Al-Arian to face criminal contempt trial

ALEXANDIRA, Va. – A federal judge ruled Friday that Sami Al-Arian will stand trial in March for criminal contempt.
Al-Arian had requested that the charge be dismissed based on “selective prosecution.”

But, while U.S. District Court Judge Leonie Brinkema agreed with Al-Arian that such prosecutions are “rare” and that the facts of his case are “absolutely unique,” the judge said a jury would have to decide if Al-Arian committed a crime.
According to federal prosecutors in Virginia, the criminal contempt charge stems from Al-Arian’s refusal to testify before a grand jury about the actions of a Virginia think tank, the International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT).
Over 16 years ago, the think tank gave $50,000 to WISE (World and Islam Studies Enterprise), a former think tank on Middle Eastern issues at the University of South Florida, run by Al-Arian. Federal prosecutors want Al-Arian to testify about the details of that transaction.
But, according to documents filed by Al-Arian’s attorneys, Al-Arian “did cooperate and answer questions on IIIT” for federal prosecutors, which shows, wrote the defense attorneys, that the Virginia prosecutors are “ultimately not interested in IIIT … but want to revisit the Tampa trial.”
The Tampa trial ended in December 2005 when a jury acquitted Al-Arian of eight terrorism charges, some related to the financial transactions of WISE, and deadlocked on nine other charges, 10 to 2 in favor of acquittal.
At the upcoming criminal contempt trial, said the judge, “the jury will have the flesh on the bones of that case” and be given details.
After the Tampa trial, Al-Arian signed a plea agreement, pleading guilty to one count of providing immigration services to associates of the terrorist group Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Brinkema said Friday that Al-Arian believed the plea agreement protected him from further testimony, and the criminal contempt jury will also learn about that.
Al-Arian was sentenced to 57 months in prison and was due to be released and deported to Egypt in April 2007, after being incarcerated for more than two years before the Tampa trial began.
But civil contempt charges in Virginia and an immigration order kept him in prison more than a year longer. Then, prosecutors charged him with criminal contempt.
In September, 2008, Brinkema released Al-Arian on bond while she waited to see if the U.S. Supreme Court would rule on whether federal prosecutors in Virginia had violated his plea agreement when they called him to testify before a grand jury.
After the Supreme Court refused to hear the case, Brinkema took up the issue of criminal contempt again.
“I can’t believe that after all we’ve been through Sami has to go through another trial,” said his wife, Nahla, as she and her husband left the courthouse.
About 50 people – mostly from Tampa -- packed into the Alexandria courtroom in support of Al-Arian.
“We came because we believe it is time for his ordeal to end,” said Lois Price, a Tampa computer programmer.
The criminal contempt trial is scheduled for March 9.

[Sami and Nahla Al-Arian with their adult children Leena, Laila and Abdullah leaving their apartment for a federal hearing in Alexandria, Va.]

Comments

[CP]

The government needs to leave Dr. Al-Arian alone. The government never had a case against Al-Arian. All he wants to do is get out of this country and be with his family in Egypt. The US has locked up this man for years for what? He has not done anything. I had Dr. Al-Arian for a teacher at USF and he was a great teacher.

[poorrichard]

His situation is the result of Israel and the Jewish lobby waging a war of censorship aganist every outspoken intellectual critic of the zionism. The Feds had no evidence against him and he has been treated like a criminal for far too long. His case brings shame to America and is yet another example of why we should not give in to Israel. Not only do they target innocent children and women with 100 ton bombs, but they also pursue every intellectual critic of their country in the spirit of Joseph McCarthy.

[bbuc]

Bush's Justice Department under Gonzales and Mukasey is a national disaster- and the years long 'torture by prosecution' of Dr. Al-Arian and his wife and children is a good example of why.

Their persecution of him must end, and under new AG Eric Holder it surely will.

[tgoody]

Stop wasting tax payers money and deport the man. The man has already beat the system. Guilty or not let him leave.

[Joe]

FOUR MORE DAYS and we'll have our Constitution back...and our government can get back to helping its citizens, instead of pursuing this protracted witch hunt!

[Sashland]

So, following another loss by Al Arian, the terrorist sympathizers and supporters attack again with lies, distortions, and hatred.

Al Arian pled GUILTY to a serious crime. He did so to avoid the risk of being found guilty on many other changes. The mistrial did NOT clear him of those allegations.

He was not just a teacher. That was his cover. He was an organizer of jihad. He helped terrorists. Read what the Judge wrote about him if you want the truth. He is a liar and a terrible person - not according to me but the JUDGE. The one who had access to ALL of the information, even that the Jury did not see.

Al Arian deserves to stay in jail until he testifies to the Grand Jury. It is necessary to protect our country from terrorist attacks. His failure to cooperate proves that he cares more about his terrorist friends than the safety of my country. He is therefor, but his own guilty admissions and by his acts, an enemy of the US in my opinion.

Maybe a legal review will give him a chance for a new trail, if he wants to vacate his plea by claiming lawyer malpractice and 'I didn't know what words meant even though I signed and said I did understand'. If he is so innocent, why didn't he just stand trail? If he s so innocent, why doesn't he just testify before the Grand Jury {JUST LIKE WE ARE ALL OBLIGATED TO DO}.

He has had every legal protection and the sysem has been fair. Just testify like any decent person would. Then he can go free. HE choses to remain in jail. What is he hiding?

and stop already with the manipulative and deceptive posts that try to make him some hero or victim. He is a felon and abused our country's hospitality. At best he is a rude guest.

so, stop already with the manipulative and deceptive posts that try to make him some hero or victim. He is neither.

The hero is his prosecutor.
The victims are those killed or maimed by his friends' bombs.

so, stop already with the manipulative and deceptive posts that try to make him some hero or victim.

[Sashland]

Bottom line from Judge Brinkema:

"There is nothing in the record that would indicate that the U.S. attorney in this district is barred, by the plea agreement in Florida, from bringing this action."

[couldn't find that above...}

The plain reading of the agreement's language made it obvious to those not biased to "Free AlArian".

so much for all the hooey shouted here about the Guilty Plea Agreement shielding AlArian from Grand Jury testimony.

Good luck at that trial, where the main issue has now just been concluded.