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July 18, 2007
Judge clears Muslim store owner,
cites potential FBI wrongdoing
OVILLE, Calif.—A Butte County judge has dismissed the case against a Chico market owner who was accused of purchasing stolen cigarettes, saying it appeared the charges were a way for the FBI to question the owner about terrorism.
"A reasonable person could draw the conclusion that this ABC undercover operation was a subterfuge for an FBI anti-terrorism investigation," Superior Court Judge Steven J. Howell wrote in a three-page opinion issued Tuesday.
Bilal Abdul Yasin, his brother Muwaiia Abdulra Yasin, 35, and a co-worker, Alberto Cabrera, 39, were arrested in March 2005 for allegedly purchasing dozens of cartons of cigarettes from an undercover agent with the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control who said the cigarettes were stolen, prosecutors said.
However, once they were arrested, FBI agents questioned Bilal Yasin about connections to his Palestinian homeland, his Muslim religion, his relationship with other Middle Eastern shopkeepers in Butte County and whether he sent money to terrorist groups, according to testimony he gave during the trial.
The FBI not only provided the initial tip that led to the ABC sting, it installed a surveillance camera across the street from the Chico neighborhood market months earlier.
In his three-page ruling, Howell said the FBI refused to turn over court-ordered documents which could have provided Bilal Yasin a fair trial.
In dismissing multiple counts of attempted receiving stolen property Tuesday, the judge said testimony in the case suggested the real focus of the investigation was not about cigarettes, but the store owner's "connection to his Palestinian homeland, his practice of the Muslim religion, and relationship with other Middle Eastern shopkeepers in Butte County.
On the witness stand, Bilal Yasin testified a federal agent questioned him at length about his religious beliefs and whether he had provided money or other support to such terrorist groups in Palestine as Hamas.
According to Yasin's attorney, Denny Forland, the FBI used the sting to obtain a search warrant to seize thousands of dollars in cash from Yasin's home and store, along with his personal computer, CD disks and Arabic mail.
Jodea Foster, Muwaiia Abdulra Yasin's attorney, who researched and brought the legal motion that led to Tuesday's dismissal, said the case demonstrates the importance of the checks and balances provided in a three-branched form of government.
"I'm happy that the courts are still available to citizens of the United States, when the executive branch of our government oversteps its power," the defense attorney observed.
Though grateful the charges were dropped, Bilal Yasin said the surrounding publicity damaged his reputation and has left him struggling to stay in business.
(Mercury News & Chico Enterprise-Record)
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