Alexandria, VA – December 9, 2008 – Late last week, the Department of Justice’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) sent a letter to Dr. Al-Arian’s counsel regarding its 18-month-long investigation regarding allegations that Dr. Al-Arian had been mistreated and abused by officers from the Federal Bureau of Prisons.

The letter from the OIG states: “The OIG determined that the preponderance of the evidence supports Al-Arian’s allegation that he was verbally abused by two correctional officers during the transportation process from FCC [Federal Correctional Complex] Petersburg to Alexandria, Virginia, on January 18, 2007, and April 12, 2007. We also found that one of these officers physically abused Al-Arian on April 12, 2007, by pushing him into a wall at the USMS [U.S. Marshall Service] detention facility.” (For TBCJP’s original press release revealing these incidents, click here.)

Last January, during the course of the investigation, Dr. Al-Arian was given a polygraph examination regarding the incident. The FBI agent who administered the examination remarked that Dr. Al-Arian had “passed with flying colors.”

It should be noted that, on average, the OIG investigates only one complaint out of every 10,000 submitted. There can be no doubt that the flood of letters and phone calls from thousands of conscientious people concerned with Dr. Al-Arian’s situation like you prompted the OIG to carry out this investigation. Send a Brief Message to the OIG!

The Tampa Bay Coalition for Justice and Peace would like to urge Dr. Al-Arian’s supporters to send a brief email to the OIG, thanking them for their investigation, and urging them to hold the offending officers accountable to prevent future incidents from occurring. You can contact the OIG by email:

inspector.general@usdoj.gov
(Please make sure to BCC (not CC!!) tampabayjustice@yahoo.com )

Or regular mail:

Immediate Office of the Inspector General
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Suite 4706
Washington, D.C. 20530-0001

Remember: your continued support does make a difference.