Sami Al-Arian Co-Defendant Sameeh Hammoudeh Remains in Jail 4 Months After Being Acquitted

We look the case of one of Sami Al-Arian's co-defendants, Sameeh Hammoudeh. In December, he was found not guilty of all charges against him and the judge in the case ordered his immediate release from jail.

Hammoudeh, who is also Palestinian, expected to be immediately deported along with his wife and six children. The deportation was part of an agreement in exchange for pleading guilty to tax and immigration violations in a separate case in which he received no jail time.

But officials from Immigration and Customs Enforcement took him into custody, saying initially that its standard of innocence was different from the jury's. A spokeswoman for the agency said they believed that "Hammoudeh had ties to terrorists," despite his acquittal.

Nearly four months after being acquitted of all terrorism charges, he remains behind bars. Sameeh Hammoudeh joins us on the line now from Manatee County Jail in Bradenton, Florida.

We are also joined by Sameeh Hammoudeh"s daughter, Weeam. She joins us on the line from Ramallah in the West Bank. The family moved there after her mother was deported in February.

* Sameeh Hammoudeh, speaking from the Manatee County Jail in Bradenton, Florida.
* Weeam Hammoudeh, daughter of Sameeh Hammoudeh speaking from Ramallah, West Bank.
* 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.
- Website: http://JohnSugg.com

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