Tampa Bay Coalition for Justice and Peace
June 21, 2007
Contempt Extended Four Months for Dr. Al-Arian

ALEXANDRIA – Today in a closed hearing in federal court Dr. Sami Al-
Arian was ordered held until at least October, which will mark nine
months since he was held in contempt, half way through the 18-month
maximum of the citation. According to family members who spoke with
Dr. Al-Arian, Judge Gerald Bruce Lee of the Eastern District of
Virginia made a finding that further confinement may coerce his
testimony. Dr. Al-Arian was acquitted of terrorism charges in
December 2005 but remains behind bars due to his refusal to testify
in a politically motivated grand jury investigation designed to
punish him. While Judge Lee rejected the government’s argument that
Dr. Sami must spend 18 months in jail, the maximum under the civil
contempt statute, he found that family considerations may still
induce him to break his silence. Specifically, the judge pointed to
the hundreds of letters and postcards he received from Dr. Al-Arian’s
supporters urging his release, and said these letters indicate that
Dr. Al-Arian’s strong bond with his family might convince him to
testify in order to be reunited with them. In fact, Dr. Al-Arian’s
desire to rejoin his family is exactly the reason he will not
testify, because he believes doing so is a road to entrapment, future
prosecutions, and many more years of unjust incarceration.

However, Judge Lee did agree with Dr. Al-Arian’s lawyers that if he
makes a finding that further incarceration will not elicit his
testimony he must be freed from civil contempt.

Although the hearing did not address anything remotely touching on
sensitive information, or involve national security, it has been
filed under seal. The New York Sun has filed an action seeking to
open the proceedings to the public. Dr. Al-Arian’s wife Nahla Al-
Arian said, “Since he will never testify, how can the government
justify closing the hearings unless it is trying to cover up its
treatment of a political prisoner?”

While counsel could not discuss what occurred in the sealed hearing,
they stated their appreciation for the court and its rejection of
extreme interpretations put forward by the government. Lead attorney
for the defense, Jonathan Turley commented, “Dr. Al-Arian has now
been imprisoned for five years despite the fact that he was never
convicted of any count in the Florida trial. He has been confined for
six months and two grand juries. It was always obvious that he would
not yield to these coercive measures and that the real purpose of the
government is to punish a man who they could not convict in a court
of law.”

Dr. Al-Arian’s eldest son Abdullah said: “My father risked his life
in demonstrating his unwillingness to testify. He is a man of
principle and he’ll never back down. This is all a political
persecution. The Department of Justice has not upheld its end of the
bargain.”

We urge all supporters and people of conscience to write to officials
demanding an end to Dr. Al-Arian’s incarceration (please see below
for a list of names and addresses).

Letters of support undoubtedly make a difference. Because the
Department of Justice received many letters demanding a probe into
the racially-motivated acts of abuse that Dr. Al-Arian suffered in
April under the hands of prison guards in Petersburg, Virginia, the
Inspector General of the DOJ has launched an investigation into that
incident. The Inspector General annually receives over 10,000
reports of abuse and only investigates a handful, which means they
took these allegations seriously, and the thousands of letters,
emails, phone calls and faxes they received were heard loud and
clear.

We urgently ask all conscientious and justice-seeking individuals to
call, email or write officials to ask for an immediate end to Dr. Al-
Arian’s suffering.

1- Honorable Judge Gerald Lee
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia
401 Courthouse Square, Alexandria, VA 22314

2- Attorney General Alberto Gonzales
Department of Justice
U.S. Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20530-0001
Fax Number: (202) 307-6777

BY E-MAIL:
E-mails to the Department of Justice, including the Attorney General,
may be sent to AskDOJ@usdoj. gov

3- The Honorable John Conyers, Jr
2426 Rayburn Building
Washington, DC 20515
(202) 225-5126
(202) 225-0072 Fax
John.Conyers@ mail.house. gov

4- Senator Patrick Leahy
433 Russell Senate Office Building
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510
(299029)224- 4242

senator_leahy@ leahy.senate. gov