—————————————————–
Islamic Human Rights Commission
—————————————————–
5 September 2008
Alert: US – Sami Al-Arian released on bail
Contents
1. Summary
2. Background
1. Summary
IHRC welcomes the release on bail of Sami Al-Arian on 02 September 2008, coming after 5 years of detention in federal custody. This gladdening news is indeed long-awaited since the statements of a federal judge clearly expressing that Dr Al-Arian poses no danger to anyone, and on the contrary should be allowed bail until his trial.
2. Background
Dr Sami Al-Arian is a Palestinian peace-activist and former University of South Florida professor who was convicted in 2003 on charges of funding terrorists. His conviction has received much media attention, and has been referred to as a ‘federal witch hunt’ by some. After a 2005 court win in which a Florida jury rejected federal charges linking Al-Arian to the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, his attorneys struck a deal whereat he pleaded guilty to a lesser charge to face only deportation.
Dr Al-Arian had spent more than 5 years detained in federal custody, and had recently been under 23-hour solitary confinement at the Pamunkey Regional Jail in Virginia, despite the fact that 23-hour solitary confinement is considered a violation of the current UN Convention against Torture. On 29 August 2008, a trial for a contempt charge was indefinitely postponed until the Supreme Court looks into the case.
The release of Dr Al-Arian on bail is indeed gladdening news and most appropriate in light of the fact that a federal judge has stated clearly that Dr Al-Arian poses no danger to anyone, and on the contrary should be allowed bail until his trial. IHRC, who had written to the Pamunkey Regional Jail regarding his 23-hour solitary confinement, welcomes this decision.
———————————————————————————————-
For more information, please contact the office on the numbers or email below.
———————————————————————————————-
IHRC is an NGO in Special Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations
Please help IHRC by visiting https://www.ihrc.org.uk/catalog and making a donation or buying an item from our on-line store.
If you want to subscribe to the IHRC list please send an email to subscribe@ihrc.org
If you want to unsubscribe from the IHRC list please send an email from your subscribed email address to unsubscribe@ihrc.org
If you are reusing this alert, please cite the source.
For more information, please contact the office on the numbers or email below.
“And what reason have you that you should not fight in the way of Allah and of the weak among the men and the women and the children, (of) those who say: Our Lord! Cause us to go forth from this town, whose people are oppressors, and give us from Thee a guardian and give us from Thee a helper.”
Holy Qur’an: Chapter 4, Verse 75
Join the Struggle for Justice. Join IHRC.
Islamic Human Rights Commission
PO Box 598
Wembley
HA9 7XH
United Kingdom
Telephone (+44) 20 8904 4222
Fax (+44) 20 8904 5183
Email: info@ihrc.org
Web: www.ihrc.org
