Jury Acquits Jailed Palestinian Professor of Several Charges in Major Blow to Bush Adminis

A federal jury on Tuesday failed to return a single guilty verdict on any of the 51 criminal counts against a former Florida professor and three co-defendants accused of helping to lead a Palestinian terrorist group.

In a major defeat for Bush administration prosecutors, Sami Al-Arian was acquitted on eight of the 17 counts against him and the jury deadlocked on the rest. Three co-defendants, Sameeh Hammoudeh, Hatem Fariz and Ghassan Ballut, were also cleared of most of the charges against them.

The jury in Tampa, Florida deliberated for thirteen days before delivering its verdict. Al-Arian's five-month trial was seen as one of the biggest courtroom tests of the search and surveillance powers granted under the Patriot Act.

Sami al-Arian will remain in jail until prosecutors decide whether to retry him on the deadlocked charges. He was arrested in February 2003 and has been imprisoned ever since. The government accused him and eight others of racketeering, conspiracy and providing material support to terrorists. The government alleged that Al-Arian used an Islamic academic think tank and a Palestinian charity to illegally funnel money to the militant group Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

Until his arrest, Al-Arian was one of the most prominent Palestinian academics and activists in the United States. He was invited to the White House during both the President Clinton and Bush administrations and he campaigned for President Bush during the 2000 election.

His indictment in 2003 was hailed by then-Attorney General John Ashcroft as one of the first triumphs of the Patriot Act. The government's case was built on hundreds of documents, including thousands of hours of wiretapped telephone calls, intercepted e-mails and faxes and bank records gathered over a decade. Justice Department spokeswoman Tasia Scolinos said "While we respect the jury's verdict, we stand by the evidence we presented in court."

In October 2002, just four months before he was arrested and charged, I spoke with Sami Al-Arian at an antiwar rally in Central Park. I asked him what his thoughts were about America.

* Sami Al-Arian, interviewed October 6, 2002, New York City.

For the latest on the case of Sami Al-Arain we are joined by two guests:

* Laila Al-Arian, eldest daughter of Sami Al-Arian.
* John Sugg, senior editor for Creative Loafing, an Atlanta-based alternative weekly newspaper. He has closely followed the Sami Al-Arian for the past 10 years and interviewed him last month.

LISTEN ONLINE:
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/12/07/1519225

Previous Democracy Now coverage:
- Jailed Palestinian Prof. Sami Al-Arian Dominates Florida Senate Race
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=04/10/28/141221&mode=thread&tid=25
- The Case of Sami Al-Arian
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=04/07/09/144245&mode=thread&tid=25
- Outspoken Palestinian Professor Sami Al-Arian Indicted Yesterday By Ashcroft On Charges of Material Support to Terrorists
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=03/04/07/0319234&mode=thread&tid=5
- INS Arrests a Palestinian Teacher in Florida for Supposed Involvement with Terrorist Organizations
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=03/04/07/0219225&mode=thread&tid=5