Jailed for being a suspect’s brother

This video from the USA is called How to File a FOIA Request.

From Truthout in the USA:

From Hopeful Immigrant to FBI Informant: The Inside Story of the Other Abu Zubaidah

This is the exclusive story of two brothers. One brother was, according to the government’s narrative, dead-set on destroying America, while the other was determined to pursue the American dream.

What is it like to share a surname with an infamous alleged terrorist? Ask Hesham Abu Zubaidah, the younger brother of Zayn al-Abidin Mohamed Husayn, better known to the world as the high-value Guantanamo detainee “Abu Zubaidah,” whom the US government has for more than a decade claimed was “one of the highest-ranking members of the al-Qaeda terrorist organization” and “involved in every major terrorist operation carried out by al-Qaeda,” including the 9/11 attacks. Hesham, Truthout lead investigative reporter Jason Leopold discovered, has been living in the United States since 1998, but for more than a decade he has been paying a high price for his brother’s alleged crimes. He was locked up for two years in immigration jail after 9/11 and later recruited by the FBI as an informant to spy on Muslims. Finally, he was forced to testify against his brother before a federal grand jury in Richmond, Virginia, two years ago.

During the course of Leopold’s 14-month investigation, the FBI took the unprecedented step of sending out an agent to speak with Hesham about a Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA) request Leopold filed for Hesham’s case file to determine if Leopold coerced or bribed him into signing a form authorizing the bureau to release his records to Leopold. The revelation is the subject of a separate report published today along with FBI documents about the incident.

Read the article and watch the video interview here.

At Guantanamo Bay, the Obama administration continues to prosecute five alleged September 11 conspirators before a military commission over objections from defense attorneys regarding torture and challenges to the legitimacy of the proceedings: here.

Andrew Bacevich (USA): The Golden Age of Special Operations: here.