Farouk Abdel-Muhti: Palestinian Freedom Fighter Called For Unity Moments Before He Died

The struggle for Palestinians' human rights has lost one of its leading fighters in the US. Farouk Abdel-Muhti, a member of the Pacifica radio station WBAI family, died yesterday, apparently of a heart attack, while he was giving a speech last night in Philadelphia. In his speech, he called for unity among groups fighting for social justice. His death comes just three months after he was released from jail where he was detained for two years without charge. He was 57 years old.
Farouk Adbel-Muhti was born in 1947 in Ramallah, a Palestinian city in the occupied West Bank of Jordan. Like many Palestinians, Farouk lived the uprooted life of a stateless refugee, traveling from country to country until finally settling in New York in the 1970s. He made it his home and has lived there ever since.

He came to the attention of immigration officials in the mid-1970s after overstaying his visa. An immigration judge ordered him deported, however, there was no way to carry out the deportation, since the West Bank was now controlled by Israel, which did not allow the return of people who left the Palestinian territories before the Israeli occupation of 1967.

Farouk continued to live openly in the New York area, engaging in a number of public political activities, with a focus on Palestinian rights and issues relating to immigration and Latin America.

In March 2002, Farouk began working regularly at Pacifica Radio station WBAI. He used his contacts to arrange interviews with Palestinians in the Occupied Territories on the morning radio program "Wake-Up Call."

One month later, three New York police officers and an INS agent, all in civilian dress, came to his Queens apartment without a warrant. They claimed they wanted to ask Farouk some questions about September 11th. They said they believed there were weapons and explosives in the apartment. When Farouk's roommate, Bernard McFall refused to open the door, they threatened to break it down, entering without a warrant.

But Farouk wasn't at home because he was at an early morning interview at WBAI. He learned of the raid from his roommate and his son, Tariq.

Farouk was detained on April 26, 2002 and jailed in various facilities around the country for two years. He was never charged with a crime. He was often held in solitary confinement, subjected to extensive interrogation, and often denied food. His health was failing but he remained handcuffed and shackled whenever he went to the health clinic. Two years after his detention, a federal judge ordered Farouk to be deported, charged or released. He walked out of prison on April 12, 2004.

Last night, after giving a speech at the Ethical Society in Philadelphia, Farouk's head fell to the table. He collapsed and died shortly afterwards.

LISTEN TO AUDIO
(and links to previous interviews with Farouk)
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=04/07/22/1349215