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ACLU Sues to Stop FBI Interviews of Arabs and Muslims

By Jeralyn, Section War on Terror
Posted on Fri Oct 22, 2004 at 09:30:22 AM EST
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The FBI has been interviewing Arabs and Muslims as part of a plan to thwart anticipated pre-election day terror attacks. The ACLU filed suit this week to stop the interviews.

The ACLU suit, filed Thursday, is seeking internal documents under the Freedom of Information Act to find out whether the government is protecting the constitutional rights of the subjects of its unannounced interviews at homes, workplaces and mosques. "We are trying to get much greater sunshine over these activities," said ACLU attorney John Crew.

The F.B.I. says the interviews are voluntary, but how many people feel free to say "no comment" when the F.B.I. shows up at your door unannounced?

The ACLU wants to know how the FBI selects these interviewees.

"These random interviews or interrogations raise the concern that the FBI and the Joint Terrorism Task Forces operating in Northern California are infringing upon the civil rights and civil liberties of immigrants, U.S. citizens and organizations by interrogating them without any valid basis, rationale, or individualized suspicion for doing so," the ACLU's FOIA request says.

It's not just limited to residences. The FBI has also been approaching people at mosques. So far, according to the FBI, 13,000 people have been interviewed. The ACLU says the rights of both citizens and immigrants may be violated by the interviews.

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