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Judge's Decision Enables Al-Arian To Finish Prison Term, Lawyer Says

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By THOMAS W.  KRAUSE | The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 13, 2007

A federal judge in Virginia today released former University of South Florida computer science professor Sami Al-Arian from contempt of court status, according to a statement by Al-Arian's lawyer.

The decision paves the way for Al-Arian to complete the final six months of his prison sentence and move to Egypt where he is expected to rejoin his family.

In February 2003, Al-Arian was arrested, accused of being a fundraiser for the Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

On Dec. 6, 2005, a federal jury in Tampa acquitted Al-Arian on eight charges and dead-locked on the remaining nine. In an agreement with federal prosecutors, Al-Arian pleaded guilty to a charge that he conspired to aid the jihad. The government agreed not to re-try him on the nine deadlocked charges.

Al-Arian was sentenced to nearly five years in prison, after which he was to leave the country. He was given credit for the time he served while awaiting trial and was expected to have finished the sentence eight months ago.

That didn't happen.

Al-Arian's attorney, Jonathan Turley of Alexandria, Va., today released a statement on his blog where he said Al-Arian only entered the plea agreement with the understanding that he would not cooperate "in destroying the lives of other people."

Regardless, Turley's statement reads, prosecutors in Virginia subpoenaed Al-Arian to testify about Palestinian charities before a grand jury. When he refused, he was held in contempt of court.

Under federal rules, time spent jailed on contempt charges is not credited toward other sentences. Al-Arian's five-year sentence, therefore, has been on hold since his contempt status began in October 2006.

Turley's statement said federal rules do not allow the government to hold someone on contempt charge when prosecutors know the witness will not cooperate. Regardless, Al-Arian has been held.

"The use of civil contempt to prolong his punishment has been a shocking abuse of the system by the Justice Department," Turley's statement read. "Unable to convict Dr. Al-Arian before a jury, prosecutors have sought to mete out their own brand of justice through the grand jury system."

Reporter Thomas W. Krause can be reached at (813) 259-7698 or tkrause@tampatrib.com.

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