February 5, 2009 – Alexandria, VA – An important hearing was held today in the criminal contempt case of Dr. Sami Al-Arian. Although Judge Leonie Brinkema of the Eastern District of Virginia (EDVA) had originally been expected to rule on several motions submitted by both the defense and government, she postponed her decision.Instead, the judge chose to focus on the defense’s motion to compel discovery, that is, to force the government to hand over crucial evidence regarding Dr. Al-Arian’s original plea agreement concluded in 2006. In a move that could prove pivotal to Dr. Al-Arian’s defense, Judge Brinkema granted that request.

Since Dr. Al-Arian was first called before a grand jury in October 2006, his attorneys have argued that the Florida plea bargain exempts Dr. Al-Arian from having to cooperate with the government (including testifying). During the negotiations over the plea agreement in early 2006, Dr. Al-Arian’s then-attorneys submitted affidavits saying that Dr. Al-Arian’s non-cooperation was non-negotiable. In a subsequent hearing held in November of that year, government prosecutor Terry Zitek stated in no uncertain terms that the cooperation clause was deliberately removed: “It’s not there, and we’re [the government] not…complaining that the defendant Al-Arian has refused to cooperate.” To date, the government has not turned in any evidence on the plea negotiations, nor has it tried to rely on earlier drafts of the agreement which contain the cooperation clause that was ultimately removed.