[Ppnews] Dr. Al-Arian Moved from Abusive Facility

Tue Apr 15 10:35:55 EDT 2008

Tampa Bay Coalition for Justice and Peace
April 15, 2008

I. Dr. Al-Arian Moved from Abusive Facility
II. Reminder about Al-Arian Press Conference Today!

Dr. Al-Arian Moved from Abusive Facility

ARLINGTON, Va.-- Immigration officials on Monday 
afternoon removed Dr. Sami Al-Arian from the 
Howard County Detention Center in Maryland to an 
undisclosed detention facility. Dr. Al-Arian, who 
entered the seventh week of a hunger strike on 
April 14, had been kept in punitive conditions 
over the weekend, denied medical monitoring and 
forced to endure the harsh environment of the 
segregation unit of the detention center.

Yesterday, while in a temporary holdover cell at 
an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) 
office in Virginia, Dr. Al-Arian was given a brief visit with family members.

Dr. Al-Arian's daughter, Laila, said officials 
called the family and offered them an opportunity 
to visit with him before he was transferred to 
another facility. "We had been requesting a visit 
since last week, but since he is constantly 
moved, we have not seen him in some time. It was 
especially urgent because my mother had only seen 
him once during her trip here and she is going 
back to Egypt on Tuesday," she said.

Nahla, the wife of Dr. Al-Arian, said, "We are 
grateful to the immigration officials for 
granting us this visit, and we hope they fulfill 
their obligation toward our family and deport 
Sami as soon as possible so that he may finally 
come back to us. It's been more than five years. 
We just want this nightmare to end."

Dr. Al-Arian's family reports that the visit 
lasted thirty minutes and that they saw met him 
behind a glass partition. Having not seen him in 
over two weeks, they reacted strongly to the toll 
Dr. Al-Arian's hunger strike has taken on his 
body. "He's lost 35 pounds," said his son, 
Abdullah. "He is far thinner and weaker than the 
last time we saw him. I don't know how much more 
of this he can take. The government needs to 
release him, if for nothing else, than for his life."

Mrs. Al-Arian was also traumatized by witnessing 
her husband in his current state. "He looked like 
he'd been through a concentration camp. We want 
him to stop the hunger strike but he feels he has 
no other choice. This indefinite imprisonment has 
torn our family apart. We have had to suffer 
through three different release dates without him ever being freed."

The family of Dr. Al-Arian has renewed its call 
for the government to release him, as stipulated 
by the plea agreement. Although he has been 
transferred into the custody of immigration 
authorities, officials have given no indication 
if they plan to deport Dr. Al Arian. On March 3, 
a federal judge issued a third order for Dr. 
Al-Arian to testify before a grand jury. He has 
continued to refuse to testify, on the basis of a 
plea agreement signed with prosecutors that 
promised him non-cooperation and expedited deportation.

"It is especially urgent that all supporters of 
justice for my father become involved at this 
critical stage," said Laila Al-Arian. "His life 
is on the line. Our government must do the right 
thing and let him go. We believe that if they 
hear from the thousands of concerned citizens and 
supporters, they will do the right thing. But there isn't much time."

The Tampa Bay Coalition for Justice and Peace 
urges all conscientious individuals and 
organizations to contact elected officials as 
well as the Department of Justice and the 
Department of Homeland Security, to demand an end 
to the injustice against Dr. Al-Arian once and for all.

TALKING POINTS:

•    As of April 11, 2008, Dr. Al-Arian's term of 
imprisonment has concluded. The plea agreement 
stipulates that he be given expedited deportation 
and as such, he should be allowed to leave the country immediately.
•    Prosecutors in the Eastern District of 
Virginia have abused the grand jury process to 
keep Dr. Al-Arian detained for more than a year 
beyond his original sentence. They continue to 
threaten further action with the latest court order seeking his testimony.
•    The plea agreement removed all standard 
language that would allow the government to 
pursue cooperation. Florida prosecutors have 
admitted, on the record, that Dr. Al-Arian 
explicitly requested non-cooperation, and that they agreed to his request.
•    Dr. Al-Arian has been on a hunger strike 
since March 3, 2008. For the first 18 days, he 
abstained from both food and water. Since then, 
he has only taken water. He has lost 35 pounds 
and his life is in danger. His release is 
requested not only on legal grounds, but 
humanitarian grounds as well. This case has drawn 
international attention and has dealt a severe 
blow to the United States of America's domestic 
human rights record. Dr. Al-Arian is the most 
prominent political prisoner in the United States 
and the only one currently on a hunger strike.

FIND YOUR REPS: Go to the following website to 
find your representatives in the House and
Senate through your zipcode:
http://www.congress.org/congressorg/home/

ALSO PLEASE WRITE AND FAX:

Honorable Judge Gerald Lee
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia
401 Courthouse Square, Alexandria, VA 22314
Fax: (703) 299-3339

II. Press Conference to Call for the Release of Sami Al-Arian
WHEN: Today, Tuesday, April 15, 11 a.m.
WHAT: Civil rights and Islamic leaders call for 
release of hunger striking Palestinian
professor Sami Al-Arian
WHERE: The Malcolm X & Dr. Betty Shabazz Memorial and Education Center, 3940
Broadway.

Freedom Archives
522 Valencia Street
San Francisco, CA 94110

415 863-9977

www.Freedomarchives.org  
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://freedomarchives.org/pipermail/ppnews_freedomarchives.org/attachments/20080415/98bd481c/attachment.htm>