[Ppnews] Sami Al-Arian update including his grand jury refusal
Political Prisoner News
ppnews at freedomarchives.org
Thu Feb 8 08:40:09 EST 2007
From the article below: But just over two weeks
ago, a judge found him in contempt for refusing a
second time to testify before a grand jury in
Virginia in a case involving a Muslim think tank.
The date of his release could now be extended by
as much as 18 months because of the ruling.
Al-Arian, who is a diabetic, began a hunger strike in response.
<http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2007/02/07/18359041.php>http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2007/02/07/18359041.php
Hunger-Striking Palestinian Professor Sami
Al-Arian Speaks Out In First Broadcast Interview of His Four-Year Imprisonment
by Democracy Now (reposted)
Wednesday Feb 7th, 2007 8:00 AM
In a Democracy Now exclusive, Sami Al-Arian
speaks to us from prison where is on a
hunger-strike. The Palestinian professor and
activist was found not guilty over a year ago of
17 charges against him yet he remains in jail and
the US government seems unwilling to release him.
Al-Arians case has been one of the most closely
watched and controversial post 9/11
prosecutions in the United States. In February
2003, he was arrested and accused of being a
leader of the militant group Palestinian Islamic
Jihad. The jury failed to return a single guilty
verdict. Four months after the verdict, he agreed
to plead guilty to one of the remaining charges
in exchange for being released and deported. At
his sentencing, the judge gave Al-Arian as much
prison time as possible under a plea deal - 57
months. In the four years since his arrest, Sami
Al-Arian has never conducted a broadcast interview - until now.
Sami Al-Arian has been in prison for the past
four years. The Palestinian professor and
activist was found not guilty over a year ago of
17 charges against him yet he remains in jail and
the US government seems unwilling to release him.
Al-Arians case has been one of the most closely
watched and controversial post 9/11
prosecutions in the United States. A respected
computer science professor at the University of
South Florida, Al-Arian was a leading member of
the Muslim community and one of the most
prominent Palestinian academics and activists in
the US. In February 2003, he was arrested and
accused of being a leader of the militant group
Palestinian Islamic Jihad. The Justice Department
handed down a sweeping 50-count indictment
against him and seven other men, charging them
with conspiracy to commit murder, giving material
support to terrorists, extortion, perjury, and other offenses.
At the end of the trial in December 2005, the
jury failed to return a single guilty verdict. Al
Arian was acquitted on eight of seventeen counts
against him and the jury deadlocked on the rest.
Four months after the verdict, he agreed to plead
guilty to one of the remaining charges in
exchange for being released and deported. At his
sentencing, the judge gave Al-Arian as much
prison time as possible under a plea deal - 57
months. His release date was set for April 2007.
? But just over two weeks ago, a judge found him
in contempt for refusing a second time to testify
before a grand jury in Virginia in a case
involving a Muslim think tank. The date of his
release could now be extended by as much as 18
months because of the ruling. Al-Arian, who is a
diabetic, began a hunger strike in response.
In the four years since his arrest, Sami Al-Arian
has never conducted a broadcast interview - until
now. In a Democracy Now exclusive, we spoke with
Sami Al-Arian from prison. He called us yesterday
from the Northern Neck Regional Jail in Warsaw,
Virginia. He began by describing where he was being held.
* Sami Al-Arian, speaking from prison.
LISTEN ONLINE:
<http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=07/02/07/1546227>http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=07/02/07/1546227
Sami Al-Arians Daughter on Her Fathers Imprisonment
by Democracy Now (reposted) Wednesday Feb 7th, 2007 8:01 AM
Laila Al-Arian is Sami Al-Arian's eldest
daughter. She joins us to talk about her fathers
imprisonment and its effect on the Al-Arian
family. Were also joined by Sami Al-Arians attorney, Peter Erlinder.
---
At the time of his arrest in February 2003,
Al-Arian was a leading member of the Muslim
community in south Florida and one of the most
prominent Palestinian academics and activists in
the United States. In September 2001, he was
invited to be a guest on The O'Reilly Factor
under the impression he was going to be
discussing Arab-American reactions to 9/11.
Instead, host Bill O'Reilly spent the interview
accusing him of supporting terrorism. OReilly
concluded by saying If I was the C.I.A., I'd follow you wherever you went.
Beginning the next day, the University of South
Florida where Al-Arian worked was barraged by
hundreds of threatening letters and emails.
Thirty-six hours after the interview, the
University put him on paid leave. He was arrested a year and a half later.
* Sami Al-Arian, speaking from prison.
Peter Erlinder is representing Sami Al-Arian in
the latest contempt charges against him. He joins
me from Minneapolis where he is a professor at
the William Mitchell School of Law. Were also
joined by Laila Al-Arian is Sami Al-Arian's
eldest daughter. She is a graduate of the
Columbia University Journalism School here in New York.
* Peter Erlinder. Attorney for Sami Al-Arian. He
is a professor at the William Mitchell School of
Law. Peter co-founded the Coalition to Protect
Political Freedom with Al Arian in the 1990s.
* Laila Al-Arian. Sami Al-Arian's eldest
daughter. She is a graduate of the Columbia
University Journalism School here in New York.
For more information go to
<http://FreeSamiAlArian.com/>http://FreeSamiAlArian.com
More
<http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=07/02/07/1546235>http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=07/02/07/1546235
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