St. Petersburg Times
December 2, 2003
Interpretation of key evidence used to build the case against the suspected terrorism supporter is inaccurate, a co-defendant says.
By Graham Brink

TAMPA – One of Sami Al-Arian’s co-defendants says federal prosecutors misinterpreted and distorted the taped conversations used to indict him on terrorism charges.

In a 51-page court motion, Sameeh Hammoudeh provides his own transcripts of many of the conversations, offering the first verbatim glimpse into a handful of the 200 or so conversations in the indictment.

If accurate, Hammoudeh’s translations paint a mundane picture of him talking about his family, personal finances and charity fundraising – a sharp contrast to the prosecutors’ portrayal of an active fundraiser for a deadly terrorist organization.

“There are no tapes, or any other evidence for that matter, showing (Hammoudeh) agreeing with or promoting violence or terrorism,” the motion states.

Hammoudeh, hoping to be released on bail from federal prison, says prosecutors don’t understand the Arabic dialect being used in the conversations. The prosecutors also cast a sinister light on innocent exchanges, he says.

For example, he pointed to a segment of the indictment stating that he and the other defendants sometimes used code names such as “the Family” when referring to the Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

The indictment claims Hammoudeh had a conversation with his sister in which he said he had “seen” a man in Chicago and talked about whether the man declined to donate money because “he had already given donations to “the Family.’ “

Hammoudeh says the tape of the conversation reveals that he did not say anything about Chicago. The prosecutors also confuse one man for another, he says.

On top of that, the word “seen” is actually “called” and the conversation was about giving money to a relative with cancer and the price of an encyclopedia that a relative had not yet paid him for, Hammoudeh says.

“The government should not assume that because a word may be used by certain persons as a code for “PIJ’ that is should always be understood that way,” the motion states.

Steve Cole, spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Tampa, said prosecutors will review the motion and “respond to it in court at the appropriate time.”

Federal agents arrested Hammoudeh, Al-Arian and two others in February on charges that they supported, promoted and raised funds for the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, a terrorist group considered responsible for more than 100 deaths.

The agents taped thousands of conversations over several years while surveilling the men. In the indictment, prosecutors describe about 200 of the conversations but do not quote them at length.

The prosecutors convinced a judge to keep Hammoudeh and Al-Arian in jail without bail until their trial, based in large part on what prosecutors told the judge the tapes contained.

Hammoudeh filed his motion last week in hope of convincing a judge to reconsider letting him out on bail. He has been listening to a copy of the tapes in his cell at the Coleman Correctional Complex in Sumter County. None of the tapes are available to the news media or the public.

Hammoudeh referred to one allegation in the 121-page indictment that claims he called Al-Arian to request money to travel to Chicago on behalf of Al-Arian. Hammoudeh says he was headed to Chicago for a family trip and was asking about his teaching paycheck from the private school Al-Arian helped run.

What follows is Hammoudeh’s word-for-word translation from Arabic of the entire conversation, not including some initial greetings:

Al-Arian: Where are you?

Hammoudeh: At the school. I need some money.

Al-Arian: Okay, when are you traveling, today or tomorrow?

Hammoudeh: Tomorrow.

Al-Arian: Well, we have time then. I need about an hour and I will come to the school God willing. Or half an hour until I am done.

Hammoudeh: Okay, I will see you after an hour.

Al-Arian: Alright. Well someone is coming to see me at 2 p.m.

Hammoudeh: Yes.

Al-Arian: Try to be there at 2 p.m. and I will see you there.

Hammoudeh: Okay, fine.

Al-Arian: Goodbye.

Hammoudeh: May God protect you.

“There is no evidence (the trip) was on behalf of Mr. Al-Arian,” Hammoudeh states in his motion.

Hammoudeh, who was a part-time Arabic instructor and doctoral student at the University of South Florida, also denies sending or receiving any of the faxes the prosecutors claim he was involved with during his time working at World and Islam Studies Enterprise (WISE), an Islamic think tank Al-Arian and others operated at USF. Prosecutors believe WISE was a front for Middle Eastern terrorists.

The motion distances Hammoudeh from Al-Arian, a former USF computer engineering professor. Hammoudeh and Al-Arian disagreed at times about community affairs, mosque activities and how to run the Islamic Academy of Florida, the school Al-Arian helped create, the motion states.

“Every action or position taken by Mr. Al-Arian should not automatically be attributed to (Hammoudeh),” the motion states. “Although Mr. Al-Arian and (Hammoudeh) were co-workers sharing the same religious and ethnic background, (Hammoudeh) has his own mind and interests.”

U.S. District Judge James Moody is expected to hear arguments in court from the lawyers in the near future on whether to let Hammoudeh out on bail. The trial is set for January 2005.