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Appeals court upholds dismissal of suit against news organizations (Islamic "Charity" Civil Suit)
CBS 2 Chicago ^ | December 2, 2004 | MIKE ROBINSON

Posted on 12/01/2004 5:10:29 PM PST by Land_of_Lincoln_John

CHICAGO (AP) An appeals court Wednesday upheld the dismissal of an Islamic charity's civil suit accusing six news organizations and eight journalists of defaming the charity by reporting that it was under investigation for possible terrorist ties.

The 33-page opinion by the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals brushed aside claims by Global Relief Foundation based in suburban Bridgeview that there were serious doubts about whether the government could prove that it had ever supported terrorism.

The news organizations, including The Associated Press, never wrote that the group had ties to terrorism but only that it was under investigation for possible ties.

``Whether the government was justified in its probe is irrelevant to the defamation claims when these media defendants accurately reported on the investigation, itself,'' Judge Ilana Diamond Rovner wrote in her opinion.

In dismissing the suit in February 2003, U.S. District Judge David Coar cited an affidavit signed by FBI Special Agent Brent E. Potter saying the government was investigating Global Relief for ``its possible ties to terrorist organizations, including al-Qaida, and its possible support of terrorist activities.''

He cited a similar statement by R. Richard Newcomb, director of the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control, saying Global Relief had been under investigation for possible terrorist ties at least since September 2001.

The government's FBI-led Chicago anti-terrorism task force raided the group's Bridgeview offices on Dec. 14, 2001, and confiscated an array of records. The same day, the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control froze its bank accounts.

Reached at his Maryland law office, Global Relief attorney Roger Simmons said: ``I haven't seen the opinion yet, so I can't say much. I am disappointed.''

Global Relief has consistently denied that it supports terrorism and said that it raises funds for Muslim charities around the world.

While the appeals court did say some reports may have contained technical errors that did not justify a finding against the defendants because the stories were substantially true.

``Substantial truth is an important concept,'' said Michael Conway, an attorney who represented The New York Times, the Boston Globe and the New York Daily News. The appeals court said of an Oct. 5, 2001, AP article: ``We need not spend much time analyzing this article because as should already be clear this report was literally and absolutely true.''

The other news organizations named as defendants were the American Broadcasting Companies Inc. and Hearst Communications Inc.


TOPICS: News/Current Events; US: Illinois
KEYWORDS: 200110; 20011005; abc; ap; associatedpress; bostonglobe; globalrelief; grf; hearst; islam; islamiccharities; islamiccharity; lawsuit; muslims; newyorktimes; nydailynews; nytimes; terrorcharities; terrorcharity

1 posted on 12/01/2004 5:10:30 PM PST by Land_of_Lincoln_John
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To: Land_of_Lincoln_John

Good


2 posted on 12/01/2004 5:16:06 PM PST by fml
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To: Land_of_Lincoln_John

Now Deport them!


3 posted on 12/01/2004 5:22:29 PM PST by 26lemoncharlie (Defending America)
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To: Land_of_Lincoln_John
I remember the news video of interviews of the Muslims there after the raid. The eyes of hatred staring at you, the anti-Amercanism, etc.
4 posted on 12/01/2004 6:24:48 PM PST by endthematrix ("Hey, it didn't hit a bone, Colonel. Do you think I can go back?" - U.S. Marine)
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To: Land_of_Lincoln_John

A couple of the people involved with the operation at Global Relief are also ranking members of CAIR.


5 posted on 02/16/2006 1:16:14 AM PST by piasa (Attitude Adjustments Offered Here Free of Charge)
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