Date Posted: Tuesday, February 13, 2007

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

WASHINGTON, DC - Feb. 13, 2007 (MASNET) Below is a fact sheet prepared by Peter Erlinder, Attorney and former president of the National Lawyers Guild.

Dr. Sami Al-Arian Fact Sheet

• Assistant US Attorney Gordon Kromberg has asked that Dr. Al-Arian be transferred to a medical facility...which Judge Lee has granted.  It is preferable for Dr. Al-Arian to stay where he is until and unless his health issues become serious.  Currently this is not the case now.

• Dr. Al-Arian was acquitted of most of the serious charges against him. However, facing the threat of another trial, more years of solitary confinement, and 23 hr a day lock-downs, he accepted the plea agreement offered by the Department of Justice, which was made public on May 1, 2006 in a sentencing hearing before Judge Moody in the Central District of Florida.

• The Department of Justice agreement included: 1. Dr. Al-Arian would be released almost immediately for time-served; 2. Department of Justice would assist in his immediate voluntary departure from the U.S.; 3. Dr. Al-Arian would not be required to "cooperate" since his refusal was a condition of the agreement.  At the hearing on May 1, the Assistant US Attorney stated on the record that the "cooperation" clause had been removed and the plea agreement specifically mentioned that the Eastern District Virginia would be bound, too.

• Judge Moody accepted the plea, but sentenced Dr. Al-Arian to an extra 11 months in prison based on "acquitted conduct" which is now the subject of a Cert Petition to be filed later this month.  However, this meant that Dr. Al-Arian was still incarcerated when the Department of Justice [AUSA Kromberg] issued a subpoena to testify before a Grand Jury in the Eastern District of Virginia.  When District Judge Lee in the Eastern District upheld the subpoena and held Dr. Al-Arian in contempt of court on January 22nd Dr. Al-Arian began his hunger strike because the appearance before the Grand Jury violated the terms of the plea agreement and would make it impossible for him to depart the country as agreed.

• Attorney General Gonzales has either violated the explicit agreement upon which the plea was based [this has not been contested by the Tampa Assistant US Attorney, who has acted honorably thus far]...either by failing to rein in a rogue Assistant US Attorney, or he has intentionally violated the plea agreement.  In either case, this is a direct violation of the law of the 4th Circuit in U.S. v. Garcia, a 1992 case that makes clear that Grand Jury subpoenas ARE covered by a non-cooperation agreement.

• Assistant US Attorney Kromberg has a pattern of calling Muslim/Arab acquitted defendants to interviews or Grand Jury appearances and then indicting them...if HE disagrees with what they say.  The fact that this strategy has racist/religious bigotry at its heart is demonstrated by the affidavits filed by Tampa counsel which detail his scurrilous attacks on Islam practices, and Muslims in general.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Your support of MAS Freedom Foundation initiatives is crucial to its continued efforts on behalf of the Muslim American community.  Please donate generously by mailing your contributions made payable to "MAS Freedom Foundation" at the address below. 

Thank you for your support.

-------------------------------------------------------------

The Freedom Foundation is the public affairs arm of the Muslim American Society (MAS), a national grassroots religious, social, and educational organization. MAS is America's largest grassroots Muslim organization with over 50 chapters nationwide. Learn more at www.masnet.org 

-------------------------------------------------------------

MAS Freedom Foundation

1050 17th Street NW, Suite 600

Washington, DC 20036

Tel: (202) 496-1288

Fax: (202) 463-0686

URL: http://www.masnet.org/index_publicaffairs.asp

Email: MAS4Freedom@aol.com