Guilty until innocent

Muhammad Salah and Abdelhaleem Ashqar were yesterday acquitted of charges of aiding Hamasin a US Federal court in Chicago. The two men had been accused of funnelling money to the Palestinian organisation which the US considers to be a terrorist group. The prosecution case was based in part on an alleged confession that Mr. Salah made to Israeli security forces possibly after being tortured or "aggressively interrogated" depending on your point of view. The men's release comes after a three month trial and a fortnight of jury deliberations.

If you wish to speak to Mr. Salah or Mr. Ashqar I would use a pay phone. It is unlikely that they will be able to come to see you as the odds are pretty short that they remain on the no-fly list from which there is no escape or appeal.