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Message to all good people on the Right - and even some
good people on the Left - from the world's most Politically Incorrect
Couple:
February 13, 2003
Here is the background on the brutal arrest and detention of
my husband, Ernst Zundel, on a minor immigration violation by agents of the
INS (Immigration and Naturalization Service) and local Law Enforcement.
Specifically, Ernst is said to have missed an immigration hearing in the
spring of 2001. All the relevant information about this arrest - I call it a
law enforcement kidnapping! - is on my website, http://www.zundelsite.org
My husband is presently in jail, about to be deported to his
native Germany. There are many things I could say - but most importantly,
good people need to coalesce for public action and awareness.
I would like you to publicize this story in any way you can.
I would like you to do it responsibly and courteously. It is not in our
interest to conduct ourselves in such a way as to create a negative image of
who we are and what we do. We leave that to our enemies.
I am encountering resistance at every government level to
find out what happened and where to register our outrage. I was trying to
find out who gave the order for Ernst's arrest and have not been able to get
a reply. Right now, this is the most important task. Neither my husband, nor
I, nor local law enforcement officials have a copy of the warrant of Ernst's
Arrest!
As you contact media, government representatives, public
action groups, immigration officials, Free Speech advocates etc., please ask
the following questions and send me your feedback at
irimland@zundelsite.org
Please familiarize yourself with both the content and the
sequence of what happened - so that you can respond in an informed and
responsible way.
We are working on several strategies. I was told two days
ago by a very nasty person in the Memphis INS office that Ernst will be
deported "just as soon as Germany will take him".
Therefore, publicity about this case NOW is CRUCIAL!
The most urgent questions to be asked are:
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Who ordered this arrest? Who signed the arrest warrant?
Who signed the deportation order?
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Is it customary to arrest a person on an alleged minor
immigration violation by five (!) agents?
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What are the procedures to prevent deportation to
Germany where Ernst would be convicted and imprisoned? What are the
steps? Who should we contact?
-
What happened to the First Amendment guarantee? Are
people in America still free to speak their conscience?
Some contacts and links are given below:
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Background Information on the arrest of my husband, Ernst
Zundel
From: Ingrid Rimland Zundel, Ed.D.
February 13, 2003
Ernst Zundel is a globally known activist speaking on behalf
of the maligned and vilified World War II German generation, insisting on
fairness and historical truth. His enemies - and he has many! like to call
him nasty names - a mild one being "Holocaust denier."
Ernst has battled the Holocaust Lobby for decades and is the
man responsible for the "Leuchter
Report" - a scientific report based on a forensic investigation of
Auschwitz that puts an end to the claim that "...the Germans gassed six
million Jews."
Ernst has very powerful and money-loaded enemies. He has
survived three documented assassination attempts - an arson (1995) and two
parcel bombs (1984 and 1995). In all three cases, Jewish individuals or
groups have taken credit for these terrorist acts.
Ernst is a lifelong pacifist who scrupulously obeys the law.
He has lived in Canada since the age of 19 and in the USA for the past three
years.
Ernst is a German national. He applied for Canadian
citizenship twice, which was twice denied. He was not given any reason. This
means that he is still a German citizen.
In Germany, "Holocaust Denial" is against the law.
You can get up to five years in prison for "... defaming the memory of
the dead." Many people are in prison for "Holocaust Denial"
and thousands have been prosecuted. There is a vicious law in Germany that
prevents people from presenting the facts or even speaking of facts as they
know them and have checked them out.
I know that this latest arrest is meant to deport Ernst to
Germany on a technicality where he will be charged, sentenced and imprisoned
without being allowed a defense. Even witnesses and attorneys are charged
and punished for aiding a defendant charged with "Holocaust
denial".
Once Ernst is convicted and imprisoned, somebody will make
sure the key is thrown away.
I fear that even worse could happen and that his very life
will be in jeopardy.
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I am a naturalized US citizen of German background. I met
Ernst in 1994 and we married in January of 2000. We purchased a home in
Tennessee and have lived here quietly since the summer of 2000, trying to
build a new life for ourselves. Ernst left Canada only after a Human Rights
Tribunal ruled that "...Truth is not a defence."
After we married, we applied for permanent resident status
for Ernst in the summer of 2000. From the beginning, we engaged an
experienced, knowledgeable immigration attorney who carefully followed
procedures. Given my husband's high profile, it was and is in our interest
to cooperate with INS authorities in any way we can.
We have lived at the same address for more than two years.
My husband has an American Social Security Number, a Tennessee driver's
licence, and a work permit. He has been immunized and fingerprinted, as
requested by INS rules.
We were told that the next step would be a personal hearing
before an immigration judge, but that this could take as long as 36 months.
In May of 2001, we received a request for an immigration
hearing. Our attorney could not make it, and he requested a re-scheduling. A
copy of this request exists. It is dated May 23, 2001.
At the time, our attorney wrote to INS:
"I am in receipt of your appointment letter for the
interview concerning the application for Adjustment of Status of Mr. Zundel.
Unfortunately, I will not be able to attend this service and am requesting
that it be rescheduled...my schedule conflict(s) and I am respectfully
requesting rescheduling of this appointment."
There was no reply from INS.
Our attorney wrote again on May 6, 2002, one year later,
this time sending the letter certified. I have a copy of this letter and a
copy the return receipt; the original is kept at our attorney's office.
This time, our lawyer wrote:
"Please be so kind as to reschedule the interview that
was cancelled last year on June 12, 2001. It has been quite some time and
surely this matter can be advanced for personal interview."
Again, there was no reply from INS.
=====
My husband and I were not overly concerned, since we had
been told that procedures could take as long as 36 months. We simply awaited
instructions.
Last Wednesday, February 5, 2003, two law enforcement
officials and three INS agents showed up and bullied Ernst to sign a
document that stated that he agreed to be deported. I only found out later
what kind of document it was. It was a deportation order, "...signed
and sealed and unappealable." Yesterday, I learned that this letter was
not dated, and that the date was added after the arrest.
Ernst asked what would happen if he did not sign this
document.
He was told: "Then we'll arrest you."
"And if I sign the document?"
The answer was: "Either way. We are here to arrest
you."
I stood next to him. I don't know if he signed this paper or
if he just noted that he was under duress and protested the manner in which
this violation of his rights as a man married for three years to a US
citizen was handled.
The agents asked him to empty his pockets and lean against a
truck to be frisked, as though he were a common criminal. Next they put
handcuffs on him and took him away.
Media reports now tell me that he was arrested because he
"overstayed his visa." That is not the original reason given to us
verbally at the time of the arrest. We believe that our enemies are
switching tactics, now that they realize a paper trail of our cooperation
with INS exists.
To this day, I have not been given any copies of any
documents of any kind or written justification for this arrest. No one from
either the INS has called me and told me what will happen next. I feel that
what happened to my husband was akin to a kidnapping with the assistance of
the law.
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With much difficulty and many runarounds I finally found out
that Ernst is being held in the detension facility in Blount County, a jail
that is located about an hour from where I live. Ernst has since been able
to call me once a day. No one has contacted him or told him directly what
would happen next, not even his immigration attorney. I must assume that
roadblocks are being put in his way.
I was allowed to see Ernst once, last Saturday, after
unbelievable obstacles and many unnecessary bureaucratic hassles. I believe
that my husband is being given the "Diesel Treatment" within the
prison facility itself whereby he is moved from unit to unit so that his
visiting hours get cancelled, postponed or mixed up in administrative
procedures.
I don't know what will happen next. A spokesperson in the
Louisiana Regional INS office - I believe her name is spelled "Maow"
- told reporters that, "in layman's terms, Ernst Zundel is out of legal
immigration status", that he "might" get a hearing before a
judge "if it is appropriate", and that "he could be removed
without going to a judge."
That is an ominous statement!
Because of my husband's high political profile and the
enormous power of the Holocaust Lobby in America, I fear that his enemies
plan to whisk him out of the country to Germany just as fast as they can.
If they succeed, a conviction for "Holocaust
denial" in Germany is a foregone conclusion.
What does that mean? As a German national, not only would he
get 5 years in jail, he would be prevented from returning to America for ten
years because he would have a "criminal" record for Holocaust
denial!
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Please do all you can! Remember that faxes and letters are
more powerful than e-mail.
If you can send financial help, please do. Go to www.zundelsite.org
for instructions.
I am providing a few internet links for a start. If you
search, you will find many others. Please be creative and do all I can - but
again I ask you to conduct yourselves in such a fashion as to bring credit
to our cause.
Here are some links and numbers:
A good start for getting responsible media and action groups
involved is
GOOD LUCK! LET'S GIVE IT OUR ALL!
And thank you very much!
Ingrid
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