Anand Jon. Syed Haris Ahmed. Ehsanul Sadequee. The first is the Indian born fashion designer (who’ve we’ve covered on Sepia before) convicted of one count of rape and 15 counts of sexual assault and sentenced yesterday to 59 plus years in prison. The second is a Pakistani-born American who was convicted of conspiring to commit terrorist acts back in June and who is set to be sentenced September 15 along with the third man, a Bangladeshi American. Besides the fact that these are three brown men accused and convicted of disparate bad deeds, they do share another thing in common – they chose to represent themselves in court.
First, Anand Jon. This case has been drama from the start. In July, after his request for a new trial was overruled, Jon fired his entire defense team and took responsibility for his own defense. While he read law books in a prison cell, his mother, sister and various supporters staged vigils for his release. And even after yesterday’s conviction, his family is continuing to press the Indian government to intervene in the case.
Sanjana had last month pleaded with the Indian government to extradite her brother for a fair trial because “being an Indian in the US, I know we won’t get justice”.
Addressing a press conference in New Delhi on Aug 18, Sanjana Jon said: “We have been subjected to racism. Even mass murderers are not treated that way, the way Anand is treated in jail.”
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Funny thing, that racism charge. Jon tried to use the same defense in court on Monday.
Jon asks Wesley if the judge will grant him a new trial if Jon can prove he received an unfair trial. Wesley says, “Let’s see what your evidence proves.”
Jon now suggests he is a victim of racial prejudice. “In March, 2007,” he says of his Beverly Hills arrest, “I found out what it means to be brown in the USA. I was called a brown sand nigger.” Jon calls the presentation he is about to make his last stand.
[Link.]
Okay, so that didn’t work. His request was overruled, he was sentenced to jail. Now on to Ahmed and Sadequee. During Ahmed’s trial, he interrupted his own defense attorney in order to give his closing statement.
Syed Haris Ahmed, charged with providing material support to terrorism in the United States and abroad, used the time to talk about his Muslim faith instead of addressing the evidence against him. “I just want to convey the message of God,” Ahmed said.
Ahmed cited verses and prayers from the Quran and spent a great deal of time comparing his religion with Christianity. “We worship the same God,” Ahmed said. Ahmed, a naturalized United States citizen who was born in Pakistan, waived his right to a jury trial so he could make the statement during closing arguments.
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And Sadequee? Following Ahmed’s lead, he chose to represent himself.
During the trial, he acted as his own lawyer, wearing a Muslim skullcap over his curly hair and engaging witnesses in occasionally odd exchanges about Superman and the antichrist
In addition to the evidence against him, the 23-year-old’s performance as his own lawyer in court may have helped seal his fate, said Evan Kohlmann, an expert witness for the prosecution. Sadequee discussed the fine points of holy war and other Islamic concepts with Kohlmann during a lengthy cross-examination. Sadequee seemed eager to discuss his radical ideas and apparently did not realize that a jury was unlikely to sympathize, said Kohlmann, who also worked as a consultant to investigators in the British trials. “I think he believed he could express these ideas eloquently enough that an American jury could see the light,” Kohlmann said. “But I don’t think there was a light to be seen. He may have convicted himself.”
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Okay, I’m only going to say this once, desi guys and gals with legal troubles: get a lawyer. Just. Get. A. Lawyer. This is not the time to fulfill that Perry Mason fantasy you’ve had since childhood. Representing yourself only works well if you’re in traffic court. (And even then, it doesn’t always work :/) Law students don’t go to school for three years for fun. And I don’t care how long you’ve been at the prison’s law library, it’s still not the same thing. It’s time to get a lawyer. Free legal advice from me to you. Thank me later.
