Group Accuses Media Of Convicting Terror Suspects
Posted June 8, 2006 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Have you already made up your mind about the guilt or innocence of the terror suspects?
A Toronto based group fears the worldwide attention given to the 17 terror suspects has already made up most people’s minds about whether they were truly planning an attack or not.
The Concerned Citizens’ Group worries the men charged have already been convicted in the minds of the public despite the fact there’s been no hard evidence presented in court.
“If you read any newspaper story, it appears that it’s a fate accompli,” complains Amina Shirazee. “That the apparent evidence that was shown at the press conference is the actual evidence. That’s not the case. There has been no criticism of that.”
Shirazee is the wife of Rocco Galati, an attorney for several of the suspects and a human rights lawyer in her own right.
She claims her group’s concerns were raised because law enforcement authorities have spent more time trying to shape public opinion than producing actual proof of their allegations.
And she accuses the media of spreading the hysteria with use of the term “homegrown terrorists.”
The story is almost impossible to escape no matter where you go.
The arrests have drawn the attention of the press around the world, making headlines not only in Canada and the U.S., but the Middle East, Europe, Australia and China.