"After a six-month trial, a jury in Florida acquitted Arian on many charges and deadlocked on others. When prosecutors pursued a retrial, Arian struck a plea bargain and pleaded guilty to conspiring to aid the PIJ by helping a family member with links to the group get immigration benefits and by lying to a reporter about another person's links to the PIJ."
Gee, we got war criminals who have lied and killed millions; maybe they should be the ones in the cage, not this guy.
"Contempt trial is halted by judge; Raises doubts on Fla. man's case" by Matthew Barakat, Associated Press | August 9, 2008
ALEXANDRIA, Va. - The trial of a former Florida professor once accused of being a leading Palestinian terrorist was postponed yesterday after a judge raised new doubts about whether prosecutors have been overzealous.
Former University of South Florida professor Sami Al-Arian had been scheduled to go on trial next week in US District Court for criminal contempt after refusing to testify to a federal grand jury about a cluster of Muslim organizations in northern Virginia.
But US District Judge Leonie Brinkema postponed the trial indefinitely, questioning whether the government was overeager in filing charges. She also questioned whether prosecutors had properly filled out the paperwork demanding Arian's grand jury testimony.
She said the government was premature in seeking contempt charges while Arian has a pending appeal to the US Supreme Court arguing that the terms of a plea agreement he struck in a previous trial exempt him from testifying.
Prosecutors responded that Arian's claim has been rejected by two appellate courts and that Brinkema's ruling could have long-term implications in compelling people to comply with court orders. Prosecutor Gordon Kromberg said that if a person can refuse to testify until the US Supreme Court requires them to, the effect will be "undercutting the court's ability to get anyone to obey its orders."
Any delay in Arian's trial is significant because the government wants to try to convict him before he is deported to Egypt. Arian, who is in the custody of immigration authorities, is subject to a deportation order and has been pushing them to either release him or deport him immediately.
Yesterday's hearing was not the first time that Brinkema has questioned the government's decision to prosecute Arian for contempt. She previously suggested that the contempt case runs against a promise by the Justice Department that it would not stand in the way of Arian's deportation.
Arian was a Palestinian activist and computer professor at the University of South Florida when he was charged in 2003 with being a leader of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
After a six-month trial, a jury in Florida acquitted Arian on many charges and deadlocked on others. When prosecutors pursued a retrial, Arian struck a plea bargain and pleaded guilty to conspiring to aid the PIJ by helping a family member with links to the group get immigration benefits and by lying to a reporter about another person's links to the PIJ.
While serving his sentence, federal prosecutors in Virginia demanded his testimony.
Yesterday, Brinkema warned both sides to cool their rhetoric."