UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF OREGON
AL-HARAMAIN ISLAMIC FOUNDATION, INC., an Oregon Nonprofit Corporation,
WENDELL BELEW, a U.S. Citizen and Attorney at Law, and ASIM GHAFOOR,
a U.S. Citizen and Attorney at Law,
Plaintiffs,
vs.
GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States; NATIONAL SECURITY
AGENCY and KEITH B. ALEXANDER, its Director; OFFICE OF FOREIGN ASSETS
CONTROL, an office of the United States Treasury and ROBERT W. WERNER,
its Director; FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION and ROBERT S. MUELLER
III, its Director,
Defendants.
COMPLAINT
(Violations of Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, Separation
of Powers, Fourth Amendment, First Amendment, Sixth Amendment, and
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights)
INTRODUCTION
1. This is an action for injunctive relief and for damages seeking an
order that would require defendants and their agents to halt an illegal
and unconstitutional program of electronic surveillance of United
States citizens and entities. This action also seeks to enjoin the use of
evidence obtained through this surveillance in the proceeding in
which defendant Office of Foreign Assets Control has designated plaintiff
Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation, Inc. ("AlHaramain Oregon"), as a
terrorist organization.
2. Defendants have engaged in electronic surveillance of plaintiffs
without court orders, which surveillance is contrary to clear statutory
mandates provided in the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, SO
U.S.C. § 1801-62 ("FISA"), and to provisions of the United States
Constitution as well as a treaty entered into thereunder.
3. Defendants have used illegal surveillance to harm plaintiffs
in manners set forth more specifically in the body of this Complaint.
PARTIES
4. Plaintiff Al-Haramain Oregon is an Oregon nonprofit corporation
whose headquarters were established in Ashland, Oregon. Plaintiff
currently owns real property in Ashland, Oregon, and in Springfield,
Missouri.
5. Plaintiff Wendell Belew is a citizen of the United States
and an attorney at law who has had business and other relationships
with plaintiff Al-Haramain Oregon.
6. Plaintiff Asim Ghafoor is a citizen of the United States and
an attorney at law who has had business and other relationships with
plaintiff Al-Haramain Oregon.
7. Defendant George W. Bush is President of the United States.
8. Defendant National Security Agency is an agency of the United
States.
9. Defendant Keith B. Alexander is Director of defendant National
Security Agency.
10. Defendant Office of Foreign Assets Control is an office of
the Department of the Treasury of the United States.
11. Defendant Robert W. Werner is Director of the Office of Foreign
Assts Control.
12. Defendant Federal Bureau of Investigation is a federal police
and intelligence agency.
13. Defendant Robert S. Mueller III is Director of the Federal
Bureau of Investigation.
JURISDICTION AND VENUE
14. This court has jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1331.
15. The United States District Court for the District of Oregon
is a proper venue of this action insofar as one of the plaintiffs
is an Oregon corporation that owns real property in this jurisdiction.
In addition, defendants' actions caused harm in this District.
STATEMENT OF FACTS
16. In February 2004, defendant Office of Foreign Assets Control
froze the assets of plaintiff Al-Haramain Oregon pending an investigation
into whether that plaintiff was engaged in activities related to
terrorism.
17. At the time of the freezing of the assets, plaintiff Al-Haramain
Oregon was affiliated with and supported by Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation
(hereafter "Al-Haramain Saudi Arabia"), a charity located in, and
controlled by individuals residing in, Saudi Arabia.
18. On information and belief, the decision to freeze plaintiff
Al-Haramain Oregon's assets was based upon warrantless electronic
surveillance of communications between a director or directors of
AI-Haramain Oregon and plaintiffs Belew and Ghafoor.
19. In March and April, 2004, defendant National Security Agency
targeted, and engaged in electronic surveillance of communications
between, a director or directors of plaintiff Al-Haramain Oregon
and plaintiffs Belew and Ghafoor. Defendant National Security Agency
did not obtain a court order authorizing such electronic surveillance
nor did it otherwise follow the procedures mandated by FISA.
20. In May 2004, defendant National Security Agency turned over
to defendant United States Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control
logs of the conversations specified in the preceding paragraph.
21. Defendant Office of Foreign Assets Control relied upon the
logs obtained without a warrant in designating plaintiff Al-Haramain
Oregon as a "specially designated global terrorist" in September
2004. Al-Haramain Saudi Arabia was not and has never been designated
as a terrorist organization.
22. Designation of plaintiff Al-Haramain Oregon as a "specially
designated global terrorist" has resulted in severe financial hardship
and other harms being visited upon plaintiff.
23. Al-Haramain Saudi Arabia was dissolved by order of the Kingdom
of Saudi Arabia in the winter or spring of 2004 and has not carried
out activities since that date.
24. As a result of defendants' actions, plaintiff Al-Haramain
Oregon has been irreparably damaged insofar as its assets have been
frozen, preventing it from engaging in the charitable and humanitarian
efforts for which it was organized.
25. As a result of defendants' actions, plaintiffs Belew and Ghafoor
have been irreparably damaged insofar as their abilities to represent
their clients have been hindered and interfered with, and have been
chilled, by defendants' illegal and unconstitutional actions.
FIRST CLAIM FOR RELIEF (Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act)
26. Plaintiffs incorporate by reference each and every allegation
in the preceding paragraphs as if set forth fully herein.
27. Defendants' engagement in electronic surveillance to monitor
conversations between and among plaintiffs as targeted persons without
obtaining prior court authorization, and defendants' subsequent use
of the information obtained against plaintiffs, is in violation of
the civil and criminal provisions of FISA. As a result, all evidence
obtained by this illegal surveillance must be suppressed pursuant
to 50 USC § 1806(g). Further, plaintiffs are entitled to liquidated
and punitive damages pursuant to 50 USC § 1810.
SECOND CLAIM FOR RELIEF (Separation of Powers)
28. Plaintiffs incorporate by reference each and every allegation
in the preceding paragraphs as if set forth fully herein.
29. By carrying out their program of unlawful warrantless surveillance,
defendants have acted in excess of the President's Article II authority
(i) by failing to take care to execute the laws, and instead have
violated those laws, (ii) by acting in contravention of clear statutory
dictates in an area in which Congress has Article I authority to
regulate, and (iii) by engaging in the conduct described above where
Congress has specifically prohibited the President and other defendants
from engaging in such conduct.
THIRD CLAIM FOR RELIEF (Fourth Amendment Violations)
30. Plaintiffs incorporate by reference each and every allegation
in the preceding paragraphs as if set forth fully herein.
31. Defendants have carried out unreasonable surveillance of plaintiffs'
private telephone, email, and other electronic communications without
probable cause or warrants in violation of the Fourth Amendment to
the United States Constitution.
FOURTH CLAIM FOR RELIEF (First Amendment Violations)
32. Plaintiffs incorporate by reference each and every allegation
in the preceding paragraphs as if set forth fully herein.
33. Defendants, by carrying out and/or asserting the right to
carry out their program of unlawful warrantless surveillance, have
impaired plaintiff Al-Haramain Oregon's ability to obtain legal advice,
to join together for the purpose of legal and religious activity,
to freely form attorney-client relationships, and to petition the
government of the United States for redress of grievances, all of
which are modes of expression and association protected under the
First Amendment of the United States Constitution.
FIFTH CLAIM FOR RELIEF (Sixth Amendment Violations)
34. Plaintiffs incorporate by reference each and every allegation
in the preceding paragraphs as i f set forth fully herein.
35. Defendants have impaired plaintiffs' ability to obtain and
provide legal advice by carrying out unreasonable surveillance of
plaintiffs' private telephone, email, and other electronic communications
without probable cause or warrants in violation oŁ the Sixth Amendment
to the United States Constitution.
SIXTH CLAIM FOR RELIEF
(Violation of International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights)
36. Plaintiffs incorporate by reference each and every allegation
in the preceding paragraphs as if set forth fully herein.
37. On June 25, 2002, the United States Congress ratified the
International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of
Terrorism ("Convention"). Article 17 of the Convention requires the
United States to comply with international human rights law in "any
measures" taken pursuant to the Convention. One of the measures pursuant
to the Convention is the International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights ("International Covenant") which guarantees the right to privacy.
Article 17 of the International Covenant provides:
1. No one shall be subjected to arbitrary or unlawful interference
with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to unlawful
attacks on his honour and reputation.
2. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against
such interference or attacks.
PRAYER FOR RELIEF
Plaintiffs respectfully request that the Court:
l. Declare that defendants' warrantless surveillance of plaintiffs
is unlawful and unconstitutional. and enjoin any such warrantless
surveillance;
2. Order defendants to disclose to plaintiffs all unlawful surveillance
of plaintiffs' communications carried out pursuant to the illegal program;
3. Order defendants to turn over to plaintiffs all information
and records in their possession relating to plaintiffs that were
acquired through the warrantless surveillance program or were the
fruit of surveillance under the program, and subsequently destroy
and make no further use of any such information and records in defendants'
possession;
4. Order defendant Office of Foreign Assets Control to purge all
information acquired from such program from its files, as well as
all fruits of such information and make no further use of any such
information;
5. Award plaintiffs individually liquidated damages of $1,000
or $100 per day for each violation as specified in the Foreign Intelligence
Surveillance Act;
6. Award plaintiffs individually punitive damages of $1,000,000;
7. Award costs, including an award of attorneys' fees under the
Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act;
8. Award costs, including an award of attorneys' fees under the
Equal Access to Justice Act, 28 U.S.C. § 2412(d)(1)(A);
9. Award such other relief as the Court may deem just and proper.
DATED: February 28, 2006
Respectfully submitted,
Thomas H. Nelson, OSB 78315
Zaha S. Hassan, OSB 97032
<http://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/graphics/motion.pdf>
<http://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/articles/060321/21oregon.htm>
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