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Sami Amin Al-Arian (born January 14, 1958) is a Palestinian-American computer engineer and university professor who was arrested by the United States government in 2003 on charges of funding terrorists. On December 6, 2005, after 13 days of deliberations, he was acquitted on eight of 17 counts, including criminal charges related to immigration violations, supporting terrorism and perjury and immigration violations, while the jury remained deadlocked on the others. He remains in custody pending a decision on whether to retry him on the deadlocked charges. Dr. Al-Arian's lead defense attorney is Linda Moreno.
Biography
Investigation
Arrest
On February 20, 2003, the FBI arrested Al-Arian after indicting him and seven others on 50 terrorism-related charges. United States Attorney General John Ashcroft alleged at a press conference that Al-Arian was the North American head of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), and the secretary of the PIJ's international organization. His trial was set for May 16 2005. Al-Arian's lawyers stated that the delay between arrest and trial constitutes a violation of Al-Arian's right under the United States Constitution to a speedy trial. In response, Judge James Moody cited what he believed to be the complexity and uniqueness of the case as reasons for setting the trial in 2005.
On February 26, Genshaft announced that Al-Arian had been fired on the basis that his non-academic activities created a conflict of interest with the university. Allegations from his indictment were also cited.
Al-Arian also co-founded the Islamic Association for Palestine in 1981. Its daughter organization is the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development. InfoCom Corporation, another organization affiliated with IAP, had its offices raided by the U.S. government.
Trial
Al-Arian's Federal District Court trial in Tampa commenced in June, 2005. On December 6, 2005, after 13 days of deliberations, the jury acquitted him on eight of 17 counts, while remaining deadlocked on the others. Of all the 51 charges against the four men, not one was judged as guilty. Al-Arian, however, remains in custody pending a decision on whether to retry him on the deadlocked charges.
External links
- SITE Institute Fact Sheet on Sami Al-Arian
- Sami Al-Arian, in his words
- Free Sami Al-Arian Site
- FOX News transcript of O'Reilly interview- September 26 2001
- US Department of Justice press release regarding arrest- February 20 2003
- USF'S Official Al-Arian Case News Archive
- Judge Tosses USF Suit Against Al-Arian- Ben Feller, The Tampa Tribune, December 17 2002
- Al-Arian Demands USF Restore his Standing- Anita Kumar, The St. Petersburg Times, January 7 2003
- Jury selected for ex-professor- May 16 2005
- Ongoing trial coverage from the St. Petersburg Times
- Al-Arian Likened To Don In Mafia by Micheal Fecter, published in the Tampa Tribune November 8, 2005