A defense lawyer for Muhammad Salah on Wednesday called prosecutors’ motion to have an anonymous jury hear Salah’s case “outrageous,” and accused the government of trying to prejudice the jury pool and the public.
Salah of Bridgeview is accused of taking part in a conspiracy to fund terrorism in the Middle East and could go on trial in the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse in October. Prosecutors on Tuesday asked U.S. District Judge Amy St. Eve to consider seating an anonymous panel because the charges in the case “place jurors in reasonable apprehension for their safety.”
Defense attorney Michael Deutsch on Wednesday said the motion shows Salah cannot have a fair trial and those who think he can are “in a fantasy land.”
Deutsch said he would file a written response to the motion, but told St. Eve he wondered whether it would be a meaningless exercise.
“I know the court is going to agree with the government,” Deutsch said.
St. Eve called the statements unprofessional.
“You are walking a close line of contempt,” St. Eve said. “I stand behind my rulings.”
After the hearing, Deutsch said he was trying to communicate that Salah–a Palestinian and a Muslim–cannot have a fair trial in the current climate in America.
“I think this whole thing is a charade,” he said.
“And what does an anonymous jury say [to those seated on it]?” he said. “These defendants are so dangerous we can’t even tell them your names or where you live.”
Assistant U.S. Atty. Joseph Ferguson did not directly address Deutsch’s remarks, but said the motion speaks for itself.
Anonymous juries are sometimes used in the federal system in cases involving organized crime, terrorism and gangs.
Salah and three co-defendants are accused of laundering millions of dollars that went to Hamas, which now controls the Palestinian government.
St. Eve already has ruled that statements Salah allegedly made while in Israeli custody in 1993 can be used in the trial.
Defense lawyers have said they will argue those statements were coerced through physical and psychological abuse.
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jcoen@tribune.com
