In time for Ramadhan!
_American Muslim Alliance_**
*Special News Bulletin*
*_PRESS RELEASE
_DR. SAMI AL-ARIAN RELEASED ON BAIL*
*_Action hailed as an important step toward restoration of due process_
*
*Washington, D. C. 9/2/2008* - Dr. Sami Al-Arian, the most prominent
political prisoner in America, has been release on bail. Welcoming the
news of his release Dr. Agha Saeed, Chairman American Muslim Taskforce
on Civil Rights and Elections (AMT) said, " This is an important step
toward restoration of due process and equal justice for all".
A brief history of the case is given below:
- Dr. Al-Arian, a nationally recognized activist for American civil
rights and Palestine, was arrested on February 20, 2003 on bloated
charges of terrorism; his arrest and subsequent trial was the first
major test case of the PATRIOT Act.
- Alexander Cockburn has noted, this trial "featured eighty government
witnesses (including twenty-one from Israel) and 400 intercepted phone
calls (the result of a decade of surveillance and half a million
recorded calls). One bit of evidence consisted of a conversation a
co-defendant had with Al-Arian in his dream."
- In December 2005, after 10 years of federal investigation and a
six-month trial, which cost the taxpayers 50 million dollars, a Florida
jury refused to return a single guilty verdict against Dr. Al-Arian.
- In a special two-page article about Dr. Al-Arian, TIME magazine
reported that years of FBI investigation offered "no real links between
al-Arian and terrorist acts. Nonetheless, says a former FBI supervisor
involved in the case, in late 2002 word came down from Ashcroft to build
an al-Arian indictment. "We were in shock, but those were our marching
orders," says the supervisor, who felt that the Justice Department was
rushing to indict before it had really appraised the evidence. ('When
terror charges just won't stick", TIME, December 19, 2005, pp. 46-47)
- On May 1, 2006, the Justice Department agreed that Dr. al Arian should
be released within 30 days, and further agreed to assist in
his voluntary departure from the country without other conditions, in
exchange for a guilty plea to one non-violent offense.
- Nevertheless, in a clear violation of these terms, Dr. Al-Arian has
been called to testify before an unrelated trial three times.
- On June 26th, 2008, Dr. Al-Arian was formally charged with criminal
contempt of court for his refusal to testify. A federal judge has
unexpectedly postponed the contempt trial until the Supreme Court
addresses Dr. Al-Arian's appeal.
- Civil libertarians all over the world have been calling for Dr.
Al-Arian's release.
- Now Dr. Sami A-Arian has to await his resumption of his trial in
December.
For more information, please visit: www.FreeSamiNow.com
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--
Linda
*http://freedetainees.org <http://freedetainees.org/>
*
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