Could everyone reading this call if in the USA and write email? Please give a bit of your time for this sad case of a loving man so brutely prosecuted along with his family. -Candace
Tampa Bay Coalition for Justice and Peace
June 27, 2008
Bush Justice Department Indicts Dr. Sami Al-Arian: The Injustice
Continues
ALEXANDRIA – The Bush Administration's persecution of Dr. Sami Al
Arian reached new heights on Thursday when prosecutors in the Eastern
District of Virginia brought charges against him, entering a new
phase in the politically-motivated campaign of the past five years.
The indictment charges Dr. Al-Arian with two counts of criminal
contempt, relating to two attempts by Virginia prosecutors to bring
him before a grand jury investigating other Muslim organizations.
Dr. Al-Arian had already been held in civil contempt for more than
one year for his refusal to testify. A plea agreement signed with
Florida prosecutors following his 2005 acquittal protected him from
cooperating in any additional cases. It was intended to bring his
case to a close by allowing him to leave the country. Two federal
courts have refused to allow evidentiary hearings that would allow
the plea agreement to be enforced.
Even with the additional time served, Dr. Al-Arian's sentence ended
on April 7 of this year. He was then taken into the custody of
immigration authorities who were making preparations for his
deportation.
In the midst of that process, the Bush Administration made its last
ditch effort to continue its punishment of Dr. Al-Arian by bringing
new charges against him. He now faces additional prison time if
convicted. Criminal contempt is the only charge in American law that
has no maximum penalty.
"This indictment proves that the government was never interested in
any information that Dr. Al-Arian has on the IIIT matter," his
attorney, Professor Jonathan Turley, wrote on his blog. IIIT or the
International Institute of Islamic Thought is the Muslim think tank
that is the target of a six-year witch-hunt by a prosecutor based in
Virginia. "This was a classic perjury trap used repeatedly by the
government to punish those individuals who could not be convicted
before an American jury."
He continues: "They have indicted him despite the fact that the
prosecutors admitted that he is a minor witness in the IIIT
investigation and he has already given two detailed statements under
oath to the government and offered to take a polygraph examination to
prove that he has given true information about his knowledge of IIIT.
Dr. Al-Arian has addressed every document cited by the government as
the reason for his being called before the grand jury. He has shown
that he has no incriminating information to offer against either IIIT
or its officers."
Here's the link to Turley's entire statement:
http://jonathanturley.org/2008/06/26/dr-sami-al-arian-indicted-on-two-
counts-of-criminal-contempt/
These charges follow a string of abuses by a rogue prosecutor whose
actions appear to be politically motivated. Assistant US Attorney
Gordon Kromberg's bigoted remarks against Arabs and Muslims have been
widely publicized in the media and condemned by leading human rights
organizations. His actions have resulted in the unjust prosecution of
many American Muslim activists, including at least one case of a
perjury trap similar to that faced by Dr. Al-Arian.
This indictment is only the latest in what has become the standard by
which the Bush Justice Department operates. After refusing to honor
the agreement it reached with Dr. Al-Arian in April 2006, it never
approached the grand jury process in good faith either. As Dr. Al
Arian's attorney has revealed, prosecutors were not interested in
obtaining any information, but only used the grand jury subpoenas as
a means by which to bring new charges against him and keep him
imprisoned. These actions signal an erosion of the justice system,
much to the dismay of all Americans who trust their officials will
carry out the law on an impartial and depoliticized basis.
TAKE ACTION:
All concerned Americans are urged to continue their protest of the
abuses committed by the Bush Administration in their name. We ask
that you write to the Attorney General about the injustices suffered
by Dr. Al-Arian. We also ask that you contact your representatives in
Congress and members of the Judiciary Committee, requesting that they
investigate the actions of the rogue prosecutor.
Please check www.freesaminow.com for updates regarding the new
charges against Dr. Al-Arian.
Attorney General Michael Mukasey
Department of Justice
U.S. Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20530-0001
Fax: (202) 307-6777
E-mails to the Department of Justice, including the Attorney General,
may be sent to AskDOJ@usdoj.gov.
US Department of Justice
Office of Professional Responsibility
950 Pennsylvania Ave. NW
Washington, DC 20530
House Judiciary Chair
The Hon. John Conyers, Jr.
2426 Rayburn Building
Washington, DC 20515
(202) 225-5126
Fax: (202) 225-0072
E-mail: John.Conyers@mail.house.gov
Senate Judiciary Chair
Sen. Patrick Leahy
433 Russell Senate Office Building
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510
(202) 224- 4242
E-mail: senator_leahy@leahy.senate.gov
For more information about Dr. Al-Arian's case, please:
See the Washington Post article "Former Professor Indicted In Muslim
Charities Case" by Jerry Markon, Friday, June 27, 2008
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wpdyn/content/article/2008/06/26/AR20080
62603664.html
We encourage you to write letters to the editor of the Washington
Post about Dr. Al-Arian's case, expressing your outrage about the new
charges:
The e-mail address is letters@washpost.com.
Do not send attachments; they will not be read.
To contribute to Dr. Al-Arian's legal defense, please send checks to:
National Liberty Fund
P.O. Box 1211
24525 E. Welches Road
Welches, OR 97067
Here is a previous note and describes the Film I saw about Sami and his problems a few months ago.-C
Tampa Bay Coalition for Justice and Peace
June 23, 2008
USA VS. AL-ARIAN TO SCREEN AT HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH FILM FESTIVAL
The New York City premiere of the award-winning film "USA vs. Al-Arian" will take place THIS WEEK at the Human Rights Watch International Film Festival.
The groundbreaking documentary, presented in association with the NYCLU & ACLU, chronicles university professor Sami Al-Arian, a passionate, outspoken pro-Palestinian activist who was charged in 2003 with funding and supporting a Palestinian terrorist group and held in prison awaiting a trial for two-and-a-half years.
Director Line Halvorsen presents an intimate family portrait that documents the strain brought on by Al-Arian's trial, a battle waged both in court and in the media. A tight-knit family unravels before our eyes as trial preparations, strategy, and spin consume their lives. This is a nightmare come to life, as a man is prosecuted for his beliefs rather than his actions.
In a post-9/11 culture of fear, "security measures" trump free speech, and punishment is meted out in the name of protection.
USA vs Al-Arian will screen three days this week!
Tuesday, June 24 at 6:15p.m.
Wednesday, June 25 at 3:30 p.m.
Thursday, June 26 at 9 p.m.
All screenings take place at:
Walter Reade Theater at Lincoln Center:
165 West 65th Street, upper level
(between Broadway and Amsterdam Ave.)
Subways: to 66th Street Lincoln Center.
Buses: M5 M7 M104
More options available at nearby Columbus Circle.
Please note that the Al-Arian family will be in attendance for the Thursday showing!
==
UPDATE ON DR. AL-ARIAN'S CASE
Dr. Al-Arian remains imprisoned at the Hampton Roads Regional Jail in Portsmouth, Virginia. He's awaiting deportation. However, immigration authorities have not moved to deport him, and a rogue prosecutor continues to threaten Dr. Al-Arian with an indictment on criminal contempt for his refusal to testify.
TAKE ACTION
If you have not done so already, please do these 3 SIMPLE BUT POWERFUL ACTS:
1. Call Vincent Archibeque, Assistant Field Office Director of the Immigration and Customs
Enforcement (ICE): (703) 285-6221.
Stress that Dr. Al-Arian's prison term ended on April 11th and that his imprisonment since then has been COMPLETELY ILLEGAL. Ask Mr. Archibeque to do everything he can to ensure that Dr. Al-Arian is released and deported as soon as possible in accordance with the terms of his plea agreement.
2. Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties (Department of Homeland Security):
(866)-644-8360 (press 1 for English and then press 5 to leave a message)
Stress that Dr. Al-Arian's prison term ended on April 11th and that his imprisonment since then has been COMPLETELY ILLEGAL. Ask that Dr. Al-Arian be released and deported as soon as possible in accordance with the terms of his plea agreement.
Again, always be polite but firm.
If you don't speak to a live person:
- simply leave a message on the answering machine; and
- call back later that day or the next day to try to get through.
3. Email Attorney General Michael Mukasey: ASKDOJ@usdoj.gov
Ask Mr. Mukasey to ensure that Dr. Al-Arian is deported as soon as possible in accordance with the plea agreement.
(For a letter template, please refer to the postings section on this page)
- Before sending the email, make sure to BCC samialarianactioncommittee@gmail.com
NOTE: In any given civil rights campaign, there are always more people willing to make a
phone call than write an email. Your emails are very important. Just use our letter template
and take JUST FIVE MINUTES to write out your message. Precisely because so few people
ever write their own letter, yours will be EXPONENTIALLY more powerful for that.
If you have not signed our petition, please do so by visiting petition.freesaminow.com
To learn how you can help EVEN MORE, please visit:
http://www.freesamialarian.com/help.html
PLEASE FORWARD TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW!
Join our regular Listserv today! Simply send an email to
tampabaycoalitionforjusticeandpeace-subscribe@yahoogroups.com to receive the latest
updates on Dr. Al-Arian!
