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AMP Report – December 14, 2007
Judge lifts contempt order against Sami Al-Arian
A federal judge in Virginia has lifted a civil contempt order against Dr. Sami al-Arian, a former University of South Florida professor, who has refused to testify to a grand jury investigating Muslim charities and businesses.
Civil contempt charges against Al-Arian were dropped when the grand jury he was subpoenaed to testify before expired.
The practical impact of the ruling is unclear. Sami al-Arian is still in jail to serve the remaining time of a five-year prison sentence for conspiring to aid a Palestinian terror group. The government could seek another civil contempt finding and more jail time when a new grand jury convenes.
In February 2003, Al-Arian was accused of acting as a fundraiser for the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. In December 2005, a federal jury in Tampa acquitted him on eight charges and deadlocked on nine others. In an agreement with federal prosecutors, Al-Arian avoided a new trial by pleading guilty to a charge he conspired to aid the Islamic Jihad.
Al-Arian was sentenced to nearly five years in prison, after which he was to leave the country. He was given credit for the time he served while awaiting trial and was expected to finish the sentence eight months ago. That didn't happen.
Al-Arian's attorney, Jonathan Turley of Alexandria, Va., said only entered the plea agreement with the understanding that he would not cooperate "in destroying the lives of other people."
Prosecutors in Virginia subpoenaed Al-Arian anyway to testify about Palestinian charities before a grand jury. When he refused, he was held in contempt of court. Under federal rules, time spent jailed on contempt charges is not credited toward other sentences. Therefore Al-Arian's five-year sentence has been on hold since his contempt status began in October 2006. Al-Arian is now serving the remaining 115 days of his original five-year sentence.
Under terms of the plea agreement, Al-Arian was to be deported after finishing his sentence. He is expected to join his family in Egypt.
“We welcome the judge’s decision to drop the contempt charges and hope the coming months will bring the justice that is so long overdue to Dr. Al-Arian and his family,” said CAIR-Tampa Executive Director Ahmed Bedier. “We continue to appeal to the Department of Justice to end Dr. Al-Arian’s suffering by honoring its original plea agreement.”
The Tampa Bay Coalition for Justice and Peace is calling on all of Al-Arian’s supporters to continue to work for Al-Arian's freedom by writing to Attorney General Mukasey and the House and Senate Judiciary Committee Chairs to urge Al-Arian’s release after the remainder of his original prison term is served.
‘USA vs. Al-Arian’ D.C. Premiere Sold Out
WASHINGTON, D.C., December 6, 2007 – More than 800 people turned out last night for the D.C. premiere of the documentary film “USA vs Al-Arian,” which was co-sponsored by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) at the AMC/Loews Uptown 1 Theater.
The film follows the arrest and trial of Sami Al-Arian, an Arab-American university professor accused of supporting a terrorist organization abroad. For two and a half years Dr. Al-Arian was held in solitary confinement, denied basic privileges and given limited access to his attorneys.
The screening was followed by a panel discussion featuring the film’s director, a member of the Al-Arian family and lawyers from the trial. The discussion was moderated by “Democracy Now” host Amy Goodman.
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