(WASHINGTON D.C., 9/2/2021) – The Kentucky chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Kentucky) today supported moving two federal trials from a district in which a state prosecutor made a racist remark.
Two Louisville criminal lawyers have asked that two federal drug trials be moved from Kentucky’s Eastern District, where the commonwealth’s attorney for Knox and Laurel counties referred to Black people as “colored” during the trial of one of their clients in 2018. The lawyers said their two defendants, both Black, would be “denied due process of law and a fundamentally fair trial” in the district. The federal district judge presiding over the cases gave the government until Sept. 6 to respond to the motion.
SEE: Kentucky Lawyers Seek Trial Move After Prosecutor’s ‘Racist’ Remark
In a statement, CAIR-Kentucky Chair Salah Shakir said:
“The threat to justice posed by trying the two defendants in this district must not be ignored. We support moving the trials and urge the state to grant the motion. All Americans are entitled to due process and a fair trial, and it is the responsibility of the government to ensure that this right is protected.”
Shakir said the American Muslim community and CAIR stand in solidarity with all those challenging anti-Black racism, xenophobia, Islamophobia, anti-Semitism, white supremacy, and all other forms of bigotry.
SEE: CAIR Concerned About Passage of N.C. Bill Targeting Anti-Racism Teaching, Supports Removal of N.C. Confederate Statue
CAIR’s mission is to protect civil rights, enhance understanding of Islam, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.
La misión de CAIR es proteger las libertades civiles, mejorar la comprensión del Islam, promover la justicia, y empoderar a los musulmanes en los Estados Unidos.
Become a Fan of CAIR on Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/CAIRNational
Subscribe to CAIR’s Email List
https://action.cair.com/a/newsletters
Subscribe to CAIR’s Twitter Feed
http://twitter.com/cairnational
Subscribe to CAIR’s YouTube Channel
Follow CAIR on Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/cair_national/
Donate to CAIR
https://action.cair.com/a/donate
Do you like reading CAIR press releases and taking part in our action alerts? You can help contribute to CAIR’s work of defending civil rights and empowering American Muslims across the country by making a one-time contribution or becoming a monthly donor. Supporters like you make CAIR’s advocacy work possible and defeating Islamophobia an achievable goal. Click here to donate to CAIR.
If you would like join CAIR’s media list, please sign up here: https://action.cair.com/a/newsletters — For more information, email: info@cair.com, CC ihooper@cair.com
END
CONTACT: CAIR-Kentucky Chair Salah Shakir, (859) 545-0651, sshakir@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, ihooper@cair.com