January 20, 2002	Sunday	Ziqa’ad 5, 1422

LOS ANGELES, Jan 18: Last month, federal agents raided the suburban Chicago offices of Global Relief Foundation, a Muslim charity. They carted away files, froze bank accounts and put the charity’s founder in jail, where he awaits deportation on immigration charges.

The charity is “suspected of funding terrorist activities linked to AL-Qaeda and other associated groups,” said Tasia Scolinos, a Treasury Department spokeswoman. It is under investigation, he said.

Under authority of the Patriot Act, the expansive new anti- terrorism law enacted in response to the Sept 11 attacks, no further public explanation is required. A federal judge issued a criminal search warrant against Global Relief, but the government’s reasons for raiding the charity on Dec 14 remain under seal.

“They’ve said nothing to us except that they have a reason for what they did, and it’s classified,” Global Relief’s attorney, Roger Simmons told Dawn. Civil libertarians are watching cases like Global Relief closely for signs the government will not abuse its new powers. Simmons has mounted an energetic campaign to clear the charity’s name. He has already sued the New York Times, ABC News, the Associated Press and other news organizations for reporting on the charity’s alleged ties to Osama bin Laden.

And he has chastised the government for, he says, trying to scare donors away from Global Relief on the basis of classified information the charity cannot view or rebut. Simmons has written to Rob Nichols, a Treasury Department spokesman, protesting Nichols’ Dec. 26 statement on National Public Radio that “clear, credible information that we simply cannot share with you” suggests Global Relief funds terrorism.

“I don’t believe donors now armed with this information will be providing a lot of resources to these entities,” Nichols said in the interview.