Lawyers at ‘town hall': UC Muslims will appeal

The UC Muslim students found guilty Friday gathered at a “town hall” meeting along with their supporters at a local mosque on Sunday to talk about the verdicts against the 10 students, while their attorneys promised to send the case to the highest courts, if necessary.

“We’re going to stand up and fight this,” attorney Jacqueline Goodman said, “even if it means going to the Supreme Court.”

A jury on Friday found 10 Muslim university students guilty of disrupting a speech by Michael Oren, the Israeli ambassador to the United States, at UC Irvine last year, in a case that focused on free speech.

“First Amendment rights belong to everybody,” District Attorney Tony Rackauckas said after last week’s verdicts. “We will not tolerate a small group wanting to shut down speeches on a campus or anyplace.”

Sunday’s town hall was hosted by the Islamic Institute of Orange County.

“This case,” IIOC President Samer Soubra told the crowd of about 250, “will affect my children, your children and all generations to come.”

Eight of the convicted students stood in front of the crowd, thanking their supporters and talking about their experiences.

Taher Herzallah held up books by civil rights activists Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr., saying they were his inspiration.

“After the verdict, my mother still thought I was going to go to jail. She made me promise not to protest for a year,” Herzallah said.

Asaad Traina, still a student at UCI, talked about how he missed his first day of classes because he was in court on Friday.

Mohamed Abdelgany said activism is a part of higher education.

“We’re upset about what the verdict was, and we hope to do something in the near future about it, but we’re OK,” he told the crowd. “If we don’t stand by our principles, our lives are hollow shells.”

Mohammad Qureashi stood up and apologized to the gathering.

“I’m really bad at public speaking,” he said. He paused, then added: “But I guess I was really good in front of (Israeli Ambassador) Michael Oren!”

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