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Tampa Bay Coalition for Justice and Peace<br>
April 29, 2008<br><br>
Dr. Al-Arian Suspends Hunger Strike After 8 Weeks<br><br>
VIRGINIA -- Yesterday, on the 57th day of his hunger strike, Dr. Sami
Al-Arian suspended his fast, at the urging of his family, friends and
supporters. Dr. Al-Arian, who has lost more than 40 pounds, began the
hunger strike on March 3 to protest continued harassment and abuse of
power by the Justice Department. Early last week, as his blood pressure
and blood sugar reached dangerously low levels, Dr. Al-Arian collapsed
and lost consciousness at his cell in Hampton Roads Regional Jail and was
then examined by a doctor. Dr. Al-Arian drank no water for the first 18
days of his fast. During his hunger strike, he was moved to five
different facilities a half dozen times.<br><br>
Dr. Al-Arian was supposed to have been released on April 7. Since April
14, he has been in total segregation, and living under harsh conditions.
He is not allowed any visitors and is given only two phone calls a month.
Though officials at Hampton Roads Regional Jail told Dr. Al-Arian his
conditions would improve and he would be moved into the general
population as soon as he began eating again, this has proven to be a lie.
Dr. Al-Arian remains in segregation although he has been cleared
medically. Please see the Action Alert below to demand that he be treated
humanely. <br><br>
"Today Dr. Sami Al-Arian is an internationally recognized political
prisoner in America Over the last two decades, his legendry
struggle for the independence of Palestine has included five years of
incarceration, which continues, and two extended hunger strikes for sixty
days and fifty-seven days, respectively," said Dr. Agha Saeed, chair
of the American Muslim Taskforce on Civil Rights and Elections.
"Just as Dr. Martin Luther King and Malcolm X symbolized the
struggle for human rights in the fifties and sixties, Dr. Sami Al Arian
has come to symbolize the current struggle for human rights. I am
one of those who had beseeched him to end his hunger strike and I am
personally indebted to him for accepting our request."<br>
<br>
"Sami Al-Arian has put his own life on the line for human dignity,
freedom, justice and peace," said Muhammad Salim Akhtar, chairman of
American Muslim Alliance Midwest Region. "His resilience at the cost
of his own physical and mental suffering has become a source of strength
for people of conscience and high morals to unite across borders."
<br><br>
For the past three weeks, ICE has been claiming that the deportation
process has been slowed down because of Dr. Al-Arian's hunger strike.
Following passionate appeal from his family, friends, and supporters, and
on strong advice of his counsel, Dr. Al-Arian has also suspended his
hunger strike so as not to allow any further delays or excuses in his
deportation.<br><br>
"The political persecution of Dr. Al Arian will forever be a dark
stain on our nation's history; a stain reminiscent of the Palmer Raids,
the McCarthy era and COINTELPRO," said Mahdi Bray, executive
director of MAS Freedom. "Never convicted of a crime by a jury of
his peers and after an agreement with the US government for deportation,
Dr. Al Arian still remains inhumanely incarcerated. Who within our
government has the courage to right this cold and calculated
injustice?" <br><br>
"Anybody can understand that this about basic fairness. You don't
just keep adding jail time arbitrarily," said Warren Clark, pastor
of First United Church (UCC) of Tampa. Referring to the prison's
ban of letters to Dr. Al-Arian, Clark said, "They are
disallowing people of faith that want to accompany him. That is
disrespectful of humanity. We call upon our government to be respectful
of these basic core values of humanity." <br><br>
Peter Erlinder, former president of the National Lawyers Guild said:
" On May 1, 2006, the Bush Justice Department publicly recommended
that Dr. Al Arian be released and deported without delay, in order to
claim a legal victory. The continued detention of Dr. Al Arian
under inhumane conditions is psychological and physical torture, intended
to break the spirit of an American civil-liberties and human rights hero.
Free Sami Al Arian, NOW!"<br>
<br>
TAKE URGENT ACTION<br><br>
Just 3 Phone Calls & 1 Email to Make a Difference<br>
<br>
Dear friends,<br>
<br>
Dr. Sami Al-Arian is at an extremely critical
juncture. Any day now he may indicted on criminal contempt, a charge that
carries a minimum sentence of five years. Another Palestinian-American
professor in a similar case was sentenced to eleven years for criminal
contempt last fall.<br><br>
On March 20th, in a blatant violation of the
plea agreement signed between Dr. Al Arian and the U.S. government, a
Virginia federal judge forced Dr. Al-Arian to appear in court to testify
before a third grand jury. Given that the government had in the past
cynically twisted his words to try to convict him of perjury, Dr.
Al-Arian recognized the perjury trap laid for him, and refused to testify
as his attorneys advised.<br>
<br>
For more details of this case, check out our NEW PAMPHLETS at <br>
pamphlets.freesaminow.com<br>
<br>
3 PHONE CALLS + 1 EMAIL = HUGE DIFFERENCE<br>
<br>
PLEASE CALL:<br>
1. Hampton Roads Regional Jail: (757) 488-7500 (ext. 8)<br>
Ask them why:<br>
- Dr.
Al-Arian is not allowed to regularly call<br>
his family;<br>
- Bright lights are glared into his cell 24/7;<br>
- He is only allowed to shower twice a week;<br>
- He
is handcuffed every time he leaves his<br>
cell;<br>
- He
is not allowed to know the time of day to<br>
perform his <br>
prayers properly.<br>
- He
is in a segregated unit.<br>
Be prepared to be told that you have the wrong section. THAT IS NOT <br>
TRUE. Extension 8 for the Warden's Office is the correct office to <br>
bring up this issue.<br>
Also be prepared for the prison staff to lie to you, or to tell you <br>
that what they are doing is in conformity with prison regulations. IT IS
NOT. Insist that the <br>
information you have is accurate. Be polite but unwaveringly firm. Make
your point, don't <br>
back down from it, and leave your message for the warden.<br>
<br>
2. Vincent Archibeque, Assistant Field Office Director of the <br>
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE): (703) 285-6221.<br>
Ask Mr. Archibeque to ensure that Dr. Al-Arian is transferred to a <br>
facility where he will be treated with dignity and that he be deported
<br>
as soon as possible in accordance with the plea agreement.<br>
<br>
3. Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties (Department of Homeland
<br>
Security):<br>
(866)-644-8360 (press 1 for English and then press 5 to leave a<br>
message)<br>
Bring up all the complaints regarding Dr. Al-Arian's jail conditions
<br>
mentioned in item (1), ask that he be transferred to a prison where he
<br>
will be treated with dignity, and ask that he be deported as soon as
<br>
possible in accordance with the terms of his plea bargain.<br>
<br>
Again, always be polite but firm.<br>
<br>
If you don't speak to a live person:<br>
- simply leave a message on the
answering machine; and<br>
- call back later that day or
the next day to try to get<br>
through.<br>
<br>
PLEASE EMAIL:<br>
4. Attorney General Michael Mukasey: ASKDOJ@usdoj.gov <br>
Ask Mr. Mukasey to ensure that Dr. Al-Arian is deported as soon as <br>
possible in accordance with the plea agreement. (For a letter
template,<br>
<br>
please go to
<a href="http://www.freesamialarian.com/letters/sample1.doc" eudora="autourl">
http://www.freesamialarian.com/letters/sample1.doc</a>)<br>
- Before sending the email,
make sure to BCC <br>
samialarianactioncommittee@gmail.com<br>
- If you have time, fax your
letter in addition to<br>
sending it by <br>
email: (202) 307-6777<br>
<br>
To learn how you can help EVEN MORE, please visit: <br>
<a href="http://www.freesamialarian.com/help.html" eudora="autourl">
http://www.freesamialarian.com/help.html<br>
</a> <br>
Lastly, don't forget to PRAY for Dr. Al-Arian and his family.<br><br>
<br>
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