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Opinion

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Joan Vennochi

Tarek Mehanna case puts First Amendment on trial

By Joan Vennochi

 |  Globe Columnist  

  April 19, 2012

The conviction of Tarek Mehanna on terrorism charges and his long sentence raise real concerns about the loss of civil liberties in America. But the slippery slope that civil libertarians worry about is not what rallies the public today. Most Americans do not think the Mehanna verdict will ever infringe on their free speech rights, just as they do not think they will ever end up naked and humiliated thanks to a recent US Supreme Court decision allowing strip-searches for those arrested for even the most minor offenses.

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