(SACRAMENTO, CA, 8/11/19) – On Sunday, Aug. 11, the Sacramento Valley office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-SV) will join Hamid Hayat, a Lodi resident whose 2006 terrorism-related conviction and sentence were recently overturned, his family and his legal team for a press conference during Eid ul-Adha celebrations.
WHAT: Press Conference to welcome Hamid Hayat home during Tarbiya Institute’s Sacramento Grand Eid celebration.
WHEN: Sunday, Aug. 11; press setup at 9:15 a.m., services start at 9:30 a.m. and press conference at 10:30 a.m.
WHERE: Jackson Sports Academy, 5209 Luce Ave., Suite A, Mcclellan Park, CA 95652
LIVESTREAM: CAIR-Sacramento Valley Facebook page
NOTE: Please dress modestly to respect the Eid celebrations.
CONTACT: CAIR-SV Communications Manager Kalin Kipling-Mojaddedi, 916-441-6269, kkipling@cair.com
Hayat said in a statement:
“I cannot describe the sense of joy that I have felt to be reunited with my family after fourteen years of separation, and to meet for the first time the nieces and nephews born while I was in prison. I will never be able to fully express my deepest thanks to all the people who believed in my innocence and who worked for so long, so hard and in so many different ways to help me regain my freedom. My religious faith sustained me all these years, but those who supported me gave me a new and different faith, a faith that my country someday would provide me with a just result in my case. It took a long time, but that faith now has been rewarded, and for that I will be grateful for the rest of my life.”
Hayat’s family said in a statement:
“We are thrilled to have Hamid home. Our hearts are so full, but our hearts also break for the years that he lost. We look forward to celebrating Eid as a family and spending time together in the years to come.”
CAIR-SV/CC Executive Director Basim Elkarra said in a statement:
“Hamid is finally free after more than 13 years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit. We are so happy to see Hamid back with his family and his community. This case has weighed heavily on the Northern California Muslim community and we can all finally breathe a sigh of relief. CAIR-Sacramento Valley, his family and the community are here to support him every step of the way.”
Hayat’s legal team, which includes Dennis Riordan, Donald Horgan, and Layli Shirani of the law firm of Riordan and Horgan, Martha Boersch of the Boersch & Illovsky law firm, and Professor Ted Sampsell-Jones of the Mitchell Hamline School of Law faculty, said in a statement:
“Hamid’s case enabled us to practice our profession at its highest level, in seeking and obtaining the release of a man wrongly convicted of a crime he did not commit. We welcomed that opportunity, and we share his family’s joy at his release.”
After being locked up for more than 13 years in a Phoenix, Ariz., prison, Hayat was released this week after an order was filed by Senior United States District Judge Garland Burrell Jr. on July 30 to vacate Hayat’s conviction.
Judge Burrell was the original trial judge in the widely-criticized case that was recently highlighted in an episode of “Confession Tapes” on Netflix.
Hayat’s case drew national media attention, while concerns were raised about the role that emotions and prejudice may have played during a period of heightened tensions.
CAIR is America’s largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance understanding of Islam, protect civil rights, 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.
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