rayyan even proposed marriage at one point. The young woman also spoke of joining the Islamic State, but Abu Rayyan rebuffed such sugges- tions. The young woman was actually an FBI informant.
Abu Rayyan was arrested in February 2016 and charged with unlawful possession of a rearm, because of a gun he owned for self-defense. The FBI has not, yet, charged him with any terrorist offenses, but they are treating the case as a national security matter and have made references to Abu Rayyan’s statements about violence and the Islamic State. He rst came to the attention of the FBI because of his posts on Twitter.
Unfortunately, these stories are not unusual. The targeting of Arabs and Muslims for surveillance contributes to, and helps perpetuate, the notion that these communities are outsiders who are more threatening than any other community. But, with the involvement of undercover agents – whether in person, or online – the risk of en- trapment (whether or not there is actual criminal activity) is extremely serious, and very dif cult to challenge and prove in court.
Due to the current situation for Arabs and Mus- lims in the United States, it is important to be aware of the prevalence of surveillance and en- trapment used by law enforcement agencies and their undercover helpers.
*Entrapment: If an undercover agent induces you to commit illegal activities you were not predisposed to commit, you may be able to defend yourself against the charges by claiming that you were “entrapped”; however, this is hard to prove. Entrapment occurs when an agent or informant plants the idea to com- mit an offense in the mind of an individual who would not otherwise have been disposed to commit such an offense and then encourages or helps that individual commit the offense in order to prosecute her/him. Although courts will not convict people if they have been entrapped, it is very dif cult for people to prove that the action of undercover agents was entrapment. Undercover agents can legally suggest, encourage, and facilitate crimes and this is not considered entrapment.
For more information or support contact:
NLG-SF www.nlgsf.org (415) 285-5067 contact@nlgsf.org
AROC www.araborganizing.org 415-861-7444 info@araborganizing.org
Source: www.nlsgf.org