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Hunger-Striking Palestinian Professor Sami Al-Arian Speaks Out In First Broadcast Interview of His Four-Year Imprisonment
In a Democracy Now exclusive, Sami Al-Arian speaks to us from prison where is on a hunger-strike. The Palestinian professor and activist was found not guilty over a year ago of 17 charges against him yet he remains in jail and the US government seems unwilling to release him. Al-Arian’s case has been one of the most closely watched – and controversial – post 9/11 prosecutions in the United States. In February 2003, he was arrested and accused of being a leader of the militant group Palestinian Islamic Jihad. The jury failed to return a single guilty verdict. Four months after the verdict, he agreed to plead guilty to one of the remaining charges in exchange for being released and deported. At his sentencing, the judge gave Al-Arian as much prison time as possible under a plea deal - 57 months. In the four years since his arrest, Sami Al-Arian has never conducted a broadcast interview - until now.
In a Democracy Now exclusive, Sami Al-Arian speaks to us from prison where is on a hunger-strike. The Palestinian professor and activist was found not guilty over a year ago of 17 charges against him yet he remains in jail and the US government seems unwilling to release him. Al-Arian’s case has been one of the most closely watched – and controversial – post 9/11 prosecutions in the United States. In February 2003, he was arrested and accused of being a leader of the militant group Palestinian Islamic Jihad. The jury failed to return a single guilty verdict. Four months after the verdict, he agreed to plead guilty to one of the remaining charges in exchange for being released and deported. At his sentencing, the judge gave Al-Arian as much prison time as possible under a plea deal - 57 months. In the four years since his arrest, Sami Al-Arian has never conducted a broadcast interview - until now.
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