[Pnews] All charges finally dismissed against Sami Al-Arian

[Prisoner News]

    FEDERAL COURT DISMISSES ALL CHARGES AGAINST DR. SAMI AL-ARIAN

1, June 27, 2014 by jonathanturley 
<http://jonathanturley.org/author/jonathanturley/>
*http://jonathanturley.org/2014/06/27/federal-court-drops-all-charges-against-dr-sami-al-arian/*

  It is with a great sense of relief and thankfulness that I can now 
report that all charges have been dropped against my client Dr. Sami 
Al-Arian. Minutes ago, United States District Judge Anthony J. Trenga 
signed the order dismissing the indictment against Dr. Al-Arian. The 
case was before Judge Leonie M. Brinkema, but it was Judge Trenga who 
signed the order on Friday afternoon.

I have represented Dr. Al-Arian for roughly eight years as we fought 
against his deportation and the dismissal of these charges. We have 
litigated the case from the 11th Circuit to the 4th Circuit to the 
Supreme Court and back again. It has been a long and difficult road for 
the Al-Arian family.

In September 2004, Dr. Sami Amin Al-Arian was charged, along with 
various co-defendants, in a 53-count Superseding Indictment. Following a 
highly publicized six-month trial in 2005, Dr. Al-Arian was acquitted on 
eight counts and the jury was unable to reach a unanimous verdict on the 
remaining nine counts. There were only two jurors who voted against 
acquitting Dr. Al-Arian of all of the remaining counts.

As the government considered whether to bring charges against Dr. 
Al-Arian on the remaining counts, the parties began to negotiate a plea 
agreement. As a result of these negotiations, Dr. Al- Arian executed a 
written plea agreement on February 28, 2006. Pursuant to this agreement, 
Dr. Al-Arian committed to pleading guilty to Court 4 of the Superseding 
Indictment. The narrative of this count largely dealt with a statement 
that Dr. Al- Arian made to a reporter and his support with an 
immigration matter for a person "associated" with the Palestinian 
Islamic Jihad (PIJ). The count notably did not admit to any of the core 
terrorism charges levied against him regarding alleged leadership in PIJ 
and the other terrorism acts. Dr. Al-Arian was sentenced to a 57-month 
term of imprisonment on May 1, 2006.

In fact, as evidence of the high-profile nature of the case, 
then-Attorney General Ashcroft called an unorthodox press conference to 
announce Dr. Al-Arian's arrest. Ashcroft had publicly and repeatedly 
cited the prosecution as a major victory in his administration. See, 
e.g., Paul Lomartire, Professor Says Terrorism Arrest 'All About 
Politics,' Cox News Service, Feb. 20, 2003. A movie has since been made 
of the trial and hundreds of articles have appeared in local and 
national publications regarding the case.

The trial loss and plea agreement was viewed as a significant defeat for 
the Justice Department. In the immediate aftermath of the settlement and 
public criticism, prosecutors set out to call Dr. Al-Arian to a grand 
jury despite his prior insistence that he would not cooperate in such an 
investigation as a condition of his plea agreement.

The result was a highly abusive incarceration of Dr. Al-Arian and 
eventually this indictment for criminal contempt (for refusing to 
testify) in 2008 by the Justice Department. He was indicted despite my 
producing a polygraph showing that he could offer nothing of the matters 
under investigation by the grand jury and a sworn detailed declaration 
of his lack of knowledge. We filed a series of motions contesting the 
indictment for selective prosecution, errors in the indictment, and a 
clear violation of the agreement made by the Justice Department.

A few years ago, we were able to have Dr. Al-Arian released from jail 
and later we were able to have his home confinement conditions lifted. 
He has lived with his family in Virginia.

This case remains one of the most troubling chapters in this nation's 
crackdown after 9-11. Despite the jury verdict and the agreement reached 
to allow Dr. Al-Arian to leave the country, the Justice Department 
continued to fight for his incarceration and for a trial in this case. 
It will remain one of the most disturbing cases of my career in terms of 
the actions taken by our government. However, despite our often heated 
hearings in this case, I thank those at the Justice Department who 
agreed to the dismissal of the indictment. This family has been put 
through over a decade of grinding, unrelenting litigation. It is time to 
bring closure to this matter once for all.

I am very thankful to the many law students who have assisted me on this 
case as well as the help of the law firm of Bryan Cave as local counsel 
in the case. We have represented Dr. Al-Arian pro bono because of the 
important constitutional and ethical issues raised by his case. The core 
values underlying this defense ultimately prevailed but only due to the 
extraordinary effort of Dr. Al-Arian, his loyal family, and a wide array 
of supporters. It is often said that Justice delay is Justice denied. 
However, despite this delay, justice did ultimately prevail for not just 
the Al-Arians but our legal system.

Jonathan Turley

STATEMENT FROM AL-ARIAN FAMILY
June 27, 2014

    We are glad that the government has finally decided to drop the
    charges against Sami Al-Arian. It has been a long and difficult 11
    years for our family in what has ultimately been shown to be a
    political case. We are relieved that this ordeal finally appears to
    be at an end. We hope that today's events bring to a conclusion the
    government's pursuit of Dr. Al-Arian and that he can finally be able
    to resume his life with his family in freedom.

    We are so grateful to our brilliant attorney, Jonathan Turley and
    his legal team for their tireless efforts and advocacy on our
    behalf. Thank you to all of our supporters around the country and
    across the globe, who have stood behind us throughout the years.

-- 
Freedom Archives 522 Valencia Street San Francisco, CA 94110 415 
863.9977 www.freedomarchives.org
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