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Tampa Bay Coalition for Justice and Peace<br>
March 19, 2007<br><br>
Dr. Al-Arian's Family Visits Him in Medical Facility<br><br>
BUTNER, N.C. <br><br>
This past weekend, Dr. Sami Al-Arian's family traveled to Butner, <br>
North Carolina to visit him at the federal medical prison facility <br>
where he has been held during his 8-week water-only hunger strike. <br>
Today marks the 57th day of the hunger strike for justice, in which <br>
he has lost 53 pounds, or more than 25 percent of his body weight.
<br><br>
Dr. Al-Arian arrived to the visitation room in a wheelchair because <br>
he is too weak and fragile to walk. His wife and youngest children <br>
had not seen him in three months. His face was sunken in and his <br>
clothes were extremely loose-fitting. Dr. Al-Arian's ears were in <br>
pain and he was pale. <br><br>
His wife, Nahla, said: "I was shocked when I saw my husband. In
<br>
spirit, he is the same loving husband and father we know, but his <br>
physical state has deteriorated rapidly. He is rail thin, but thank <br>
God his faith remains strong." <br><br>
Said his daughter Laila, 25: "When I first saw my father, I couldn't
<br>
believe how weak and thin he had gotten. Throughout our visit, he was
<br>
shivering from low body temperature, and his voice was low and weak.
<br>
He was in some considerable pain and discomfort just sitting there <br>
with us. He is a fraction of his former vibrant, lively and exuberant
<br>
self. The Department of Justice must do the right thing, honor its <br>
agreement and end our suffering once and for all."<br><br>
His eldest son, Abdullah, 26, said: "When I saw my father's <br>
deteriorating health, I couldn't help but feel that there is a <br>
concerted effort to keep this tragic situation from reaching the <br>
American people. We want this to be over but that can only happen <br>
once enough people speak out about the government's continued abuse <br>
of power."<br><br>
Dr. Al-Arian's family is very concerned about his health, and one of
<br>
the goals of the visit was to convince him to end his hunger <br>
strike. "He is still determined to continue the hunger strike
because <br>
he feels that he was wronged tremendously in this situation," said
<br>
Nahla Al-Arian. <br><br>
"Although we understand and respect his decision to fast for
justice, <br>
we are extremely worried for his life. I will return with my children
<br>
later this week and once again try to convince him to end it."
<br><br>
Hunger Striking<br><br>
According to the British Medical Journal, "Conclusions from studies
<br>
recommend independent medical monitoring after a weight loss of 10% <br>
in lean healthy individuals. Major problems arise at a weight loss of
<br>
about 18%." Dr. Al-Arian has already lost 25% of his body
weight. <br><br>
"The main disabling symptom is feeling faint and dizzy. Hunger <br>
strikers learn to stand up very slowly and may become almost bed <br>
bound. Bradycardia and drop in blood pressure are well recognized as
<br>
effects of even relatively short fasting and were seen in all the <br>
individuals studied closely," the journal continued.<br><br>
According to the journal, a study of 33 South African political <br>
prisoners on hunger<br>
Strike showed that they lasted for 28 days. Gandhi fasted at least 14
<br>
times but never for more than 21 days. Finally, the hunger strikers <br>
of the Maze Prison in Belfast in the early 1980s died after 45 to 61
<br>
days. Dr. Al-Arian entered his ninth week on Monday, his 57th
day.<br><br>
Media Blackout<br><br>
Given these grave concerns about Dr. Al-Arian's health, the Tampa Bay
<br>
Coalition for Justice and Peace is concerned that Dr. Al-Arian's <br>
hunger strike has received little to no coverage from the mainstream
<br>
media. We call on all media outlets to report on Dr. Al-Arian's dire
<br>
situation.<br><br>
A notable exception to the media blackout is the nationally-<br>
syndicated television and radio program "Democracy Now!" On
Friday, <br>
March 16, the program replayed an excerpt of Dr. Al-Arian's exclusive
<br>
interview that was first aired on Feb. 8. Nahla Al-Arian was also
<br>
the guest that day. Please read the transcript of the program
below.<br><br>
Action Alert<br><br>
As Dr. Al-Arian enters a critical week today, we urgently ask all <br>
conscientious and justice-seeking individuals to call, email or write
<br>
officials to ask for an immediate end to Dr. Al- Arian's suffering.<br>
1- Honorable Judge Gerald Lee<br>
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia<br>
401 Courthouse Square, Alexandria, VA 22314<br><br>
2- Attorney General Alberto Gonzales<br>
Department of Justice<br>
U.S. Department of Justice<br>
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW<br>
Washington, DC 20530-0001<br>
Fax Number: (202) 307-6777<br><br>
BY E-MAIL:<br>
E-mails to the Department of Justice, including the Attorney
General,<br>
may be sent to AskDOJ@usdoj.gov<br><br>
3- The Honorable John Conyers, Jr<br>
2426 Rayburn Building<br>
Washington, DC 20515<br>
(202) 225-5126<br>
(202) 225-0072 Fax<br>
John.Conyers@mail.house.gov<br><br>
4- Senator Patrick Leahy<br>
433 Russell Senate Office Building<br>
United States Senate<br>
Washington, DC 20510<br>
(299029)224-4242<br>
senator_leahy@leahy.senate.gov<br><br>
As Health Deteriorates, Jailed Palestinian Professor Sami Al-Arian <br>
Enters 54th Day of Hunger Strike to Protest Indefinite Imprisonment<br>
Friday, March 16th, 2007<br>
<a href="http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=07/03/16/1410255" eudora="autourl">
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=07/03/16/1410255</a> <br><br>
Sami Al-Arian is in dire condition. The jailed Palestinian professor
<br>
has lost over 50 pounds as he enters the 54th day of a hunger strike
<br>
to protest the circumstances of his continued imprisonment. We speak
<br>
with his wife, Nahla Al-Arian. <br>
________________________________________<br>
Sami Al-Arian has spent the past four years in jail despite a jury's
<br>
failure over a year ago to return a single guilty verdict on any of <br>
the 17 charges brought against him. He eventually signed a plea deal
<br>
with the government in exchange for being released and deported.
<br><br>
This past January, with just three months left before his scheduled <br>
release, a judge found him in contempt after he refused to testify <br>
before a Virginia grand jury. The date of his release could now be <br>
extended by a year and a half. On January 22nd, Al-Arian - who is a <br>
diabetic - stopped eating in protest. Last month he was transferred <br>
to the Federal Medical facility in Butner Virginia as his health <br>
deteriorated. A week before his transfer, we spoke with Sami Al-Arian
<br>
from prison in his first broadcast interview since his 2003 arrest. <br>
He explained why he was on hunger strike. <br>
•<x-tab> </x-tab>Sami Al-Arian,
speaking from prison on Democracy Now! [Click <br>
for full interview] <br>
His wife, Nahla Al-Arian, is going to Virginia today to visit him <br>
along with their five children. She joins me now from Tampa, Florida
<br>
where she lives. <br>
•<x-tab> </x-tab>Nahla Al-Arian,
Sami Al-Arian's wife.<br><br>
JUAN GONZALEZ: Sami Al-Arian is in dire condition. The jailed <br>
Palestinian professor has lost over fifty pounds, as he enters the <br>
fifty-fourth day of a hunger strike to protest the circumstances of <br>
his continued imprisonment. Al-Arian has spent the past four years in
<br>
jail, despite a jury's failure over a year ago to return a single <br>
guilty verdict on any of the seventeen charges brought against him. <br>
He eventually signed a plea deal with the government in exchange for
<br>
being released and deported. <br><br>
AMY GOODMAN: This past January, with just three months left before <br>
his scheduled release, a judge found him in contempt after he refused
<br>
to testify before a Virginia grand jury. The date of his release <br>
could now be extended by a year and a half. On January 22, Al-Arian,
<br>
who is a diabetic, stopped eating in protest. Last month, he was <br>
transferred to the federal medical facility in Butner, [North <br>
Carolina], as his health deteriorated. A week before his transfer, we
<br>
spoke with Sami Al-Arian from prison in his first broadcast interview
<br>
since his 2003 arrest. <br><br>
In a moment, we'll speak with his wife. But now, we turn to an <br>
excerpt of that interview with Professor Sami Al-Arian. He explained
<br>
why he was on a hunger strike. <br><br>
SAMI AL-ARIAN: Well, I believe that freedom and human dignity are <br>
more precious than life itself. In essence, I'm taking a principled <br>
stand, that I'm willing to endure whatever it takes to win my <br>
freedom. I'm also protesting the continuous harassment campaign by <br>
the government against me because of my political beliefs. This <br>
campaign was supposed to have ended when we concluded the plea deal <br>
last year, but unfortunately it hasn't. And if you'd like, I can <br>
elaborate further on that. <br><br>
AMY GOODMAN: Yes, please do. <br><br>
SAMI AL-ARIAN: OK. Well, you know, after two-and-a-half years in <br>
pretrial detention with Guantanamo-like conditions, mostly under 23-<br>
hour lockdowns, followed by a six-month trial with eighty witnesses,
<br>
including twenty-one from Israel, thousands of documents, phone <br>
interceptions, physical surveillance, websites, hearsay evidence, <br>
anything and everything they could think of, preceded by twelve years
<br>
of investigations, tens of millions of dollars, some even say over <br>
$80 million spent on this investigation, with ninety-four charges <br>
against me and my co-defendants and with my defense only being four <br>
words -- "I rest my case" -- how did the jury see it? They gave
them <br>
zero convictions. <br><br>
Unfortunately, however, the judge stopped the deliberations, because
<br>
of a distressed juror, and they ended up with some hung counts, <br>
although they were mostly ten-to-two in my favor. What happened was <br>
that the government had the power to retry me on these hung counts. <br>
My attorneys had prior commitments and would have left, which meant I
<br>
probably would have to hire a new legal team and wait perhaps for <br>
another year or more for a new trial. <br><br>
Meanwhile, in my attorneys' judgment, the government was desperate to
<br>
settle after its total defeat. I was, at the time, perplexed, because
<br>
I wasn't sure what offense I would plea to. But one of my attorneys <br>
said that even if there was none, we had to invent one to get you <br>
out. I authorized them to explore this option, and they concluded a <br>
deal with essentially time served and deportation, were I to plea to
<br>
giving some services to people associated with an organization on <br>
their terrorist list. And if you'd like, I could go over quickly and
<br>
briefly -- <br><br>
AMY GOODMAN: Yes. Go through what your plea agreement was. <br>
SAMI AL-ARIAN: Yeah. Well, number one, that I sponsored a researcher
<br>
in 1994 and '95 to come to the United States to conduct research and
<br>
edit a magazine, which he certainly did. Two, that I wasn't candid or
<br>
forthcoming when interviewed by a journalist in November '95 -- and <br>
don't ask me why this is an offense. And three, that I helped my <br>
brother-in-law to get out of prison when he was detained on secret <br>
evidence between '97 and 2000. These are the only three things that
--<br>
<br><br>
AMY GOODMAN: That was Mazen Najjar? <br>
SAMI AL-ARIAN: That was Mazen Al-Najjar, that's correct. My main <br>
concern with this deal was that the judge got out of hand, because <br>
association is constitutionally protected. And everyone kept saying <br>
that this was just a face-saving way for the government to end this,
<br>
and no one is going to object. And, indeed, you know, no one did.
<br><br>
Amy, during the plea negotiations, the government wanted a <br>
cooperation provision, which I totally ruled out. I told my lawyers <br>
that if they insisted, then to break off all these negotiations and <br>
proceed to a new trial. The government immediately took this off the
<br>
table and never raised it again. <br><br>
Now, they want me to testify before a grand jury in Virginia, which <br>
is contrary to our agreement of no cooperation. We also believe that
<br>
this is either a perjury or contempt trap. See, back in August of <br>
2000, I was also subpoenaed before an immigration court, and I was <br>
asked if I believe in the freedom of Islam through violence. My <br>
answer was one word: no. But this was nonetheless one of the counts <br>
against me, which the jury acquitted me of. Now, I have been held in
<br>
contempt for the total of over a month last year, and then that grand
<br>
jury expired. Then they reconvened another grand jury this year, and
<br>
I have been held now in contempt since January 22nd. That's why I'm <br>
on a hunger strike.<br><br>
AMY GOODMAN: Sami al-Arian, speaking from prison last month. He's <br>
just entered the fifty-fourth day of a hunger strike. He is <br>
hospitalized. His wife Nahla Al-Arian is going to Virginia today to <br>
visit him along with their five children. She joins us now before she
<br>
heads on the flight from Tampa, where she lives. Welcome to Democracy
<br>
Now!, Nahla Al-Arian. <br><br>
NAHLA AL-ARIAN: Thank you. Thanks so much for inviting me, especially
<br>
when we see that the corporate media is completely silent concerning
<br>
Sami's case. I cannot believe that political prisoners are being <br>
treated this way in this country by the media. You know, I'm talking
<br>
about corporate media here. I feel there is some kind of complicity <br>
on the side of the corporate media in supporting the government's <br>
oppression towards Palestinian activists, especially, and political <br>
prisoners in general. <br><br>
JUAN GONZALEZ: How was your husband the last time you spoke with him?
<br>
NAHLA AL-ARIAN: Well, last night I talked to him for about five <br>
minutes, and still he is very weak, and he told me he is exhausted. <br>
And, you know, he hasn't eaten for fifty-four days. And that's a lot.
<br>
He lost fifty-two pounds. He cannot even walk. He is on a wheelchair
<br>
now. And my friend went to see him last week, and then she said to me
<br>
that she managed to feel the bones of his legs. So, you know, <br>
everybody who went and saw him felt shocked by the way he looks now,
<br>
because he's very, very thin. <br><br>
AMY GOODMAN: The Irish hunger strikers years ago, famous, Bobby Sands
<br>
and others, started to die after sixty days of being on hunger <br>
strike. What exactly is his condition? Sami Al-Arian is a diabetic, <br>
is that right? <br>
NAHLA AL-ARIAN: Yeah, he is. He stopped taking, of course, his <br>
diabetes medicine a long time ago, because he doesn't eat. But last <br>
time when they checked his blood sugar, it was 62, and that's, I <br>
think, very low. They haven't started force-feeding him. They put him
<br>
in a 24-hour lockdown in a small room, and there is a camera in the <br>
room. And it's like, you know -- I don't know -- like they treat him
<br>
as a lab animal or something. Why are they watching him? That's it. <br>
They are not doing anything else besides that. <br><br>
We're very worried, and that's why our visit -- God willing -- will <br>
be an end to this hunger strike. We don't want him to continue. All <br>
of us, my children and I want to try our best to make him stop. But <br>
hopefully, that next week, next Friday, we're going to have good news
<br>
from the Fourth Circuit, because they are going to issue their <br>
ruling. And, you know, because our case is very strong, we are <br>
hopeful that they will rule in our favor and they will stop this <br>
contempt of court. So, let's all pray for this happy ending to this <br>
miserable situation. <br><br>
JUAN GONZALEZ: Now, you have five children? <br>
NAHLA AL-ARIAN: Yeah. <br><br>
JUAN GONZALEZ: What do you tell them? Your husband has been in jail <br>
now for four years, yet to be convicted of any crime, and yet the <br>
government continues to hold him. How do you explain all of this to <br>
them? <br><br>
NAHLA AL-ARIAN: Well, my older children understand that their father
<br>
is a political prisoner, and they are doing tremendous work to help <br>
their father and to speak on his behalf. And my younger children are
<br>
the ones who were affected the most, because they were deprived of <br>
their father's love and guidance, and what happened here in Tampa was
<br>
so much for them. I had to send my daughter, who is thirteen, I had <br>
to send her to Egypt to stay with her grandmother, because she <br>
couldn't handle some of the abuses at the public school she went to.
<br>
It wasn't easy for us. All the time I look at my home, and I feel <br>
it's not a home anymore without Sami. I want him back. And the <br>
government wants to keep him in jail forever. And this is sadistic, <br>
you know. I cannot understand why they love to torment people this <br>
way. <br><br>
AMY GOODMAN: Now, your husband said -- well, just on the record, the
<br>
seventeen counts against him, he was not found guilty on any of them.
<br>
On the majority, he was acquitted; on others, they were deadlocked. <br>
He said in a plea agreement that he had -- it was understood that he
<br>
would not have to cooperate with any grand jury investigation of <br>
other people. And now, there has been a grand jury impaneled. He <br>
doesn't know how many future ones will be impaneled simply to hold <br>
him in jail if he refuses to cooperate. What would stop his hunger <br>
strike right now? And is there a point where it will become your <br>
decision? And, Nahla, will you decide to have him force-fed? <br><br>
NAHLA AL-ARIAN: I will do my best to stop him from, like, fasting all
<br>
this time, because we want him alive, we want his love and his <br>
support to continue, even though he's in jail. But what's happening <br>
is that, God willing, as I said, on Friday next week we will hear <br>
something from the Fourth Circuit. Hopefully this will make him stop
<br>
the hunger strike, when we get a ruling from the Fourth Circuit, <br>
although I'm pessimistic in a way, because the atmosphere in our <br>
country is very, very depressing, especially when it comes to judges.
<br><br>
I don't know what's wrong with many, many judges here who are not <br>
really standing up to the government. But there are courageous <br>
judges, and hopefully they will rule in our favor. But even if they <br>
are not, God forbid, we have to stop Sami from, you know, killing <br>
himself, because this is not good. The government doesn't care. The <br>
government is sending to Iraq so many soldiers, and they don't care <br>
about their safety. How about the safety of my husband and his <br>
health? You know, this is a government that does not have any ethics,
<br>
any compassion, nothing. And we're dealing with a monster here, <br>
unfortunately. <br><br>
JUAN GONZALEZ: Throughout this long ordeal, what's your sense or your
<br>
opinion about why your husband has been targeted in this way by the <br>
federal government? <br>
NAHLA AL-ARIAN: Well, I feel, first of all, because he was very <br>
effective in talking about the Palestinian cause and in establishing
<br>
ties with the larger society and in empowering the Muslim community,
<br>
making them integrate into the larger society and exercise their <br>
political rights. Sami was very good in talking to everybody, helping
<br>
and working with everybody, and what made things worse -- <br><br>
AMY GOODMAN: Also very good in supporting President Bush in his first
<br>
run for office. The pictures of him and President Bush as they <br>
campaign through Florida -- as Bush campaigned through Florida, Sami
<br>
was with him. <br>
NAHLA AL-ARIAN: Because Bush deceived us. Bush lied to the Muslim <br>
community. Bush gave us a picture of a compassionate person, and <br>
that's completely the opposite. Later on, unfortunately, we found <br>
out. Al Gore was so arrogant, and he rejected talking to the Muslim <br>
community and addressing the issues that the Muslim community was <br>
worried about, such as the use of secret evidence against Muslims and
<br>
Arabs. So that's why, you know, we went to support Bush, because he's
<br>
the one who, in the second debate, came out and said we should <br>
support or we should stop the use of secret evidence and we should <br>
stop profiling Muslims and Arabs, so he was very outspoken. And that
<br>
was unfortunately, you know, a very deceitful act. It wasn't coming <br>
from his heart, as we found out later. <br><br>
AMY GOODMAN: What are you calling for right now, Nahla Al-Arian? We <br>
only have thirty seconds. <br>
NAHLA AL-ARIAN: Well, what I want is for the government to stop the <br>
abuse of the power by one of the employees there, the federal <br>
prosecutor Mr. Kromberg. He is doing this based on his ideology that
<br>
is racist and anti-Arab and -Muslim. <br>
And what we are saying to the government: keep your promise, release
<br>
Sami, deport him as you said, and let him live in peace with his wife
<br>
and children. We suffered enough. They stole ten years from our <br>
lives, not only four years that Sami spent in jail, but ten years, <br>
because of the harassment and the campaign, the vicious campaign by <br>
the media for a long, long time. We deserve some peace. For how long
<br>
they are going to torture us? <br><br>
AMY GOODMAN: Nahla Al-Arian, I want to thank you very much for being
<br>
with us. Nahla Al-Arian is Sami Al-Arian's wife. She heads to see him
<br>
today with her five children. They are all American citizens. That <br>
does it for our broadcast. Sami al-Arian, the fifty-fourth day of a <br>
hunger strike; he was acquitted of eight of seventeen charges against
<br>
him, deadlocked on the rest; never convicted on a charge yet remains
<br>
indefinitely in prison. You can look at the photographs on our <br>
website at democracynow.org.<br><br>
END. <br><br>
<br><br>
<br>
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