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    • Justice Department Investigates Hijab Removal During ASU Protest Arrests
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    Justice Department Investigates Hijab Removal During ASU Protest Arrests

    Sakege Posted on

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    The Justice Department has launched an investigation into the removal of hijabs from women who were arrested during pro-Palestinian protests in late April on the campus of Arizona State University in Tempe.

    A letter dated Oct. 2 and addressed to Phoenix attorney Zayed Al-Sayyed informed him that the Department of Justice and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona were initiating a compliance review to determine whether his federal civil rights clients were raped by the Arizona Prosecutor’s Office. State University Police and the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office.

    The letter states that the investigation will evaluate whether any of the agencies committed religious or national origin discrimination when their four clients had their religious veils removed during their arrest in the early hours of April 27 on Alumni Lawn, located off Old Main, near College Avenue. and University Unit.

    “We appreciate your clients’ willingness to speak with us and will follow up if they need additional information or clarification,” reads the letter signed by Christine Stoneman, chief of the federal enforcement and coordination section of the Justice Department’s civil division. .

    Under the direction of the sheriff’s office, officers dispersed protesters who gathered on the university’s just over 2-acre lawn, an area where prosecutors say encampments are prohibited.

    “MCSO is fully cooperating with the Department of Justice and is confident that we have not violated anyone’s civil rights in connection with this incident,” read a statement a sheriff’s office spokesperson shared with The Arizona Republic.

    ASU ‘will fully cooperate with (DOJ) review’

    A university spokesperson provided The Republic with a statement saying: “ASU has been notified of the review by the Department of Justice. We believe ASU Police took action that night in accordance with recognized law enforcement practices. “The university will cooperate fully with the review.”

    Protesters were calling for ASU to divest from Israel, the resignation of ASU President Michael Crow, the reinstatement of the suspended leftist student group MECHA from ASUand the abolition of the police. The protest was part of a nationwide wave of university demonstrations sparked by the war between Israel and Hamas. Similar protests took place at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff and the University of Arizona in Tucson.

    Al-Sayyed’s clients, three of whom were ASU students when they were arrested, are among 68 people facing charges of third-degree criminal trespass, which are Class 3 misdemeanors. Maricopa County Prosecutor , Rachel Mitchell, announced on October 9 her intention to prosecute.

    “The right to freedom of expression does not extend to violation of the law.” Mitchell said in a statement at the time. “My office now plays the equally important role of holding these people accountable for their actions.”

    His arraignment is scheduled for Monday, Al-Sayyed told The Republic on Friday. He acknowledged that the hearing date came one day before Election Day, when Mitchell is running for re-election.

    “The county attorney issued a public statement regarding the lowest level misdemeanors in our state,” Al-Sayyed said.

    In an interview with La República Days after the arrest, Al-Sayyed noted that many Muslim women wear the hijab as an expression of modesty, privacy and piety. He compared the officers’ actions to removing the tops and bottoms of women who do not wear hijab. The lawyer also claimed that the women were restrained and searched by male officers, even though female officers were present.

    “Each woman begged and pleaded and said, ‘Please, no.’ and tried to explain” the importance of the hijab to their faith, Al-Sayyed told The Republic at the time. “They tried to look for humanity in these officers, but no.”

    Al-Sayyed said his clients were detained, booked and imprisoned for 15 hours without head coverings and were released after more than 24 hours.

    ASU has yet to confirm whether its officers arrested Al-Sayyed’s clients.

    Al-Sayyed stated that the Department of Justice had been reviewing the incident since a video from April 29Initially posted on

    The Arizona chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-AZ) said in a news release Thursday that the civil rights and advocacy organization met with the Department of Justice several times about the incident involving the women who They wore hijab.

    “We are hopeful that this investigation will lead to a change in ASU police policy, allowing people to keep their religious items during processing.” read a statement from CAIR-AZ.

    Sakege
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