Free Al-Arian!

CIVIL RIGHTS ADVOCATES URGE DEPT. OF JUSTICE TO HONOR AL-ARIAN PLEA
AGREEMENT

(Washington, DC – 3/26/08) — In a meeting today with Department of Justice officials, civil rights advocates and community-based organizations called on federal prosecutors to honor their plea agreement with a former Univ. of Florida professor acquitted on terrorism-related charges in 2005. Dr. Sami Al-Arian agreed to a 2006 plea agreement with federal prosecutors on the condition that he not be required to testify against others and that he be released for deportation after the end of his current sentence.

SEE: Contact Department of Justice to Honor Plea Agreement for Dr. Sami
Al-Arian
(http://e2ma.net/go/1000695473/894544/32712693/goto:http://www.mpac.org/article.php?id=628)

Leaders from the Muslim Public Affairs Council, the American Arab
Anti-Discrimination Committee, Muslim Advocates and AltMuslim presented a
joint letter to Department of Justice (DOJ) officials during the meeting
which states, in part:

“After serving five years of detention in a federal penitentiary, much
of it in solitary confinement, and being acquitted of all major
charges, no public interest is served by continuing to detain Dr. Al-Arian.
Indeed, the public interest is best served when our government follows
through on its commitments, preserves its integrity, and upholds the
legitimacy of our criminal justice system.

“We thus call on the U.S. Department of Justice to honor the terms of
the plea agreement and immediately release Dr. Al-Arian for deportation
on April 7, 2008 — the day he is currently scheduled to have served
his sentence.”

Despite the plea agreement, the Justice Department subpoenaed Dr.
Al-Arian to testify before another grand jury in 2008. Advocates are
demanding that the Justice Department uphold their promise and not to seek to
compel Dr. Al-Arian to testify against
others.

“The public interest is best served when our government follows through
on its commitments, preserves its integrity, and upholds the
legitimacy of our criminal justice system,” said Executive Director Salam
Al-Marayati.

Dr. Al-Arian, a former Florida university professor, was arrested in
2003 on charges of funding terrorism. In December of 2005, a jury
acquitted Dr. Al-Arian of 8 of the 17 charges brought against him and was hung
on the remaining charges. In April of 2006, Dr. Al-Arian pleaded
guilty to a single non-terrorism related count of conspiracy and agreed to
be deported.

Despite the U.S. government’s representation that Dr. Al-Arian would
not be compelled to testify against others, Dr. Al-Arian was subpoenaed
and jailed for refusing to testify against others. Even after a civil
contempt charge was lifted in 2007, the Justice Department again
subpoenaed Dr. Al-Arian to testify before another grand jury in 2008. Dr.
Al-Arian has rejected this latest demand to testify and is protesting the
contravention by means of a hunger strike. As a result of the strike,
Dr. Al-Arian was recently transferred from his Virginia prison to a
medical facility in North Carolina. He has lost nearly 30 pounds and is
extremely ill due to severe dehydration.

Founded in 1988, the Muslim Public Affairs Council is an American
institution which informs and shapes public opinion and policy by serving as
a trusted resource to decision makers in government, media and policy
institutions. MPAC is also committed to developing leaders with the
purpose of enhancing the political and civic participation of Muslim
Americans.

[CONTACT: Edina Lekovic, 213-383-3443, communications@mpac.org]

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For Further Info on Sami Al-arian Case

Who is Sami Al-arian ?

See Also

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A Federal Witchhunt
Persecution of Sami Al Arian

Not Guilty, But Jailed for Five Years: Al-Arian’s Third Hunger Strike Under Way

Dr. Al-Arian’s Third Strike

The Torture of Sami Al Arian

A Judicial Crime in Tampa
Sami al-Arian’s Final Persecution