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April 15, 2006

US: Islamist Professor To Be Deported

News from Voice of America the Washington Post and Tampa Tribune states that Sami Al-Arian (pictured, right), a former professor at the University in South Florida has agreed to deportation. Al-Arian who recently was tried on terror charges pertaining to funding of the Palestinian terror group Islamic Jihad. Al-Arian was arrested in February 2003 with three others, and brought to trial on June 6 last year.

On December 5, a jury of 12 acquitted Sami Al-Arian on eight counts, including conspiracy to murder and maim, as well as several charges of providing material support to a terrorist group. The Tampa jury also acquitted Al-Arian of obstruction of justice.

The jury could not decide on a further nine counts of racketeering conspiracy, money laundering, conspiracy to provide material support, and conspiracy to make and receive contributions of funds, goods or services to terrorists.

Crucially, they could not definitive evidence to support the allegation that Al-Arian was linked to a terrorist attack in 1995 that killed seven Israelis and one American, Alisa Flatow.

Two of his co-defendants, Sameeh Hammoudeh and Ghassan Ballut, were also acquitted of all charges against them The third, Hatem Fariz, was acquitted on eight counts of some of the charges against him, but undecided on 25 others.

Kuwaiti-born Sami al-Arian was a Palestinian, who had spent the last 30 years as a US resident, also acting as a Palestinian rights campaigner. Following the trial which gave disappointment to prosecutors and counter-terrorist agencies, there was an option of retrying the former professor.

Now a deal has been struck between Al-Arian and prosecutors, in which the former professor admits involvement with a terrorist organisation and agrees to be deported, without recourse to a further trial. The deal involves giving Al-Arian a sentence which is more or less equivalent to the time that he has spent behind bars, according to William Moffitt, who had formerly been a defense attorney during Al-Arian's trial.

Ahmed Bedier of the Council on American Islamic Relations or CAIR, who himself stated that before 1995 that it was "not immoral" to support the terror group Islamic Jihad, has denied the statements that Al-Arian has pleaded guilty to terrorism charges.

"He stayed true to his convictions - he stayed true he wasn't going to plead to those issues. There is no conspiracy to support terrorism," Bedier said.

Bedier organised a news conference, saying he expected Al-Arian's family to attend. They did not.

Allegations concerning AL-Arian's possible support for terrorism stem back to a PBS TV report made in 1994, entitled "Jihad in America". Since 1993, the computer sciences professor has been subject to government wiretaps on his faxes and phone calls.

Al-Arian was suspended from his job as a Professor at the University of South Florida in September 2001, after he appeared on Fox News' "The O'Reilly Factor". He was officially fired in February 2003 following his indictment. The University then stated that he had used his academic position for noneducational, improper purposes.

Bedier and CAIR have campaigned to have Al-Arian released, holding a Fundraiser in February entitled preposterously "Justice Delayed is Justice Denied: Growing Worldwide Demand for Prof. Sami Al-Arian's Release", to drum up support for Al-Arian.

Where Al-Arian will be deported is unknown. Born in Kuwait, raised mostly in Egypt and also linked to Palestine, he appears to have three locations he has some affinity with.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at April 15, 2006 4:21 PM

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