Government Concedes, Al-Arian to be Released

Sami al-Arian's sentencing is take place on Monday. Al-Arian was arrested on February 20, 2003 with much hoopla; former Attorney General John Ashcroft at the time accused him of being the North American head of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Al-Arian was charged with 17 counts, mostly related to terrorism.

Al-Arian has languished in horrid imprisonment conditions for over three years now, the majority of this time in solitary confinement. The government meanwhile declared the indictment a landmark victory in the war on terrorism. On December 3, 2005, the government's false declarations caught up to them, as the jury at the Federal District Court in Tampa did not return a single guilty verdict. They acquitted him on the most serious charges, that he conspired to maim and murder people overseas, and were deadlocked 10-2 on 9 of the 17 counts. When repeatedly pressed to explain what evidentiary basis the two jurors had to find al-Arian guilty on the 9 counts, they were unable to provide any. In fact, since, one of the two unreasonable jurors admitted the lack of evidence to convict: "For me, the absence of evidence didn't mean there was no evidence. For me, it suggested a coverup..."

Another juror said, "An awful lot trees went into this evidence. But for what purpose, I don't know." In the words of juror 112, a 40-year old truck driver, "The evidence wasn't there to put a guilty verdict on it... People assume. They assume guilt...People really need to think about things before they make a decision. You really need to get the facts first. I sat in that room for six months. Until you've sat through something like this . . . you cannot sit in your car or at your house and determine guilt."

On April 17, it was announced that al-Arian and the government reached a plea agreement: in exchange for pleading guilty to one count, making or receiving services to the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the government would drop the remaining eight charges and expedite his deportation. In essence, this agreement confirms the complete lack of evidence against al-Arian. After wasting so much time (over a decade), money, and resources on trying to prove something that just wasn't there, the government opted to release him rather than waste any more time retrying (which would have been a fraction of that already spent).

From al-Arian's perspective, this does not affirm his innocence because this has already been established. Rather, it was the smart choice to make. Instead of prolonging a torturous confinement and isolation, al-Arian hastened his release by pleading to the count with the lowest sentencing time. If he opted to dismiss the government's desperate face-saving tactics, he would have been acquitted in maybe a year and deported, as he is not a citizen of the U.S. It was the obvious decision - freedom today rather than months, possibly years, from today. Not all see it this way though; Juror Ron states, "They have so little on him that I'm disappointed. Most of us think he gave in because he was so sick of being in jail."

And what is the cost to al-Arian? It is important to stress that al-Arian's pleading of guilt does not amount to a genuine admission of guilt. When at the plea agreement hearing, U.S. Magistrate Thomas B. McCoun said, "... if you're satisfied you're guilty or you believe it's in your best interest to plead guilty ... let me know that," al-Arian replied, "I believe it's in my best interest to enter a plea."

BREAKING UPDATE
U.S. District Judge James Moody has, in spite of the government recommendation of the minimum penalty and failure of the jury to reach a single guilty verdict, sentanced al-Arian to the maximum penalty of 57 months. This means al-Arian will be in prison for another 18 months before he is released.