Ali Shukri Amin is 17-years old, a minor under American law, yet he was just sentenced to eleven years in federal prison.
He pleaded guilty and was sentenced as an adult for providing material
support for terrorists. This is a crime defined in any way the
government wants it to be. Amin had a twitter account, @amreekiwitness,
devoted to the group Islamic State, ISIS. He also helped a friend
travel to Syria in hopes of joining ISIS. That is the substance of his
crime, online opinion and facilitating travel.
The crime of providing material support for terrorists only came into
existence with the Patriot Act passed in the aftermath of the September
11th attacks. There are now people serving very long prison
terms for providing humanitarian aid, translating documents, sending
money abroad, or expressing views in support of nations or groups the
United States classifies as terrorist. These crimes are vaguely defined
and are often of little consequence to ISIS or any other organization
the federal government designates as an enemy.
The prosecutions of Amin and others are meant to make the case for
continuing the “war on terror.” This is actually a war of American
terror used to justify endless interventions around the world. The
Department of Justice would have us believe that a teenager tweeting
about making donations to ISIS via bitcoin posed a serious threat. Of
course, the United States government is the biggest threat to life in
the world. It is the most violent organization with the largest number
of kills.
-- Margaret Kimberley, "US Turns Teen Into 'Terrorist'" (Black Agenda Report).