During the week of February 18, Dr. Sami Al-Arian’s family visited Oslo, Norway to attend the premiere of “USA vs. Al-Arian,” a critically-acclaimed documentary about Dr. Al-Arian’s case. On the second night of the week-long trip, Amnesty International-Norway held a special screening of the film, followed by a reception at the Nobel Peace Center, where Nahla Al-Arian read the following statement:

Nahla Al-Arian’s Statement to the Nobel Peace Center February 19, 2007, Oslo, Norway

Good afternoon, and peace be upon you.

Thank you very much for inviting me to share with you the story of our struggle against the oppressive and inhumane policies of the most powerful government in the world. My husband, a political activist, was the victim of the forces of intolerance, hatred and racism, who exploited the September 11th tragedy to silence and persecute political dissidents.

My husband’s crime in their eyes was his belief that every human being has the right to political association, expression, and assembly. The evidence the government used against my husband consisted of speeches he gave, books he read, magazines he published, conferences he organized, rallies he attended, and if you can believe it, web sites he never visited; and to take a page out of Orwell- a dream someone had about him.

It is unconscionable that of all the people of the world, the government targeted the advocates of the Palestinian cause who are more in need of these (political) rights than anyone else because of their status as an occupied people.

It is precisely because he was an effective public speaker and a passionate advocate for universal human rights, who built bridges with the broad spectrum of American society that he was persecuted. He has a spirit of giving and sacrifice; as a university professor, he was twice given the best teaching award. As a community leader, he was actively engaged in the integration of the Muslim and Arab community into the larger society, particularly in encouraging them to vote and perform community service.

As I speak before you today, my husband sits in a prison hospital, where he has entered his fifth week of a hunger strike to protest the continued abuses against him in the only way he knows how. As a stateless Palestinian whose adopted country will soon force his departure, my husband, my children and I face a future full of uncertainty and instability. In the 21st century, only the Palestinian are denied a homeland to return to.

Despite the humiliation and the psychological torture my husband has endured since his arrest four years ago, in the statement he has addressed to you, his compassion for his people prevails over his own trials.