Hi there,

There has never been a more urgent time for courageous, daily, independent news. Media is essential to the functioning of a democratic society. Today is Giving Tuesday, a day dedicated to supporting non-profits. Please make it Giving NewsDay by giving to this non-profit news organization. Thanks to a group of generous donors, all donations made today will be TRIPLED, which means your $15 gift is worth $45. With your contribution, we can continue to go to where the silence is, to bring you the voices of the silenced majority – those calling for peace in a time of war, demanding action on the climate catastrophe and advocating for racial and economic justice. Every dollar makes a difference. Thank you so much!

Democracy Now!
Amy Goodman

Non-commercial news needs your support.

We rely on contributions from you, our viewers and listeners to do our work. If you visit us daily or weekly or even just once a month, now is a great time to make your monthly contribution.

Please do your part today.

Donate

Justice Dept. Ends Decade-Long Prosecution of Sami Al-Arian, Palestinian Professor and Activist

Web ExclusiveJune 29, 2014
Media Options

The Justice Department has dropped its criminal prosecution of Sami Al-Arian, a Palestinian professor and activist, in a case that followed an initial trial that began in 2003. Watch our 2007 exclusive interview with Al-Arian, who spoke to Democracy Now! from prison while he was on hunger-strike. The Palestinian professor and activist’s case has been one of the most closely watched — and controversial — post-9/11 prosecutions in the United States.

Al-Arian was first accused of being involved in the group Palestinian Islamic Jihad, but a Florida jury failed to return a single guilty verdict on any of the seventeen charges against him. Still, he chose jail time rather than undergo a second trial after prosecutors refiled charges. His defense lawyers argued prosecutors violated his plea deal by subsequently charging him for refusing to testify in cases that have nothing to do with him.

On Friday, federal prosecutors said they would give up on the contempt case. “In light of the passage of time without resolution, the United States has decided that the best available course of action is to move to dismiss the indictment so that action can be taken to remove the defendant from the United States,” wrote prosecutor Gordon Kromberg.

The Al-Arian family welcomed the news in a statement released through their attorney: “It has been a long and difficult 11 years for our family in what has ultimately been shown to be a political case… We hope that today’s events bring to a conclusion the government’s pursuit of Dr. Al-Arian and that he can finally be able to resume his life with his family in freedom.”

See our 2003 interview with Al-Arian and his attorney, David Cole.

Click here to see more of Democracy Now’s coverage of Al-Arian’s case.

Related Story

StorySep 14, 2021“Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire”: Deepa Kumar on How Racism Fueled U.S. Wars Post-9/11
The original content of this program is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. Please attribute legal copies of this work to democracynow.org. Some of the work(s) that this program incorporates, however, may be separately licensed. For further information or additional permissions, contact us.

Non-commercial news needs your support

We rely on contributions from our viewers and listeners to do our work.
Please do your part today.
Make a donation
Top