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Hassiba Belbachir Campaign
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Remembering Hassiba Belbachir
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(9/17) Nearly 50 people gathered at the Muslim Community Center on the city's north side to mark the six-month anniversary of Hassiba Belbachir's death at the McHenry County Adult Correctional Facility. Mrs. Zahia Belbachir, speaking through a translator, gave a moving and emotional tribute to her sister, celebrating Hassiba's bubbly personality and deep love for her family. Zahia Belbachir vowed to never stop seeking answers or justice for her younger sister.
MCC President Mohammad Kaiseruddin began the remembrance event with a few words, then Ms. Muneer Aliuddin, the Council's Director of Outreach brought the audience up to date on the case. Ms. Claudia Valenzuela, an attorney who represents individuals detained by the Department of Homeland Security, and works at the Midwest Immigrant and Human Rights Center (MIHRC), discussed the topic of immigrants and prison abuse. CAIR-Chicago's Civil Rights Coordinator, Ms. Christina Abraham, presented some cases on Muslim detainee abuse that have been reported to her office. Council Chairman Abdul Malik Mujahid reminded the audience that Muslims in America must work to seek justice and redress societal wrongs and racial discrimination, as other racial and religious minority communities have done before. He linked the phenomenon of an increasing prison population, detainee abuse with the mysterious death of Hassiba Belbachir.
Hassiba Belbachir, an Algerian national, had been awaiting immigration hearings, and was held for only 10 days before she died under circumstances not yet made clear. While prison officials have ruled her death a suicide earlier this summer, Ms. Belbachir's family strongly disagrees with this verdict and has asked the federal government to launch an investigation into the death of their sister's death.
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