BY ALLEN JENNINGS
Once again, the US government has shown how ridiculous and anachronistic its policies are towards Cuba. On April 3, James Sabzali, a Canadian businessperson based in Philadelphia, was convicted for selling water-purification chemicals to Cuba.
For this "crime", 43-year-old Sabzali, who is the North American director of marketing for the US company Bro-Tech, faces possible life imprisonment and up to US$5 million in fines. Federal prosecutors, however, are seeking to put him behind bars for "only a dozen years", according to Sabzali. He will be sentenced on June 28.
Sabzali was convicted of 20 counts of violating the 1917 Trading with the Enemy Act and one count of conspiracy. This law, enacted during World War I, grants the US president the power to prohibit financial transactions with enemy countries during a war.
Although it has seen numerous amendments over the years, Sabzali's conviction shows this archaic law is still very much in force. In addition to trade restrictions, the act currently prohibits US citizens travelling to Cuba, unless they are journalists, researchers or have close relatives there.
Seven of the violations occurred while Sabzali was based in Canada, where it is a criminal offence to abide by the US trade embargo on Cuba. In response to this, the prosecutor said: "You cannot aid and abet Americans in violating US law. Being a foreign national does not insulate [you] from committing violations of American jurisdiction ... [even when] technically not subject to [US] jurisdiction."
The conviction of a Canadian citizen, for engaging activities that are legal in Canada, clearly sets a new precedent for US extraterritorial enforcement of its anti-Cuba embargo.
Sabzali, who cooperated with the five-year investigation, was "shocked" by the federal court jury's decision. "It doesn't make any sense", he said.
Meanwhile, US Attorney Joseph Poluka defended the conviction, saying, "The jury looked carefully at the evidence and worked hard... There is nothing willy nilly about this verdict".
While the Canadian government has not commented on the conviction, the Canadian media have accused the US of undermining Canadian sovereignty. Toronto's Globe and Mail summed up these views in an April 6 editorial: "Mr. Sabzali's 'crimes' involved the sale of water-purification chemicals. Not military equipment. Not state secrets...
"Given the outdated sentiments and gaping holes in the US ban of Cuban trade, it's baffling that US officials would single out Bro-Tech, and especially Mr. Sabzali, for prosecution. If the goal was to send a message that the US will throw around its economic weight to force its narrow-minded political ideals on other countries, we got it. If you expect us to find this acceptable, we do not."
From Green Left Weekly, April 24, 2002.
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