WHY MOUSSAOUI MAY WISH TO GO IT ALONE
By Mumia Abu-Jamal
[Col. Writ. 4/29/02]
When Zacarias Moussaoui, the French-Arab man charged in connection with the Sept. 11th, 2001 death flights into the twin towers of Manhattan, rose in a U.S. courthouse to demand his right to represent himself, and that he be let loose from the grasp of his former, court-appointed attorneys, the media's talking heads went into overdrive to bring on a plethora of legal talking heads to criticize him, with some daring to suggest he had to be insane to do so.
Rare to virtually absent was the voice that dared to state that Mr. Moussaoui had a legal, statutory, and indeed, constitutional right to do so. Rather, the pundits rose to their microphones to decry the public relations problems Mr. Moussaoui's self- representation would pose to the global image of the American judiciary.
As ever, scores of defense lawyers bum-rushed the mike, not to defend the alleged rights of the accused, but to defend the image of the courts!
Is there any wonder why Moussaoui feels a wave of disgust and distrust at U.S. "defense" lawyers?
When this writer went to school, he had the pleasure of meeting people from around the world, among them West Indians, Asians, Africans, and Arabs. I was often amazed at how well-informed many of them were about America, and how uninformed many Americans were about the rest of the world.
Perhaps he has heard a leading American lawyer advocate legalized, court-approved torture?
Perhaps he has read of the bombing of the Sudan in August, 1998, when American diplomatic and political officials falsely claimed the al-Shifa pharmaceutical plant manufactured biological weapons? (What must he have thought of the virtual silence of U.S. lawyers at this violation of international law -- what the clever Sudanese called U.S. president Clinton's 'Monica bombs'?).
Perhaps he heard of the appeals lawyer who wrote a book about his client while his appeal was in process (a clear violation of the so-called "Rules of Professional Responsibility") with impunity.
We don't really know.
But we do Mr. Moussaoui a grave injustice and a profound underestimation when we suggest he is somehow insane, or mentally imbalanced, for opting to represent himself. For Mr. Moussaoui is more than an Arab and a French citizen. He is a Black, 2nd generation Arab, who lived in the heart of a nation known for its xenophobia (witness the recent emergence of right-wing presidential candidate, Monsieur Le Pen, in France).
His brief sojourn in American cities didn't disabuse him of that notion. Where could he look in American life, culture or politics to see a living example of where lawyers were worthy of his trust? In the 2,000,000 men, women and children in prison? In the courts?
His faith (Islam) as well as his lived experience must have converged to make him feel like an alien in this land.
Foreigners see things that citizens have learned to ignore. They see things that the native-born are blind to.
What did he see?
Phantoms of the mind, or real, stark, ugly realities?
Perhaps time will tell us more.
Text © copyright 2002 by Mumia Abu-Jamal.
All rights reserved.
Reprinted by permission of the author.Share this page with a friend
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