No rest for the weary ... a patriot's continuing battle
April 12, 2007
The latest news on Dr. Al-Arian, a formerly-tenured Professor in Florida, is that he has been on a 60 day hunger strike to protest government action, and to some extent, inaction against him. The government touted his arrest as a victory for justice and demonstrative of the value of certain provisions of hte Patriot Act that would allow the prosecution to use certain "evidence" against him at trial. The prosecution put forth their case over several months, barraging the jury with testimony from 80 witnesses (many flown in from Israel) and several hundred hours of recordings from intercepted phone calls. Al-Arian's defense was no more than a few seconds long, a brilliant move - his team believed that the prosecution had failed to prove any of its allegations. (see Peace Train? , More absurdities, and There is some justice left )
And rightly so; the jury acquitted Dr. Al-Arian on 8 of 17 charges, and remained deadlocked on the rest. They ended with a plea bargain, and hoped for a shortened sentence, only to be faced with a biggoted Floridian judge and a furhter 11 months in jail. I'm not making this up - you should read hear his rant and rave during sentencing (see press release)
Since his aquittal, Dr. Al Arian has been shuttled from jail cell to jail cell, and is now being held (upto 18 months, but who knows!) in contempt of court for refusing to testify before a grand jury (part of his agreement was that he would NOT be compelled to testify in any other investigations). Yesterday was the day that he was scheduled to have been released, even after his extended sentence. Now he will be subject to continued abuse by prison guards until his contempt sentence ends, and for another 174 days on top of that.
His sentencing is being challenged as unconstitutional, and is rumored to be heading toward the Supreme Court.
Here are various articles from around the world, chronicling the injustice after injustice being dealt to this man and his family.
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/fisk/article2430125.ece
http://www.countercurrents.org/lendman060407.htm
Finally, take action - write in to AG Gonzales in support of Dr. Al-Arian
http://ga3.org/campaign/al_arian?rk=Wp3hI%2dM1i%5fgQE
The latest news on Dr. Al-Arian, a formerly-tenured Professor in Florida, is that he has been on a 60 day hunger strike to protest government action, and to some extent, inaction against him. The government touted his arrest as a victory for justice and demonstrative of the value of certain provisions of hte Patriot Act that would allow the prosecution to use certain "evidence" against him at trial. The prosecution put forth their case over several months, barraging the jury with testimony from 80 witnesses (many flown in from Israel) and several hundred hours of recordings from intercepted phone calls. Al-Arian's defense was no more than a few seconds long, a brilliant move - his team believed that the prosecution had failed to prove any of its allegations. (see Peace Train? , More absurdities, and There is some justice left )
And rightly so; the jury acquitted Dr. Al-Arian on 8 of 17 charges, and remained deadlocked on the rest. They ended with a plea bargain, and hoped for a shortened sentence, only to be faced with a biggoted Floridian judge and a furhter 11 months in jail. I'm not making this up - you should read hear his rant and rave during sentencing (see press release)
Since his aquittal, Dr. Al Arian has been shuttled from jail cell to jail cell, and is now being held (upto 18 months, but who knows!) in contempt of court for refusing to testify before a grand jury (part of his agreement was that he would NOT be compelled to testify in any other investigations). Yesterday was the day that he was scheduled to have been released, even after his extended sentence. Now he will be subject to continued abuse by prison guards until his contempt sentence ends, and for another 174 days on top of that.
His sentencing is being challenged as unconstitutional, and is rumored to be heading toward the Supreme Court.
Here are various articles from around the world, chronicling the injustice after injustice being dealt to this man and his family.
http://news.independent.co.uk
http://www.countercurrents.org/lendman060407.htm
Finally, take action - write in to AG Gonzales in support of Dr. Al-Arian
http://ga3.org/campaign/al_arian?rk=Wp3hI%2dM1i%5fgQE
"To be patriotic is to be able to question government policy in times of crisis. To be patriotic is to stand up for the bill of rights and the Constitution in times of uncertainty and insecurity. To be patriotic is to speak up against the powerful in defense of the weak and voiceless."
- Dr. Sami Al Arian
Labels: Following Al Arian, Politics
posted by zai5h at Thursday, April 12, 2007
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