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St. Petersburg Times – December 14, 2005
Supporters: Let Al-Arian out
Kevin Graham
TAMPA - Upset that Sami Al-Arian remained in federal prison after a jury last week couldn't convict him on terrorism-related charges, civil rights activists and family friends called on President Bush to step in.
"I think you owe one to Dr. Sami," Pilar Saad, an Al-Arian family spokeswoman, said to Bush in front of microphones and television cameras.
The former University of South Florida professor mobilized Muslims across the state to vote for Bush, she said, and now it's time for the president to return the favor.
More than 30 people, including Al-Arian's wife, Nahla, and daughter Leena, gathered on the steps of the federal courthouse in downtown Tampa on Tuesday to demonstrate. They called on the U.S. government to respect jurors' verdicts and not retry Al-Arian and one co-defendant on deadlocked charges or try to deport Al-Arian.
Saad said he has earned the right to be a U.S. citizen - a status federal officials have denied him. He's encouraged fellow Muslims to be patriotic and participate in democracy, she said.
Until federal prosecutors decide their next step, Al-Arian should be released, said members of the Friends of Human Rights group, which organized the gathering.
"Pull back those bars and let those men go home to their families," said Warren Clark, pastor of First United Church (UCC) of Tampa. "It has been long enough, and they have suffered already."
Sameeh Hammoudeh, one of Al-Arian's three co-defendants, remained in prison after jurors acquitted him and Ghassan Zayed Ballut of all charges. Hammoudeh has been in jail since 2003.
Because of a plea agreement in June, Hammoudeh and his wife will soon be deported back to Ramallah, Palestine. The couple was convicted on federal tax, immigration and mortgage fraud charges.
Al-Arian, Ballut, Fariz and Hammoudeh were on trial for six months, accused of financing and promoting Middle East terrorism. Al-Arian was acquitted on eight of 17 charges, and Fariz was acquitted on 25 of 33 charges.
One remaining charge against Al-Arian and Fariz, a racketeering conspiracy charge, carries a potential life sentence.
Ahmed Bedier, local director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said jurors sent a message with their verdicts. "The jury has assured he is not a threat to society," Bedier said. "He should be released right away."
http://www.sptimes.com/2005/12/14/Tampabay/Supporters__Let_Al_Ar.shtml
Tampa Tribune – December 13, 2005
Supporters rally for Al-Arian's release
Elaine Silvestrini
TAMPA - About two dozen supporters of Sami Al-Arian rallied for his release Tuesday, and urged federal authorities not to re-try the former college professor on terrorism-related charges.
A jury last week acquitted Al-Arian on eight criminal charges and deadlocked on nine others. The Justice Department is considering trying Al-Arian again on the charges on which the jury deadlocked. Authorities may also deport Al- Arian, a Palestinian born in Kuwait.
In the meantime, Al-Arian is being detained without bail. His attorney, William Moffitt, said Tuesday he plans to file a motion soon seeking his release.
Al-Arian's wife, Nahla, and daughter, Leena, did not speak, but were among the demonstrators who gathered Tuesday afternoon outside the federal courthouse. The protesters waved signs reading, "The Jury Has Spoken. No New Trial," "Let Sami Out," and ``Respect the Jury. Release Al-Arian."
The Rev. Warren Clark told the gathering, ``We say, release Dr. Sami Al-Arian from jail." He urged the federal officials not to seek another trial or deport Al-Arian.
"Don't put our community and these families through any more suffering," he said. "Don't waste any more of our tax money on this ... Spend the money where it is needed."
Ahmed Bedier, spokesman for the Council on American Islamic Relations, said the jury's decision ``sends a positive message about the greatness of America and the greatness of the American judicial system."
http://news.tbo.com/news/MGBI2TIL6HE.html
Washington Post - December 14, 2005
Professor won court case but not his freedom
By Peter Whoriskey
TAMPA, Dec. 13 -- The family and friends of former college professor Sami al-Arian greeted his acquittal on terrorism charges last week with exclamations of "Allahu akbar" -- Arabic for "God is great" -- and "God bless America." It was, they said, a political and moral victory.
But in the week since those moments of euphoria, it has become increasingly clear to his supporters that his legal triumph was not necessarily a personal one.
Al-Arian, who was arrested more than two years ago, is still jailed as federal prosecutors decide whether to retry him on the counts on which the jury deadlocked. Even if prosecutors drop the outstanding charges, immigration authorities have indicated that he will probably remain incarcerated while he is facing deportation proceedings.
Outside the federal courthouse in Tampa on Tuesday, a civil rights group conducted a small protest and waved signs that said "Let Sami Out" and "The Jury Has Spoken."
"The anxiety is still there," al-Arian's wife, Nahla, said earlier near their home close to the University of South Florida, where al-Arian was a well-liked professor of computer science. The couple has five children. "I feel anxious. I feel tired. I want my husband back with us."
Al-Arian's case was considered a critical test of government tactics under the USA Patriot Act, the anti-terrorism law that expanded law enforcement's power to conduct surveillance. He and three co-defendants faced charges that they conspired with leaders of Palestinian Islamic Jihad -- which the United States has designated as a terrorist group -- to provide the group money and advice.
The accusations were based on 20,000 hours of phone conversations and hundreds of faxes secretly monitored beginning in 1993.
But jurors said afterward that the evidence, though voluminous, did not clearly link al-Arian to acts of violence. They apparently embraced the defense contention that though al-Arian may have been sympathetic to terrorist groups, he did not provide them material aid for terrorism.
Al-Arian, 47, was found not guilty on eight of 17 counts, including conspiracy to maim or murder. Some jurors said later that on most of the charges on which they deadlocked, a large majority favored acquittal, according to local news reports.
While the case has drawn national attention as a potential harbinger of terrorism prosecutions to come, it has stirred greater controversy locally at many levels -- raising fears about a school, provoking criticism of the Tampa Tribune's coverage of terrorist connections, opening a debate over academic freedom at the University of South Florida, and becoming a central issue in the 2004 U.S. Senate race won by Republican Mel Martinez over Betty Castor, the Democrat who was the president of the university in the 1990s when it suspended but did not fire al-Arian.
Aside from his work as a Palestinian activist, al-Arian was the founder of a mosque and a 250-student school here, which has struggled because prosecutors said it was a front for al-Arian's efforts to aid terrorist groups.
Steve Cole, a spokesman at the U.S. attorney's office in Tampa, said prosecutors have not decided whether to retry al-Arian on the deadlocked charges. If they do, that could mean years more behind bars.
Once the legal proceedings are completed, al-Arian "most likely will be put into removal proceedings" for deportation, said Pam McCullough, a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman. She declined to say what the grounds are for deporting al-Arian….
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/13/AR2005121301697.html
December 19, 2005
Petition:
Respect the court verdict, free Sami Al Arian
American Muslim Voice, a leading Muslim civil rights group, has appealed fellow Americans to sign the online petition to free Dr. Sami Al Arian, who remained in prison despite a jury on Dec. 6, 2005 found him not guilty on eight counts and was deadlocked on other counts.
In a message to the fellow Americans, the AMV Executive Director, Samina Faheem Sundas, said Dr. Sami al-Arian has been in prison and away from his family for more than 33 months. “Can you imagine how his family especially his children must have missed him? He has five children which means he has missed over a dozen birthdays, some graduations, the holly months of Ramadan and Eid celebrations among many other special moments. This trial was not a hardship just for Dr. Arian but for his whole family. They have been through rough times”.
Unfortunately, Samina added, their ordeal is not over yet because Dr. Arian is not free yet as he is still in prison while the government is deciding whether they should try him again.
“We need your urgent help once more, please sign the on line petition and write to our President and Attorney general and asked them to free Dr. Sami Al- Arian,” the AMV Executive Director said. “Please encourage them to respect American values and our judiciary system.”
SIGN-ON PETITION TO ATTORNEY GENERAL
To: Dear Attorney General Gonzales,
As a US citizen I am most concerned about preserving the American way of life which, above all, includes rule of law and equal justice for all.
On Tuesday, December 6th, a Tampa, Florida jury acquitted Al-Arian of eight of the 17 counts against him, including a key charge of conspiring to maim and murder people overseas. The jury had deadlocked on other charges 10 to 2 in Al-Arian's favor.
Two of Al-Arian's co-defendants were acquitted entirely, and a third was acquitted on most counts, with jurors deadlocked on several others. In the end, not a single guilty verdict was returned after a lengthy trial that included more than 80 witnesses and 400 transcripts of intercepted phone conversations and faxes.
A headline in the Washington Post, dated Dec 14, says it all: "Ex-Professor Won Court Case but Not His Freedom".
I fully appreciate your efforts to keep America safe but it should not be at the expensive of equal justice for all.
This has been one of costliest courts cases in the history of Florida, if not the Untied States. Investigative journalist John Sugg has estimated that the decade-long investigation and trail of Al-Arian has cost the taxpayers more than fifty million dollars. It would make no sense to spend millions more.
I emphatically urge you to respect the verdict and to let Al-Arian become a living symbol of America's open, pluralistic and justice-based society. Such a gesture will allow America to credibly advocate for the right to free speech in countries around the world that lack such freedoms.
http://new.petitiononline.com/imaseerf/petition.html
SIGN-ON PETITION TO PRESIDENT
To: Dear President Bush,
As a US citizen I am most concerned about preserving the American way of life which, above all, includes rule of law and equal justice for all.
On Tuesday, December 6th, a Tampa, Florida jury acquitted Al-Arian of eight of the 17 counts against him, including a key charge of conspiring to maim and murder people overseas. The jury had deadlocked on other charges 10 to 2 in Al-Arian’s favor.
Two of Al-Arian's co-defendants were acquitted entirely, and a third was acquitted on most counts, with jurors deadlocked on several others.
In the end, not a single guilty verdict was returned after a ten year investigation and a six-month trial that included more than 80 witnesses and 400 transcripts of intercepted phone conversations and faxes.
A headline in the Washington Post, dated Dec 14, says it all: “Ex-Professor Won Court Case but Not His Freedom”.
I fully appreciate your efforts to keep America safe but it should not be at the expensive of equal justice for all.
I emphatically urge you to respect the verdict and to let Al-Arian become a living symbol of America’s open, pluralistic and justice-based society. Such a gesture will allow America to credibly advocate for the right to free speech in countries around the world that lack such freedoms.
This verdict has created a reservoir of goodwill for the United States. Many observers believe that this could have a global impact on winning the hearts and minds of Muslims by demonstrating that America is a nation in which the judiciary can be independent of political pressures, and citizens serving on juries can reach a verdict based on the evidence, not on fear or prejudice.
Please accept the verdict of the Florida court and set Prof Sami Al-Arian free.
http://new.petitiononline.com/FREESAMI/petition.html
Amnesty International - December 20, 2005
Amnesty International seeks fair procedures
in resolution of case against Dr Sami Al-Arian
Amnesty International notes the recent acquittal by a jury of the most serious of terrorism-related charges against former Florida professor Sami Al-Arian, and urges fair procedures in the resolution of outstanding charges against him, on which the jury deadlocked.
Dr Sami Al-Arian was arrested in February 2003 charged with conspiring to aid Palestinian Islamic Jihad to maim and kill Israelis, charges he has always denied. For much of his pre-trial detention, Al-Arian was held in near solitary confinement in a maximum security prison in harsh conditions. Amnesty International raised concern with the US government that the conditions under which he was held as a pre-trial detainee were unnecessarily punitive. These included heavy shackling during visits with his attorneys, denial of adequate exercise, limits on writing materials and visits with his family and other deprivations.
Amnesty International urges the US authorities to ensure that Sami Al-Arian is afforded humane treatment and due process in any further proceedings taken against him. Amnesty International notes that the jury had found insufficient evidence after a protracted trial to convict on the most serious charges, including conspiracy to maim or murder, finding no link between Al-Arian’s fundraising activities in support of Palestinians and knowledge of or intent to commit acts of violence. Noting the sweeping nature of some of the remaining charges, the organization urges the government to seriously consider whether it is in the interests of justice to retry him on those charges.
The government has indicated that it may try to deport Sami Al-Arian instead of retrying him. Should this be the case, Amnesty International urges that Dr Al-Arian be afforded a full and fair opportunity to contest any evidence used in deportation proceedings. As Dr Al-Arian is a stateless Palestinian, it is essential that the United States ensures his safety and that an appropriate host country can be found.
Given that Dr Al-Arian has not been convicted of any crime after nearly three years in prison – often in harshly punitive conditions – the government should not now leave him in legal limbo during any protracted consideration of his case.
Background Information
Dr Sami Al-Arian is former professor at University of South Florida, Tampa, and was accused of using an academic think-tank as a fundraising front and cover for Palestine Islamic Jihad, which has been involved in suicide bombings in Israel. He and three co-defendants were charged with conspiring to bring about such attacks through actively supporting PIJ. The charges included operating a criminal enterprise, conspiracy to murder and maim people outside the United States and conspiracy to provide material support to a terrorist organization. The prosecution’s case was based on hundreds of pages of transcripts of wiretapped phone calls and faxes dating from the mid 1990s. Al-Arian and co-defendants claimed the money raised went to Palestinian charitable causes and not for violence. Al-Arian was acquitted of 8 of the 17 counts against him, the jury deadlocking on others. Two co-defendants, former Florida graduate student Sameeh Taha Hammoudeh and Chicago resident Ghassam Zayed Ballut were acquitted of all charges. The jury acquitted a third man, Hatim Naji Fariz, on 25 counts and failed to reach a verdict on eight others.
http://www.amnestyusa.org/news/document.do?id=ENGAMR512042005
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