ZGram - 2/11/2003 - "Zundel Arrest - Some facts you must know!"
irimland@zundelsite.org
irimland@zundelsite.org
Tue, 11 Feb 2003 12:48:17 -0800
ZGram - Where Truth is Destiny
=46ebruary 11, 2003
Good Morning from the Zundelsite:
I am sorry I could not get anything out to my readers yesterday and
only now at least some partial information. I am walking around the
house with three telephones hanging from my belt! The calls are
simply non-stop!
I am encountering resistance at every government level. I was trying
to find out who gave the order for Ernst's arrest and have not been
able to get a reply. I am working on it, and just as soon as I have
contact numbers, I'll send them to you to put some heat where it
belongs.
Meanwhile, please familiarize yourself with both the content and the
sequence of what happened - so that, when I send you names and
addresses to contact, you can respond in an informed and responsible
way.
We are working on several strategies. I was told this morning by a
very nasty person in the Memphis INS office that Ernst will be
deported just as soon as they can manage.
Therefore, publicity about this case NOW is CRUCIAL!
You'll say: But where? Start on your own. Call your own
representative. Ask what happened to freedom of speech. Call the
ACLU.
Ask why the borders, both north and south, remain porous letting in
millions of undocumented foreigners, =1Fwhile someone like Ernst
Z=FCndel, living quietly and peacefully, gets harassed. Be creative.
And just as soon as I find out, I will send you contact names and
numbers.
=46or a start, try links and emails on the First Amendment Cyber Tribune. =
=1F
http://w3.trib.com/FACT/
The most urgent questions to be asked are:
* Who ordered this arrest? Who signed the deportation order?
* Is it customary to arrest a person on an alleged minor
immigration violation by five (!) agents?
* What are the procedures to prevent deportation to Germany where
Ernst would be convicted and imprisoned? What are the steps? Who
should we contact?
* What happened to the First Amendment guarantee? Are people in
America still free to speak their conscience?
Some things are clearer now then they were even one or two days
before. Here is update the information you must know:
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Background Information on the arrest of my husband, Ernst Zundel
=46rom: Ingrid Rimland Zundel
=46ebruary 11, 2003
Ernst Zundel is a globally known activist speaking on behalf of the
maligned and vilified World War II German generation, insisting on
fairness and historical truth. His enemies like to call him names -
a mild one being "Holocaust denier."
Ernst has battled the Holocaust Lobby for decades and is the man
responsible for the "Leuchter Report" - a scientific report based on
a forensic investigation of Auschwitz that puts an end to the claim
that "...the Germans gassed six million Jews."
Ernst has very powerful and nasty enemies. He has survived three
documented assassination attempts - a paid-for arson (1995) and two
parcel bombs (1984 and 1995). He is a lifelong pacifist who
scrupulously obeys the law.
Ernst is a German national who lived in Canada for 42 years. He
applied for citizenship twice, and was twice denied. He was not
given any reason. This means that he is still a German citizen.
In Germany, "Holocaust Denial" is against the law. You can get up to
five years in prison for "... defaming the memory of the dead." Many
people are in prison for "holocaust denial" and thousands have been
prosecuted. This is a vicious law in Germany that prevents people
from presenting the facts or even speaking of facts as they know them
and have checked them out.
I know that this latest arrest is meant to deport Ernst to Germany on
a technicality where he will be charged, sentenced and imprisoned
without being allowed a defense - even witnesses and attorneys are
charged and punished for aiding a defendant charged with "Holocaust
denial".
Once Ernst is convicted and imprisoned, somebody will make sure the
key is thrown away.
I fear that even worse could happen and that his very life will be in jeopar=
dy.
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I am a naturalized US citizen of German background. I met Ernst in
1994 and we married in January of 2000. We purchased a home in
Tennessee and have lived here quietly since the summer of 2000,
trying to build a new life for ourselves.
After we married, we applied for permanent resident status for Ernst.
=46rom the beginning, we engaged a reputable, knowledgeable immigration
attorney who carefully followed procedures. Given my husband's high
profile, it was and is in our interest to cooperate in any way we can.
We have lived at the same address for more than two years. We are
listed in the telephone book. My husband has an American Social
Security Number, a Tennessee driver's licence, and a work permit. He
has been vaccinated and fingerprinted, as requested by INS.
We were told that the next step would be a personal hearing before an
immigration judge, but that this could take as long as 36 months.
In May of 2001, we received a request for an immigration hearing.
Our attorney could not make it, and he requested a re-scheduling. A
copy of this request exists. It is dated May 23, 2001.
Our attorney wrote to INS:
"I am in receipt of your appointment letter for the interview
concerning the application for Adjustment of Status of Mr. Zundel.
Unfortunately, I will not be able to attend this service and am
requesting that it be rescheduled...my schedule conflict(s) and I am
respectfully requesting rescheduling of this appointment."
There was no reply from INS.
Our attorney wrote again on May 6, 2002, one year later, this time
sending the letter certified. I have a copy of this letter and a
copy the return receipt; the original is kept at our attorney's
office.
This time, our lawyer wrote:
"Please be so kind as to reschedule the interview that was cancelled
last year on June 12, 2001. It has been quite some time and surely
this matter can be advanced for personal interview."
Again, there was no reply from INS.
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My husband and I were not overly concerned, since we had been told
that procedures could take as long as 36 months. We simply awaited
instructions.
Last Wednesday, 5 INS agents showed up and bullied Ernst to sign a
document that stated he agreed to be deported. I only found out
later what kind of document it was. It was a deportation order,
"...signed and sealed and unappealable."
Ernst asked what would happen if he did not sign this document.
He was told: "Then we'll arrest you."
"And if I sign the document?"
The answer was: "Either way. We are here to arrest you."
I stood next to him. I don't know if he signed this paper or if he
just noted that he was under duress and protested the manner in which
this violation of his rights as a man married for three years to a US
citizen was handled.
The agents asked him to empty his pockets and lean against a truck to
be frisked, as though he were a common criminal. Next they put
handcuffs on him and took him away.
Media reports now tell me that he was arrested because he "overstayed
his visa."
I was not given any copies of any documents or justification for
this arrest. No one from either the INS or the local sheriff's
office has called me as of 9:00 a.m. this morning, Feb. 11, and told
me what will happen next. I feel that what happened to my husband
was akin to a kidnapping with the assistance of the law.
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With much difficulty and many runarounds I finally found out that
Ernst is being held in the detention facility in Blount county, a
jail that is located about an hour from where I live. Ernst has
since been able to call me once a day. No one has contacted him or
told him what would happen next, not even his attorney. I must
assume that roadblocks are being put in his way.
I was allowed to see Ernst once, last Saturday, after unbelievable
obstacles and many unnecessary bureaucratic hassles. I believe that
my husband is being given the "Diesel Treatment" within the prison
facility itself whereby he is moved from unit to unit so that his
visiting hours get cancelled, postponed or mixed up in administrative
procedures.
I don't know what will happen next. A spokesperson in the Louisiana
Regional INS office - I believe her name is spelled "Maow" - told
reporters that, "in layman's terms, that Ernst Zundel is out of legal
immigration status", that he might get a hearing before a judge "if
it is appropriate", and that "he could be removed without going to a
judge."
That is an ominous statement!
Because of my husband's high political profile and the enormous power
of the Holocaust Lobby in America, I fear that his enemies plan to
whisk him out of the country to Germany just as fast as they can.
If they succeed, a conviction for "Holocaust denial" in Germany is a
foregone conclusion.
What does that mean? Not only would he get 5 years in jail, he would
be prevented from returning to America for ten years because he would
have a "criminal" record for Holocaust denial!
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Thank you very much!
Ingrid Rimland