Convicted Terrorism Supporter Sami al-Arian Faces Continued Imprisonment

Sami al-Arian, a former computer engineering professor convicted in 2005 of conspiring to assist the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, may have his stay in prison extended after refusing to testify before a grand jury.^[1]

Arian was originally scheduled to be released from prison next month, and then be deported to the Palestinian territories. Instead, he may be kept behind bars by US authorities for civil contempt. Arian has been subpoenaed to testify in a grand jury investigation into Muslim charities that allegedly aided terrorist organizations, but has refused to give testimony as he believes the charities have been unjustly targeted "and he doesn't want them to be persecuted the way he was.”^[2]

In 2003, Arian was the focus of a high profile terrorism prosecution, accused of conspiracy to commit racketeering and murder in aid of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad,^[3] a group designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the US State Department.^[4] He was acquitted in 2005 of the majority of charges, but pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy and was sentenced to 57 months in prison. A part of the plea agreement reportedly included an understanding with the federal government that he would serve additional prison time if the government would not elicit his testimony in future terrorism prosecutions. But since this immunity was not a part of the official plea, Department of Justice officials say they are not bound by it.^[5]

"The plea agreement is clear, unambiguous and does not grant Al-Arian immunity from future grand jury subpoena," stated Justice Department spokesman Dean Boyd. "Therefore, we hold that the government did not break the plea agreement by issuing a subpoena commanding Al-Arian to testify before a grand jury." The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals court agreed, issuing a decision in January blocking Arian from relying on any understandings not outlined in the plea agreement.^[6]

The case of Sami al-Arian has been discussed extensively in previous Terrorism Crimes Blogs, which can be accessed here.

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[1] Darryl Fears, Refusal Keeps Terrorism Convict in Prison, Washington Post, March 22, 2008 (available at www.washingtonpost.com).

[2] Id.

[3] See US State Department listing of foreign terrorist organizations, available at http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/41055.pdf.

[4] Fears.

[5] Id.

[6] Id.