Sami Al-Arian was acquitted on the major counts against him today. The former professor at University of South Florida was charged with providing support to terrorists, namely the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. He was detained in early 2003, and imprisoned since then -- often in solitary confinement. Bill O'Reilly, Steven Emerson, Pipes, Senator Martinez, etc dragged his name through the mud. And now he is vindicated.
Throughout this process, I witnessed his family, who I saw as my own, their strength and their faith. Amazing. They kept moving forward, persistant and patient; and Dr. Al-Arian wrote poetry in prison:
Justice may be blind
But it's been hard to find
Because he's innocent
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The Free Sami Al-Arian website kept us informed.
2 comments:
Wonderful!
An article I wrote the day he was arrested:
http://www.michigandaily.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2003/02/21/3e55a8493612c?in_archive=1
he's not entirely out of the clear yet though - the prosecutor will probably keep him in jail, and re-try him on the counts the jury was hung on. But i think he was acquitted of many of the major charges
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