[Ppnews] Al-Arian's Attorney discusses hearing

[Political Prisoner News]

Dr. Al-Arian Granted Bail
In hearing, prosecutors send judge
   "strange signals"

Sami in Jail


Alexandria, VA.
July 10, 2008 -

In perhaps the first promising development this year, a federal judge 
granted Dr. Al-Arian bail today, acknowledging that he does not 
represent any danger to the community. Judge Leonie Brinkema 
furthermore expressed concern that government prosecutors were 
perhaps not revealing the entirety of their motives, noting that she 
was receiving "strange signals" from them.

        Nevertheless, despite this encouraging ruling, Dr. Al-Arian 
may not be able to enjoy time outside of jail; the Immigration and 
Customs Enforcement (ICE) has indicated that it may invoke its 
jurisdiction to keep Dr. Al-Arian imprisoned, even though it clearly 
has no intention of following through with his deportation before the 
scheduled August 13th trial. (see below for more details)

         What was crucial in convincing the judge to grant Dr. 
Al-Arian bail was the heartfelt and beautifully-articulated letters 
sent in by dozens of friends and acquaintances of the Al-Arian 
family. The Tampa Bay Justice Coalition for Justice and Peace would 
like to express its sincere thanks to everyone who took the time to 
write those letters as well as all of you who continue to show their 
support at this critical time. Your support DOES make a difference.

(Click 
<http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001YyjwNYgE5oKlLdeXOpBhEdKAdqW6nU9-3pKYpgGa9CYYTOkl7pPKoaAz2myQdRvk648Y5l-p7fy3C_ET22TEVsIHOiTW8tGLZ47c0T7Q3cn_LGrBo3y6xaSQNF5QcxG4>here 
to find out how YOU can help!)

Dr. Al-Arian's Attorney discusses hearing in his best blog entry to date

http://jonathanturley.org/2008/07/10/dr-sami-al-arian-granted-bail/

      In a set back for the government, Dr. Sami Al-Arian was granted 
bail by Judge Leonie M. Brinkema today. Over the objections of the 
government and the pre-trial services, Judge Brinkema agreed that Dr. 
Al-Arian was not a flight risk and no danger to the community. The 
government has suggested that it may now block release by having 
Immigration officials hold Dr. Al-Arian for deportation - despite the 
fact that it is trying to hold him for years under a criminal 
sentence rather than deport him.

      At the hearing, I was joined by my colleague P.J. Meitl from 
the law firm of Bryan Cave. The government was represented by Gordon 
Kromberg, who was joined at counsel table by Steve Ward of the Joint 
Terrorism Task Force. Judge Brinkema specifically asked him to 
identify Ward and immediately noted that his office is part of the 
plea agreement with Dr. Al-Arian. Kromberg admitted that he was. This 
would be important later during sharp exchanges with Kromberg over 
Dr. Al-Arian's cooperation. Kromberg admitted that the alleged 
contempt by Dr. Al-Arian was his refusal to answer questions from the 
Florida trial, which was closed with the plea agreement. In this 
admission, Kromberg established that Dr. Al-Arian is not being 
charged with failing to answer questions about the IIIT investigation 
- which were addressed fully in his affidavits. Rather, the 
government is trying to revisit the Florida trial that it lost when a 
jury acquitted Dr. Al-Arian of various counts (and came within two 
votes of acquitting him on all counts).

      Judge Brinkema made a number of significant statements in the hearing.

      First, she warned the government that she was getting "strange 
signals" for this case and that the government should not be found to 
have harassed efforts for another governments to accept Dr. Al-Arian 
under the plea agreement.

      Second, she stated that the plea agreement continued to apply 
to the case and that the government is required to deport him with expedition.

      Third, she said that any resumption of custody by ICE would 
trigger the deportation provision.

      Fourth, Judge Brinkema specifically asked for confirmation that 
Dr. Al-Arian had already made detailed statements to the government 
and repeatedly offered to take a polygraph examination to prove that 
he was not withholding information.

      On the question of the government's failure to deport Dr. 
Al-Arian, we were astonished by Mr. Kromberg's insistence that the 
government did not know of any travel document issued by the Egyptian 
government. I objected that multiple copies were submitted to the 
government weeks ago and that Mr. Kromberg was personally informed of 
the travel documents before the indictment. Despite this record, Mr. 
Kromberg suggested that Dr. Al-Arian was "a man without a country" 
and thus could not be deported at this time.

      In one of the most curious moments, the government insisted 
that Dr. Al-Arian had waived any claim under the statute for 
deportation within the 90 day period. I immediately objected and said 
that no such agreement was made. We agreed not to invoke the plea 
agreement for part of the period of negotiation. We never agreed to 
waive all statutory arguments of removal. The government, however, is 
arguing that (unlike the plea agreement) the court should just read 
such an understanding into prior emails between counsel. We will be 
submitting these emails to the court to clearly show that no such 
waiver occurred and the time for deportation has expired.

      The government also said that Dr. Al-Arian had refused to meet 
face-to-face with investigators. We will be submitting material today 
to the court to show that Dr. Al-Arian repeatedly agreed to meet 
face-to-face with investigators and only refused to revisit the 
Florida trial. On the questions related to IIIT, Dr. Al-Arian not 
only submitted detailed answers but agreed to both meet with 
investigators and to take a polygraph examination to prove that he 
was not withholding information.

      Next week, we will be submitted pre-trial motions as well as 
seeking Dr. Al-Arian's release from ICE custody.

      We are deeply grateful to Judge Brinkema for her ruling today 
as well as her words of concern over the "strange signals" in the 
case. Indeed, there is much strange about this case such as the 
government claiming to be deporting someone who it is trying to hold 
for years in a criminal indictment. Things are likely to become 
stranger still as the government continues its long campaign to hold 
Dr. Al-Arian by any means or method. We remain hopeful, however, that 
Dr. Al-Arian will be vindicated and that the government will be 
forced to comply with its commitment to allow him to leave the country.

Jonathan Turley
Lead Counsel to Dr. Sami Al-Arian





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