by Eric Ture Muhammad
Staff Writer

(FinalCall.com)--Recent twists and turns in the case of ex-Black Panther leader Imam Jamil Al-Amin has supporters wondering if the government is up to its dirty tricks that were so prominent under J. Edgar Hoover�s F.B.I. known as Cointelpro. Supporters say the alleged "disappearance" of blood evidence by the state, revealed during a March 27 evidence hearing in Fulton County Superior Court, reeks of the counterintelligence program tactics that derailed the Black liberation movement of the 1960s.

Imam Al-Amin, formerly known as H. Rap Brown, is on trial for the death of Fulton County Deputy Rickey Kinchen and the wounding of his partner Aldranon English in a shootout March 16, 2000 in Atlanta.

Since his capture several days after the shootout, support for the former leader of the Student non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and one of the originally named targets of Cointelpro has grown worldwide as websites, fundraisers and protests echo in his defense. The imam�s attorneys contend that the missing evidence would show that someone else committed the crime. The trial is expected to begin in October. Jury selection is expected to start in September.

To the disappointment of the defense, Judge Manis ruled that there was no proof that police were hiding evidence and she denied a defense request to throw out ballistics evidence. Calls to Ms. Manis� chambers were deferred to the media relations department. Those calls were not returned.

"The fact that Jamil Al-Amin was one of their (Cointelpro) targets very early on as a member of SNCC, coupled with the fact that U.S. intelligence and police agencies are very concerned with activities in the Muslim world, makes him a prime target," said Kathleen Cleaver, attorney and former Panther Party member.

"They can tie him to student movements, to Sudan, Libya, to the U.S. Black Movement, etc. Too many of their targets come together in him. This government is deeply committed to preventing the rise of strong leadership in the movement. They want to see leadership they can manipulate or leadership that they can intimidate. In somebody like Jamil, they don�t have that," she said.

Atlanta Police Sgt. Scott Bennett testified that the blood found on the night of the deadly shootout in the West End section of Atlanta was animal blood, and that it was found in an abandoned neighborhood house.

He also testified he had unintentionally and inaccurately swore-out an affidavit to secure a search warrant for Imam Al-Amin�s West End store. In the affidavit, the officer swore blood was found at the spot where the shooter stood and police wanted to search for bloody clothing or evidence of "medical intervention."

The warrant was obtained believing the imam had been wounded in the gunfight with the deputies, both of whom said they shot their assailant. When arrested, Imam Al-Amin had no wounds.

Imam Al-Amin has always maintained his innocence, declaring this case is a U.S. Government conspiracy against him. According to a recent Sunday article in the Atlanta Journal Constitution, his argument is correct.

The newspaper reported that for at least five years (1992-1997), the FBI and Atlanta police investigated the imam in connection "with everything from domestic terrorism to gun-running to 14 homicides in Atlanta�s West End." The paper based its findings on police investigators� reports, FBI documents and interviews.

The article also points out how the FBI paid informants inside Imam Al-Amin�s Community Mosque in the West End neighborhood. The Atlanta Police Department�s intelligence squad compiled a list of 134 people associated with the imam, most of them members of the mosque. The list included dates of birth and social security numbers. For some, it also included criminal history and suspected roles in unsolved crimes, according to the newspaper.

The intelligence squad identified and focused on Imam Al-Amin�s "inner circle," a group of eight Muslim men who detectives believed were Al-Amin�s closest associates, the paper reported.

"Although I am unable to speak to the specifics of the case due to the imposed gag order by the court, I can say that the investigation is still ongoing and Mr. Al-Amin is in our jail treated like any other prisoner," Captain David Chad, public information officer with the Fulton County Sheriff�s Dept., told The Final Call.

Observers also find it amazing that Georgia authorities have not investigated a Las Vegas FBI report in which a Nevada inmate offers a confession to the shooting. The inmate, Otis Jackson, has since recanted.

In an effort to stop Black advancements toward freedom, Cointelpro was built on several long-range goals: to prevent the coalition of Black Nationalist groups; to prevent the rise of a Black messiah "who could unify and electrify the militant Black Nationalist movement"; to prevent Black nationalists groups and leaders from gaining respectability.

Another goal was "to prevent the long-range growth of organizations, especially among the youth. So you can see they had these long-range goals and Jamil was in their sight at the beginning of this program," Ms. Cleaver said.

Cointelpro, activists agree, is still very active today under several different names and in many cases legally.

"In many cases the illegal tactics under the Cointelpro have been codified into law," said attorney Nkechi Taifa, director of Howard University Law School�s Equal Justice Program. "One of the things we really need to do is learn to recognize the methods of covert actions and take steps to reduce their harm."

Such activities include illegal wiretaps, letter openings, the burglaries of homes and offices, secret examination of bank records, fiscal surveillance, arranged murders, turning one group against another and floating money between groups, she said.

In the early eighties, a series of executive orders were passed by Congress known as the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act giving guidelines on general crimes, racketeering, domestic security and terrorism. RICO was passed to enable persons financially injured by a pattern of criminal activity to seek redress through the state or federal courts and applies to a wide variety of crimes.  It incorporates many of the tactics once deemed illegal during the Church Senate Committee on Intelligence Activities.

"Cointelpro is a nationally coordinated program of war against the movement. That�s not me saying it, the Church Senate Committee on Intelligence activities in the 1980s characterized it as a war and an illegal abuse of power by the FBI. Again, since then those secret and illegal things have been mandated and enshrined into U.S. law," Ms. Taifa said.

Some activists suggest the recent investigations launched into the financial dealings of Rainbow/Push President Jesse L. Jackson Sr., and the attempt to assassinate his character through planned media stories fits the Cointelpro profile.

They maintain that the Black community needs a checklist of precautions against Cointelpro: investigate any rumors, disturbing letters, telephone calls or any other communication for authenticity before acting on them; records should be kept and incidents documented that appear to reflect Cointelpro-type activity; encourage joining organizations and maintain regular face-to-face encounters with persons and deal openly and honestly with differences you may have with one another. These actions, according to activists, will make it more difficult for enemies to come between groups.

Agreeing with those recommendations, Min. Benjamin Muhammad, national director of the 2000 Million Family March, said, "I heard young people say they don�t want to be a Black leader if that�s what they have to go through. And that was the goal of Cointelpro, to kill Black leadership."

He added that the tactic of the government has been to first assassinate a leader�s character before they attempt physical assassination.

If forces are successful in taking down Jamil Al-Amin and Rev. Jackson, he said, "it�s no question that it�s a trial run leading to an attempt to take down their ultimate target, the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan."

"Don�t believe what is said about Black leaders who have been known for their strong opposition to the policies of the government," Ms. Cleaver urged. "You can be sure that the things that are written about these people are written to tear them down, not to give you information. Be very aware as to how the press handles them and be very suspicious when you read about their arrest and the so-called evidence that they present."

Photo: Activists say the case of Imam Jamil Al-Amin (inset) is a part of a long-running attempt to destroy the ex-Black Panther leader. H. Rap Brown, as he was then know, speaks at a press conference in this 1967 photo.