ACLU Speaks Out Against Retrying Al-Arian

January 25, 2006

Source: Oracle

http://www.usforacle.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2006/01/25/43d772a6e9aa5

On January 25, 2006 the Oracle reported, "Taking its first public stance on the terror-conspiracy trial of Sami Al-Arian, the American Civil Liberties Union on Monday urged the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Florida to dismiss the nine charges remaining against the former USF [University of Southern Florida] professor. In a 396-word letter addressed to Assistant Attorney General Alice Fisher and Tampa-based U.S. Attorney Paul Perez, the ACLU said an attempt to retry would be 'pointless and vindictive... Although the prosecution had unlimited resources, called innumerable witnesses, presented hundreds of thousands of pages of exhibits and over 450,000 recorded phone calls, it could not convince the jury that Al-Arian had committed any of the charged criminal activities,' the letter stated. After a six-month trial, Al-Arian was acquitted on eight of 17 counts in early December. The ACLU has followed the case closely since it began, sending its chief attorney in Tampa to sit in on parts of the trial... On Tuesday, a spokesman for Perez said the U.S. Attorney’s Office hasn’t decided whether it will retry Al-Arian, adding that his office had no comment on the ACLU letter... Al-Arian is accused of being the North American head of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, a known terrorist organization that has claimed responsibility for more than 100 deaths in the Gaza strip. The defense argued Al-Arian only aided the PIJ’s nonviolent causes. The jury acquitted Al-Arian of the most serious charges, including conspiracy to murder, maim or injure persons outside the United States."