Man Charged With Relaying Hezbollah TV

[Paul Finkelman]

If Hezbollah is a "terrorist organization" as US declares it to be then
can this be considered aiding a terrorist organization and that it moves
from "speech" to "action."  Is the act of helping Hezbollah a form of
helping Hez. particiapte in terrorism?  I am fishing here for some
distinction between "advocacy" and action.  Perhaps there is some notion
here that spreading the word on Hez is part of fund raising for Hez.
which I think may be illegal.  But I am just reaching.

Paul Finkelman
Albany Law School

Paul Finkelman
President William McKinley Distinguished Professor of Law
     and Public Policy
Albany Law School
80 New Scotland Avenue
Albany, New York   12208-3494

518-445-3386 
pfink at albanylaw.edu
>>> "Conkle, Daniel O." <conkle at indiana.edu> 08/25/06 9:16 AM >>>
As I prepare to teach the 1st Am. law of incitement, Brandenburg, etc.,
I'm wondering what to make of the following news story.  On what theory
might the government contend that this prosecution does not violate the
1st Am.?  Is promoting the activities of a designated terrorist group
unprotected by the 1st Am. even when the promotion consists of action
that would otherwise qualify for protection?  Is intent a critical
element (which might permit distinguishing this situation from, say, a
rebroadcast of the Hezbollah programming by a mainstream news network)?
Is the claim of "conspiracy" critical?  Or is the government simply
overreaching here?
 
Dan Conkle 
************************************** 
Daniel O. Conkle 
Indiana University School of Law 
Bloomington, Indiana  47405 
(812) 855-4331 
fax (812) 855-0555 
e-mail conkle at indiana.edu 
**************************************  
 
Man Charged With Relaying Hezbollah TV 
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: August 24, 2006
NEW YORK (AP) -- A businessman was charged with providing satellite
broadcasts of a Hezbollah television station to New York-area customers,
authorities said Thursday.
Javed Iqbal, 42, was arrested Wednesday on conspiracy charges of
enabling the broadcasts of al Manar, which was designated by the U.S.
government this spring as a global terrorist entity, U.S. Attorney
Michael Garcia said in a statement.
Garcia said Iqbal used satellite dishes at his Staten Island home to
distribute the broadcasts through a Brooklyn company called HDTV
Limited.
Al Manar, launched in 1991, features news programming that promotes
Hezbollah's positions and shows statements from the terror group and
speeches from its leader.
A lawyer for Iqbal, Mustapha Ndanusa, called the accusations against his
client ''completely ridiculous'' and said he was unaware of another
instance in which someone was accused of violating U.S. laws by enabling
people to obtain news outlets with a satellite dish. . . .
. . . Prosecutor Stephen A. Miller had asked Magistrate Judge Gabriel
Gorenstein to deny bail, suggesting that more charges were imminent.
''The charge lurking in the background is material support for
terrorism,'' he said. . . .