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Friday, May 16, 2008
Pro Bono Efforts Lead to U.S. Asylum for Somali Terror Victim
The McKool Smith law firm has established a humanitarian trust account for Somali refugee, Amina Mudey. The 30-year old victim of unspeakable atrocities in her home country was incarcerated in the United States when she sought asylum and protection from U.S. authorities.
Ann Schofield Baker, now a Principal in the New York office of McKool Smith, battled the government to win asylum for Ms. Mudey after an exhaustive three-month process, culminating in a lengthy trial before an immigration judge in New Jersey. Ms. Mudey’s quest for
asylum, and Ms. Schofield Baker’s pro bono battle on her behalf has been profiled in the Washington Post, CBS News Magazine 60 Minutes, and CBS News Up to the Minute.
100% of the trust account proceeds will be used to support Ms. Mudey’s living and educational expenses in the United States. “Our goal is to provide Amina with a second chance so that she can attend school for the first time in her life, and start a new life here in America,” says Ms. Schofield Baker. “There is no way to adequately describe the pain and abuse she has endured, not only in Somalia, but in the United States detention facility as well.”
Checks should be made payable to:
McKool Smith Trust Account FBO Amina Mudey
c/o Ann Schofield Baker, Esq.
McKool Smith P.C.
399 Park Avenue, Suite 3200
New York , NY 10022
Donations by wire transfer can be made to:
Inwood National Bank
7621 Inwood Road
Dallas, TX 75209
Acct: 3126637
ABA : 111001040
Account Name: McKool Smith Trust Account
Payee: McKool Smith Trust Account FBO Amina Mudey
Donations are not tax deductable.
Amina Mudey’s Story
“I am terrified to return to Somalia.” Amina Bookey Mudey spoke through a Somali interpreter to her New York-based pro bono attorney Ann Schofield Baker. At the time, Ms. Schofield Baker was still practicing law at her previous firm, McDermott Will & Emery. Ms. Mudey is now a pro bono client of McKool Smith.
As members of an “outcast” minority clan, Ms. Mudey’s family had been subjected to years of abuse and violence by members of Somalia’s majority clans. Her father and two brothers had been murdered, and her sister raped and shot. Ms. Mudey had been brutally attacked and beaten several times. In addition, as a ten-year old, she had suffered through the barbaric procedure known as Type III female genital mutilation.
In 2006, her family raised $2500 by selling their only possession, the family home, so that Ms. Mudey could travel to America. Upon her arrival in the United States, Ms. Mudey was taken into custody at the Elizabeth Detention Center in New Jersey pending a hearing on her petition for asylum.
When Ms. Schofield Baker began representing Ms. Mudey - who spoke no English - she discovered that her client had been misdiagnosed by detention center doctors, who had examined her without a Somali interpreter. The doctors had been administering to her a potent, and unnecessary anti-psychotic drug that caused her to experience devastating side effects. Among other serious side effects, the drug caused Ms. Mudey to shake as though she had Parkinson’s disease, lactate, and she appeared to be developmentally disabled, when in fact, she is highly intelligent.
Through perseverance and dedication, Ms. Schofield Baker was able to remove Ms. Mudey from the devastating drug, prepare her to testify, and withstand the scrutiny of cross examination by U.S. government attorneys. On September 18, 2007, Ms. Mudey was granted asylum and freed from custody. She is now a resident of New York City, and is attending school for the first time in her life.
“It is so wonderful to live life without fear,” says Ms. Mudey. “There is no way I can ever express my gratitude to Ann for saving my life.”
For more information, contact Ann Schofield Baker at [email protected]
Source: McKool Smith, May 16, 2008