Tampa Bay Coalition for Justice and Peace

July 31, 2005

Support for Dr. Sami Al-Arian

TAMPA–

Since the trial of Dr. Sami Al-Arian and his colleagues began two
months ago, humanitarian, religious and civil rights groups all over
the world have conveyed their support for the political prisoners.

Last month, the 2005 General Assembly of the Unitarian Universalists
passed a resolution calling for a fair trial for Dr. Al-Arian,
highlighting the atrocious conditions of confinement under which he
suffered for nearly two years. (see below for more details).

On July 23, a committee for the support of Dr. Sami Al-Arian and his
co-defendants, recently-formed in Palestine, announced its campaign
in a one-page ad in the Palestinian daily “Al-Quds.” The ad ran on
the same day U.S. Secretary of State Condeelzza Rice met with
Palestinian leaders in the West Bank. It stated that Dr. Al-Arian’s
arrest, due to his honorable support for the just Palestinian cause
and for the right of Palestinians to live as a free people, sets a
dangerous precedent and is a violation of the right to free speech
and expression. The committee also urges human- and civil rights
organizations worldwide to ask U.S. authorities to release Dr. Al-
Arian, and to halt the politically-motivated case against him.

Furthermore, the ad invites people of conscience to join the
campaign to free Dr. Al-Arian, and thanks everyone who has justly
supported him and his colleagues. Over 200 organizations and
individuals signed the ad, including the Association of University
Professors in Palestine; the Palestinian Association of Legal
Sciences; the Center for Women’s Affairs; and several lawyers,
writers, doctors, and religious leaders (such as the spokesman of
the Orthodox Church in Jerusalem, Dr. Archimandrite Atallah Hanna).

To view a pdf version of the ad, please click on the link below.
Note: Adobe Acrobat Reader is required to open the link.
http://pdf.alquds.com/2005/7/23/page22.pdf

Also, the Committee’s Arabic-language web site is:
www.freealarian.com
—

The Unitarians Lead the Way in Al-Arian Case
By Melva Underbakke

The 2005 General Assembly of the Unitarian Universalists included a
resolution calling for a fair trial for Dr. Sami Al-Arian, who has
been jailed for over two years on charges of providing material
support to terrorism. The resolution says that “while awaiting
trial, [Dr. Al-Arian] was placed in solitary confinement in a
maximum-security federal penitentiary for close to two years, denied
basic privileges, given limited visitations and access to attorneys,
and subjected to strip searches and the harshest conditions of
confinement.” As a result, the resolution notes, Amnesty
International has condemned these conditions.

This Action for Immediate Witness (AIW) condemned the unfair and
inhumane treatment of Dr. Al-Arian because liberty and the
presumption of innocence, fair judicial proceedings and the
commitment to the dignity and humane treatment of everyone including
prisoners are at the core of the UU faith and basic human rights
under the US Constitution. The US government’s prosecution of Dr.
Sami Al-Arian violates the UUA Statements of Conscience of 2004 on
Civil Liberties and of 2005 on Criminal Justice and Prison Reform.

This Action cited the strong evidence of biased media coverage by
the Tampa Tribune as a major contributing factor to the violation of
Dr. Al-Arian’s civil liberties. It urged members to inform others
about the case by organizing educational forums and fundraisers in
their area, to support Dr. Al-Arian, contribute to his legal defense
fund and to contact their elected representatives about this case
and call for an end to abuses of the USA Patriot Act.

Before a resolution can be submitted for consideration by the entire
Assembly, it is necessary for a minimum of 150 delegates to sign a
petition. The petition was signed by 290 people, and after passing a
preliminary vote, the resolution was submitted to the General
Assembly on June 27, 2005. The General Assembly consisted of
approximately 4,000 people representing the Unitarian Universalist
congregations of the United States, Canada and Mexico.

As the resolution was being considered, people spoke both for and
against it. However, the majority of speakers spoke in support of
the Action. Opponents were for the most part unfamiliar with the
case, and questioned the wisdom of supporting one person when many
civil rights abuses are currently taking place in the United States.
The response was that Dr. Al-Arian is very well-known and was named
by Newsweek as a premier civil rights activist in America. Because
this is such a high-profile case, the ramifications will go far
beyond the single person.

When the vote was taken, the Call for Support and a Fair Trial for
Dr. Sami Al-Arian passed by more than the required two-thirds
majority and the Unitarian Universalists became the first
denomination to support Dr. Al-Arian in his quest for justice.
Hopefully, others will follow.

The entire resolution is reproduced below. More information about
the Assembly can be found at:

http://www.uua.org/ga/ga05/5043.html.

Those wishing to communicate their support to Dr. Al-Arian can write
to him at

Dr. Sami Al-Arian #05007418
Orient Road Jail
1201 Orient Road
Tampa, Florida 33619

To contribute to his legal defense, funds designated for Dr. Al-
Arian��s defense can be sent to:

National Liberty Fund (NLF)
P.O. Box 3568
Washington, DC 20007

For more information, go to
www.freesamialarian.com

AIW 6: A Call for Support and a Fair Trial for Dr. Sami Al-Arian.

Action of Immediate Witness (AIW) as passed by the Unitarian
Universalist Association General Assembly in Fort Worth, TX,  June
27, 2005

AIW 6: A Call for Support and a Fair Trial for Dr. Sami Al-Arian

WHEREAS, the United States government has harassed Dr. Sami Al-Arian
and eventually arrested him on charges of supporting terrorism due
to his activities on behalf of Palestine;

WHEREAS, while awaiting trial, he was placed in solitary confinement
in a maximum-security federal penitentiary for close to two years,
denied basic privileges, given limited visitations and access to
attorneys, and subjected to strip searches and the harshest
conditions of confinement;

WHEREAS, Amnesty International has condemned these conditions;

WHEREAS, Dr. Al-Arian was subsequently, but prior to receiving due
process, fired from his position on the faculty of University of
South Florida and that this firing was condemned by the American
Association of University Professors;

WHEREAS, Dr. Al-Arian has been denied a change of venue in his case,
despite providing strong evidence that ten years of biased,
inflammatory media coverage by the Tampa Tribune has prejudiced
potential jurors; and

WHEREAS, the love of liberty, respect for the presumption of
innocence, support for fair judicial proceedings, and commitment to
the dignity and humane treatment of everyone including prisoners are
at the core of our Unitarian Universalist faith.

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the United States government’s
prosecution of Dr. Sami 198 Al-Arian violates the Unitarian
Universalist Association’s Statements of Conscience of 2004 on Civil
Liberties and of 2005 on Criminal Justice and Prison Reform.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the 2005 General Assembly of Unitarian
Universalist Association of Congregations urges members and
congregations to:

* Inform others about the case by organizing educational forums and
fundraisers in your area;

* Communicate your support to Dr. Sami Al-Arian;

* Donate to his defense through the National Liberty Fund c/o Dr.
Sami Al-Arian Fund;

* Ask their elected representatives to investigate Dr. Al-Arian’s
case, end his solitary confinement, and support his release on bond
during his trial;

* Stay informed about other United States abuses of civil liberties
and work to eliminate those abuses; and

* Contact congressional representatives to advocate that the USA
PATRIOT Act be limited not expanded, and to specifically, repeal the
use of secret evidence (Section 215).

End.