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The Prisoner: Sami Al-Arian Lost in Police State America
Sami Al-Arian's Long Ordeal
by Stephen Lendman Sami Al-Arian is a political prisoner in Police State America. This article reviews his case briefly and updates it to the present.
Because of his faith, ethnicity and political activism, the Bush administration targeted Al-Arian for supporting "terrorism."
In fact, he's a Palestinian refugee, distinguished professor and scholar, community leader and civil activist.
27/03/08 "ICH" - Nonetheless, the FBI harassed him for 11 years, arrested him on
February 20, 2003, and falsely accused him of backing organizations
fronting for Palestinian Islamic Jihad - a 1997 State
Department-designated "Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO)."
A
week later, in spite of his many awards, impeccable credentials and
tenured status, University of South Florida president Judy Genshaft
fired him under right wing pressure.
Since February 20, 2003,
Al-Arian has been imprisoned - first at Tampa, Florida's Orient Road
jail, then on to more than a dozen different maximum and other federal
prison facilities. He's currently on hunger strike at Warsaw,
Virginia's Northern Neck Regional jail after being transferred back
March 18 from Butner, North Carolina's medical prison.
Al-Arian's
trial began in June 2005 and was a travesty. It lasted six months, cost
an estimated $50 million, and the prosecution called 80 witnesses,
including Israeli intelligence agents and victims of suicide bombings
to prejudice the jury. It introduced portions of hundreds of wiretapped
phone calls from over a half million recorded; "evidence" from faxes,
emails and what was seized from his home; quotes from his speeches and
lectures; conferences, events and rallies he attended; articles he
wrote; books he owned; magazines he edited; and various publications he
read - all legal and in no way incriminating unless falsely twisted to
appear that way.
After years of effort and millions spent,
Al-Arian was exonerated. On December 6, 2005 after 13 days of
deliberation, the jury acquitted him of all (eight) "terrorism"
charges. They were deadlocked 10 - 2 for acquittal on nine others. All
of them were false and unjust.
Nonetheless, within days, the
Justice Department said it would re-try him on the lesser charges. His
lawyers called it legal but a highly unusual move. At the same time and
in secret, a plea bargain deal was struck.
It stipulated:
Al-Arian neither engaged in or had any knowledge of violent acts;
that he would not be required to cooperate further with prosecutors; and
that he would be released on time served and deported voluntarily to his country of choice.
In
the meantime, Al-Arian remained in custody pending sentencing and
deportation on May 1, 2006. He expected to be free and his ordeal
ended. Instead, the presiding judge changed the deal. He sentenced
Al-Arian to the maximum 57 months, gave him credit for time served, and
ordered him held for the remaining 11 months, after which an April 2007
deportation would follow. Now it's extended as explained below.
In
October 2006, assistant prosecutor Gordon Kromberg violated plea
bargain terms by subpoenaing Al-Arian before a grand jury. His defense
attorneys tried to block it by citing his "no-grand jury cooperation"
provision to prevent DOJ from springing a perjury-obstruction trap.
Defense's motion was denied, and on November 16 Al-Arian refused to
testify and was held in contempt.
A month later, the grand jury
expired, a new one was convened, and Al-Arian was again subpoenaed to
testify. He continued to refuse, was held in contempt, and had his
sentence increased without mitigation to April 7, 2008.
On March
3, 2008 Kromberg ordered Al-Arian before still another March 19 grand
jury, three weeks before his scheduled release and deportation. On the
same day, Al-Arian began a hunger strike against the government's
continued harassment. It's his third one but is life-threatening for a
man in his condition. He's diabetic and needs regular sustenance to
avoid serious health problems. His January through March, 2007 strike
depleted one-fourth of his body weight, gravely harmed him, and ended
only at the urging of his family.
He's now 20 days into his
latest fast, lost 30 pounds, is weakening, and his life is endangered.
On March 12, Al-Arian was transferred to the Butner, North Carolina
medical facility where treatment is poor, the staff indifferent, and in
Al-Arian's case hostile to a designated enemy of the state. On March
18, he was returned to Warsaw, Virginia's Northern Neck Regional jail
ahead of his third grand jury appearance. Again, he refused to testify,
so he'll likely face new contempt charges and continued confinement.
George
Washington University Law School Professor Jonathan Turley heads up
Al-Arian's legal team. On March 3, he released the following statement:
"On
behalf of Mr. Olson and Mr. Meitl and the entire legal team, (we are
greatly disappointed by) the Justice Department('s)
continu(ing)....effort to mete out punishment that it could not secure
from a jury. Having lost (its) case (it's) openly sought to extend
(Al-Arian's) confinement by daisy-chaining grand juries. As in other
cases, the government has given Dr. Al-Arian the choice of an obvious
perjury trap or a contempt sanction. (Either way assures his
imprisonment. This) choice....is obnoxious to our legal system and
contrary to any standard of decency. The mistreatment of Dr. Al-Arian
remains an international symbol of how the Bush Administration has
discarded fundamental principles of fairness in a blind pursuit of
retribution against this political activist. We stand committed to
fighting this great injustice and hopefully reuniting Dr. Al-Arian with
his family and friends."
In the meantime, his long ordeal
continues at a time lawlessness prevails over justice, and we're all
Sami-Al-Arians in America's "war on terrorism."
Stephen Lendman
lives in Chicago and can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.
Visit his web site at sjlendman.blogspot.com and listen to The Global
Research News Hour on RepublicBroadcasting.org Mondays from 11AM to 1PM
US Central time for cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests.
Civics 101: USA v. Al Arian by Russell Mokhiber If it’s Sunday night, it’s Civics 101 at the Mokhiber household.
Last night, the home schooling Civics topic:
U.S. Constitution.
First Amendment.
Congress shall pass no law abridging freedom of speech.
Let’s go to the DVD.
USA v.Al-Arian.
Let’s see if a documentary about the U.S. Constitution can hold the attention of a 13 year-old and a 10 year-old - for 90 minutes.
Sami Al-Arian is the University of South Florida Professor and Palestinian activist.
Al-Arian advocates for the overthrow of the Israeli occupation in the West Bank and Gaza.
As Nelson Mandela advocated for the overthrow of the apartheid regime in South Africa.
As any of us would fight against occupation - if we were occupied.
Al-Arian was engaging in free speech.
But, lo and behold, Al-Arian became a target of the U.S. Department of Justice.
They said he supported Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
They accused him of being a terrorist.
They indicted him and others in Florida and put him on trial.
They tapped thousands of his family’s phone conversations.
Including those of his wife ordering pizza.
They used 400 of those phone conversations at trial.
Picking and choosing.
Slicing and dicing.
They flew Israeli victims of bus bombings from Tel Aviv to St. Petersburg, Florida to testify against him.
They spent $50 million to prosecute Sami Al-Arian.
One problem - the government couldn’t establish a link between Al-Arian’s advocacy and these violent acts.
Two years ago this week, on December 6, 2005, Sami Al-Arian was found not guilty on eight counts.
The jury hung on the remaining nine counts.
The reporters wanted to know from the jurors - why didn’t you convict Sami Al-Arian of being a terrorist?
What was missing from the government’s case?
“Evidence,” one juror responded wryly while leaving the courthouse.
“Guilty of what?” asked St. Petersburg Times reporter Meg Laughlin.
“Why is he still in jail?” asks my ten-year-old, Nicholas.
Good question.
Pause the DVD.
The jury acquitted Al-Arian of eight counts.
They were unanimous. 12 to 0.
But they deadlock in the remaining nine counts - 10 to 2.
That’s called a hung jury.
And when the jury hangs, the prosecutor can come back and try Al-Arian again on those counts.
Which they threatened to do.
But they also held out the carrot.
Plead guilty to one count to non-violent support of Palestine Islamic Jihad.
And we’ll recommend time served.
And you’ll be deported.
One thing Al-Arian has to be proud of is - his family.
They are the stars of this movie.
His wife Nahla, and children Leila, Leena, Abdullah, Lama, and Ali - are strong, sane, composed, articulate.
Not that they don’t have their moments of frustration. They do. Nahla blows a gasket while cutting her son Ali’s hair. (Ali doesn’t help matters by resisting the hair cut.) Nahla blows again while speaking to Sami - he’s on the speaker phone from prison asking her to check some web site. She’s busy doing something else. He hangs up on her. She reaches for a couple of unidentified pills.
But never do the Al-Arians blow up at the Norwegian film crew - which is camped out at their home throughout the trial. If they did, the blow up didn’t make the final cut.
When federal prosecutors offered Al-Arian the plea deal, he questioned whether to take it.
He would have preferred to fight it.
He figured - hey, I beat the government once, I can beat them again.
But the family wanted none of it.
The family was fed up with our government’s harassment, trials, phone-tapping, and right wing attacks.
They wanted out.
Give us our father back and let’s move to Egypt.
As Georgetown University Law Professor David Cole puts it - Al-Arian could have fought through another six month trial, and even if he were found not guilty, he would still be facing deportation.
So, Al-Arian pleads guilty to one count.
And the family all drives down to the courthouse for what they thought was one last time to get their father.
But the Judge decides to reject the government’s proposed sentence - time served - and hits Al-Arian with the maximum sentence.
Al-Arian stays in jail.
He was due out earlier this year, but then came Gordon Kromberg.
Kromberg is an assistant U.S. Attorney in Virginia.
Kromberg wants to put Al-Arian through a perjury trap.
He wants him to testify before a federal grand jury in Virginia investigating Islamic charities.
This was in direct violation of the plea deal Al-Arian cut with the government.
So, Al-Arian refuses to testify.
Kromberg charges him with contempt and throws him in jail in Virginia.
When Al-Arian’s attorneys request a delay of the prison transfer during the holy month, Kromberg shows his stripes when he responds:
“If they can kill each other during Ramadan, they can appear before the grand jury. I am not going to put off Dr. Al- Arian’s grand jury appearance just to assist in what is becoming the Islamization of America.”
The movie ends before Kromberg enters the picture.
Too bad.
He would have fit well into this little morality play.
Good v. Evil.
Civics 101.
Al-Arian remains in prison in Virginia on civil contempt charges.
As he appeals his case, the government is considering charging him again with criminal contempt.
Earlier this year, Nahla and her two youngest children - Ali and Lama - left the country for Egypt.
The movie - USA v. Al-Arian - will open in Washington, D.C. this Wednesday, December 5, 2007 at the Uptown Theater in Washington, D.C.
After the movie, Democracy Now’s Amy Goodman will moderate a roundtable discussion with Georgetown Law Professor David Cole, GWU Law Professor Jonathan Turley, one of Al-Arian’s trial attorneys - Linda Moreno - along with the Norwegian director of the movie Line Halvorsen, and Sami’s son Abdullah.
If you live in the Washington, D.C. area and you have young children - take them to see this movie.
If not, get a copy of the DVD and show it far and wide.
It’s a great crash course in Civics 101.
Russell Mokhiber is editor of the Washington, D.C.-based Corporate Crime Reporter.
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by Russell Mokhiber
If it’s Sunday night, it’s Civics 101 at the Mokhiber household.
Last night, the home schooling Civics topic:
U.S. Constitution.
First Amendment.
Congress shall pass no law abridging freedom of speech.
Let’s go to the DVD.
USA v.Al-Arian.
Let’s see if a documentary about the U.S. Constitution can hold the attention of a 13 year-old and a 10 year-old - for 90 minutes.
Sami Al-Arian is the University of South Florida Professor and Palestinian activist.
Al-Arian advocates for the overthrow of the Israeli occupation in the West Bank and Gaza.
As Nelson Mandela advocated for the overthrow of the apartheid regime in South Africa.
As any of us would fight against occupation - if we were occupied.
Al-Arian was engaging in free speech.
But, lo and behold, Al-Arian became a target of the U.S. Department of Justice.
They said he supported Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
They accused him of being a terrorist.
They indicted him and others in Florida and put him on trial.
They tapped thousands of his family’s phone conversations.
Including those of his wife ordering pizza.
They used 400 of those phone conversations at trial.
Picking and choosing.
Slicing and dicing.
They flew Israeli victims of bus bombings from Tel Aviv to St. Petersburg, Florida to testify against him.
They spent $50 million to prosecute Sami Al-Arian.
One problem - the government couldn’t establish a link between Al-Arian’s advocacy and these violent acts.
Two years ago this week, on December 6, 2005, Sami Al-Arian was found not guilty on eight counts.
The jury hung on the remaining nine counts.
The reporters wanted to know from the jurors - why didn’t you convict Sami Al-Arian of being a terrorist?
What was missing from the government’s case?
“Evidence,” one juror responded wryly while leaving the courthouse.
“Guilty of what?” asked St. Petersburg Times reporter Meg Laughlin.
“Why is he still in jail?” asks my ten-year-old, Nicholas.
Good question.
Pause the DVD.
The jury acquitted Al-Arian of eight counts.
They were unanimous. 12 to 0.
But they deadlock in the remaining nine counts - 10 to 2.
That’s called a hung jury.
And when the jury hangs, the prosecutor can come back and try Al-Arian again on those counts.
Which they threatened to do.
But they also held out the carrot.
Plead guilty to one count to non-violent support of Palestine Islamic Jihad.
And we’ll recommend time served.
And you’ll be deported.
One thing Al-Arian has to be proud of is - his family.
They are the stars of this movie.
His wife Nahla, and children Leila, Leena, Abdullah, Lama, and Ali - are strong, sane, composed, articulate.
Not that they don’t have their moments of frustration. They do. Nahla blows a gasket while cutting her son Ali’s hair. (Ali doesn’t help matters by resisting the hair cut.) Nahla blows again while speaking to Sami - he’s on the speaker phone from prison asking her to check some web site. She’s busy doing something else. He hangs up on her. She reaches for a couple of unidentified pills.
But never do the Al-Arians blow up at the Norwegian film crew - which is camped out at their home throughout the trial. If they did, the blow up didn’t make the final cut.
When federal prosecutors offered Al-Arian the plea deal, he questioned whether to take it.
He would have preferred to fight it.
He figured - hey, I beat the government once, I can beat them again.
But the family wanted none of it.
The family was fed up with our government’s harassment, trials, phone-tapping, and right wing attacks.
They wanted out.
Give us our father back and let’s move to Egypt.
As Georgetown University Law Professor David Cole puts it - Al-Arian could have fought through another six month trial, and even if he were found not guilty, he would still be facing deportation.
So, Al-Arian pleads guilty to one count.
And the family all drives down to the courthouse for what they thought was one last time to get their father.
But the Judge decides to reject the government’s proposed sentence - time served - and hits Al-Arian with the maximum sentence.
Al-Arian stays in jail.
He was due out earlier this year, but then came Gordon Kromberg.
Kromberg is an assistant U.S. Attorney in Virginia.
Kromberg wants to put Al-Arian through a perjury trap.
He wants him to testify before a federal grand jury in Virginia investigating Islamic charities.
This was in direct violation of the plea deal Al-Arian cut with the government.
So, Al-Arian refuses to testify.
Kromberg charges him with contempt and throws him in jail in Virginia.
When Al-Arian’s attorneys request a delay of the prison transfer during the holy month, Kromberg shows his stripes when he responds:
“If they can kill each other during Ramadan, they can appear before the grand jury. I am not going to put off Dr. Al- Arian’s grand jury appearance just to assist in what is becoming the Islamization of America.”
The movie ends before Kromberg enters the picture.
Too bad.
He would have fit well into this little morality play.
Good v. Evil.
Civics 101.
Al-Arian remains in prison in Virginia on civil contempt charges.
As he appeals his case, the government is considering charging him again with criminal contempt.
Earlier this year, Nahla and her two youngest children - Ali and Lama - left the country for Egypt.
The movie - USA v. Al-Arian - will open in Washington, D.C. this Wednesday, December 5, 2007 at the Uptown Theater in Washington, D.C.
After the movie, Democracy Now’s Amy Goodman will moderate a roundtable discussion with Georgetown Law Professor David Cole, GWU Law Professor Jonathan Turley, one of Al-Arian’s trial attorneys - Linda Moreno - along with the Norwegian director of the movie Line Halvorsen, and Sami’s son Abdullah.
If you live in the Washington, D.C. area and you have young children - take them to see this movie.
If not, get a copy of the DVD and show it far and wide.
It’s a great crash course in Civics 101.
Russell Mokhiber is editor of the Washington, D.C.-based Corporate Crime Reporter.