My Family's Nightmare Caught on Film

For nearly one year, my father, Sami Al-Arian, has been imprisoned on civil contempt for refusing to testify before a federal grand jury in Virginia. During plea negotiations in early 2006, federal prosecutors in Florida promised him he would not have to testify in any other cases. The moment he signed that agreement, his business with the government was supposed to have ended. He would serve the remainder of his sentence and finally be deported.

But a vindictive prosecutor from Virginia, Gordon Kromberg, resented that my father and his three co-defendants were largely acquitted by a jury following a lengthy trial in 2005. Kromberg is using every legal maneuver in his arsenal to prolong my father's imprisonment. A U.S. Attorney in Florida admitted, during a hearing regarding the plea agreement, that the boilerplate language dealing with cooperation was deleted from my father's agreement precisely because it was negotiated away. In Kromberg's world, his colleagues' words to my father, and the plea agreement both sides signed in good faith, are meaningless.

In his zeal to see my father locked away for as long as possible, Kromberg has shown an almost shameless degree of anti-Muslim animus. Perhaps it is no wonder he is the toast of neoconservative ideologues like Daniel Pipes, who hailed Kromberg's bigotry-laden rant about the "Islamization of the American justice system" as "courageous and valiant." Amnesty International has questioned Kromberg's motives, declaring that the biases he has demonstrated "raise[] further concern as to whether these proceedings are being taken to punish [Dr. Al-Arian] for his political profile rather than for legitimate purposes."

Prosecutors in Northern Virginia may soon charge my father with criminal contempt, according to a recent report in The New York Sun. This maneuver would be a shameless abuse of the criminal justice system and an abominable waste of U.S. taxpayer dollars. If prosecutors charge my father with criminal contempt, it will be obvious to everyone watching that it's nothing more than a case of sour grapes.

According to some estimates, the government has already squandered $50 million in its prosecution against my father. The trial was a resounding defeat for the government, which failed to prove its case that my father provided material support to terrorists. With the time in prison for civil contempt, my father has already served more time than he was sentenced. In February, he will have spent five years in prison. According to the plea agreement, my father was supposed to have been released from prison last April at the latest. But Kromberg and his DOJ cronies are abusing their power to lock him up indefinitely.

"From the beginning, it has been clear that this was a political prosecution and the pursuit of contempt by the rogue prosecutor in the Eastern District of Virginia have underscored this," said Linda Moreno, one of my father's trial attorneys. "As I have often said, I support my government going after terrorists and those who wish to do harm against my country. But I have never represented a terrorist, and an American jury found that Dr. Al Arian was no terrorist."

In May, at a sold-out screening in Tampa, Florida of USA vs. Al-Arian, an award-winning documentary about the trial and the toll it took on my family, I met Ron, one of the jurors who acquitted my father. "I'm sorry," Ron told me repeatedly. He said he wished he could have done more and fully acquitted my father. Two women on the jury refused to acquit my father of some charges, he explained. When asked why by other jurors, they refused to present any reasons. They disregarded the evidence in the case. Ron later elaborated at a panel discussion following the screening:

"They wouldn't tell us why they said guilty," the juror said. "They came up with really bad reasons, but most of the time it was 'I don't have to tell you. I don't even need a reason. I can just say he's guilty because I think he's guilty, and that's all'."

Both Ron and another juror interviewed in the 100-minute documentary said that prosecutors tried to pressure them to convict my father by essentially telling them, "Use your common sense." Actual proof was an afterthought.

The case against my father was predicated in large part on thousands of hours of conversations, most of which were presented out of context. Soon after deliberations began, according to Ron, most of the jurors realized "the State hadn't met its own standards" for conviction.

The documentary USA vs. Al-Arian, depicts my father's trial, documenting everything from the bomb-sniffing dogs hired to provide security outside the courthouse to the sensationalistic and often woefully inadequate news coverage of the case. One local television reporter confidently summarized my father's case as one about the conflict between "Palestinians and Israelites."

For several months, my family gave Norwegian director Line Halvorsen and her cinematographer Tone Andersen, total access to our lives. Though my siblings and I sometimes complained about the constant presence of cameras, which felt like extra eyes scrutinizing us during an emotionally turbulent time, my mother felt differently. She believed there should be a permanent record of the collateral damage of the U.S. government's misguided war on terror. At times, the project seemed like a bizarre version of The Real World directed by Franz Kafka. Though I've seen the film dozens of times, some scenes, such as those in which my mother breaks down in tears, are still difficult to digest.

(USA v. Al-Arian will be showing at Washington, D.C.'s Uptown Theater on December 5 and will be followed by a panel discussion led by Democracy Now! host Amy Goodman. You can watch a preview here.)

In another scene, my family listened to a recording of my mother ordering a Big Foot pizza years earlier. My mother's two-minute conversation with a Pizza Hut dispatcher was one of half a million calls recorded by the FBI during a decade of relentless surveillance. One minute we're laughing at the memory of a strange, super-sized square pizza. But the next minute, we feel queasy at the thought of federal agents in dark suits listening to every intimate detail of our lives, from take-out orders to idle chitchat with friends.

The results of the FBI's reckless investigation caused Ron the juror to conclude, "We decided that there was no evidence. It wasn't that it was weak or poorly constructed. It just wasn't there. Political beliefs, personal beliefs, social beliefs, but I saw no evidence of anybody doing anything that they were accused of."

"I am concerned about the use of the grand jury process to keep adding to Dr. Al-Arian's jail time with no end in sight," said Rev. Warren Clark, a pastor of a church in Tampa. "Is this a way to 'Guantanamo' political prisoners within the United States?"

The threat of more prison time now looms over my father and his family. All we can do is watch and wait. One of the most potent forms of torture is uncertainty; not knowing when your prison term will end or what other tricks the government will use to prolong your detention. And my father isn't the only one being punished for his acquittal. Watching my adolescent brother and sister grow up without a father during the most critical years of their young lives has not been easy.

In a way, I understand and even sympathize with the desperate fantasy of Ali al-Marri, a Qatari citizen who has been held as an enemy combatant in a South Carolina brig without charge since 2003. "I'd love to be taken back to Saudi Arabia and they would beat the ---- out of me for six months," al-Marri said. "It would be brutal, but it would be finite."

My father's nightmare, similarly, appears to have no end in sight.

*****

USA vs. Al-Arian will play in Washington D.C. for ONE NIGHT ONLY this Wednesday, Dec. 5 at 7 p.m. at AMC/Loews Uptown 1 Theater,
3426 Connecticut Ave NW,
Washington, D.C. 20008. Democracy Now! host Amy Goodman, will moderate a panel discussion following the screening, featuring David Cole, Linda Moreno, Jonathan Turley, Abdullah Al-Arian and Line Halvorsen. Buy Tickets here.

Comments

[MagisterLudi]

I am not sure what is the purpose of this blog.

Is it to state that that Mr.Al-arian is NOT a supporter of Islamic Jihad and therefore should be freed? It doesn't seem to be the case.

Is it to state that Mr. Al-arian is indeed a supporter of Islamic Jihad but should be pardoned nevertheless? This subject is carefully avoided.

Is it simply to indulge in crude character assassination of people involved: jurors and prosecutors and anyone else? There's plenty of that here.

Is it to attack the judge Mr. Moody's decisions? This is carefully avoided.

But we've yet to hear from Mr.Arian, his son-in-law and/or daughter that they do NOT support Islamic Jihad.
Please anyone, provide any links.

This would help all those on the fence to become more sympathetic to the cause.

Don't you think?

[MagisterLudi]

According to court documents Mr. AL-ARIAN admitted to providing support to Islamic Jihad

He possessed The Manifesto of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad which described: (a) the organizational structure;
(b) the duties and responsibilities of various offices,
(c) the goals and principles of the organization.
The stated principles included
the rejection of any peaceful solution for the Palestinian cause, and the affirmation of the Jihad solution and the martyrdom style as the only choice for liberation.
The Manifesto further stated that one of the PIJ's specific goals was to create a situation of terror, instability and panic.

The Manifesto referred to the United States as the “Great Satan - America;”

[matahari888]

Please hold on....and pray....We all pray for peace...

[nefertiti]

My heart and Prayers to you . the zionist papers in Florida had plenty of time to smear Mr Al Arian reputation months before he was in a court of law and those articles were all negative and already found Mr AL Arian guilty . I did not know what to expect from an ALL White jury with ll that bad publicity.
Mr Emerson produced a Letter on tv supposedly incriminating Mr AL Arian (from the Israelis ) but the English version contradicted the Arabic version and Mr Emerson ended up looking like a fool .

[MagisterLudi]

Some excerpts of the original filing.

The defendants' involvement in PIJ and HAMAS from 1994 forward would and did include logistical assistance in terrorist activities.

From the United States,the defendants would and did communicate with each other and with other PIJ operatives about specific PIJ and HAMAS terrorist attacks shortly after they occurred, detailing who committed them, who organized them, what types of explosives were used, the total cost of the operations, and who had been arrested.

On October 7, 1997, the Secretary of State, designated PIJ and HAMAS as "foreign terrorist organizations." As a result of this designation, it became illegal for any person within the United States or subject to its jurisdiction to provide material support or resources to PIJ and HAMAS.
Notwithstanding this prohibition against providing assistance to designated terrorist organizations and individuals, the defendants' would and did continue their activities in support of PIJ. SAMI AMIN ALARIAN continued in his role as an advisor to PIJ, editing a Charter of the PIJ in 2000 and forwarding it to others.
Following this designation, SAMI AMIN AL-ARIAN … did continue with fund-raising activities and their efforts to conceal what they were doing. (this was admitted by Mr. Al-Arian).

On or about February 10, 1995, SAMI AMIN AL-ARIAN wrote a letter to
Ismail Al-Shatti in Kuwait asking for money for the PIJ. SAMI AMIN AL-ARIAN bragged about the January 22, 1995 Beit Lid bombing, and cited the bombing as an example of what PIJ could do. SAMI AMIN AL-ARIAN noted that the link with the brothers in HAMAS was very good and improving, and there were serious attempts at unification and permanent coordination. In the letter, SAMI AMIN AL-ARIAN requested additional money so that operations such as Beit Lid could continue. (This was admitted by Mr. Al-Arian).

news.findl­aw.com/hdo­cs/docs/al­arian/usal­arian0203i­nd.pdf

[unfoxworthy]

Laila,
When the Bushies and the Cheneys flew the Bin Laden's out of the country...before ANYONE had any idea that he was involved, they implicated themselves. Lots of us out here understand that, but the message has been cloaked in misinformation spoon-fed to the American people since then.
Since your dad wasn't a butt-buddy within the oil brotherhood..he was easy pickins for a frame job. His love for his people [and their plight] created a vulnerability for the outlaws to do their bidding.
Although I am not a fan of any religion, I am a fan of people with just causes. Your dad seems to have one. Keep up the fight.

[deweym]

My sincere apologies that you have been caught up in this Likud/Neocon nightmare. This is how it is when you cross one of their ilk. They will destroy you.

[Justtellthetruth]

Shouldn't a prosecutor who publicly espouses is own biased political opinions (race and religion based ones at that) recuse himself from any involvement from a case that deals with those issues?

[oldpotsmuggler]

Geez this stuff has been business as usual for the drug war for as far back as I can remember. Except perhaps that most drug lawyers are better than those involved here because it's typical to get a plea agreement (where things go that route) that doesn't leave questions like "cooperation" up in the air. Anyone with any experience knows that most federal prosecutors just can't be trusted, so they don't trust them.

Here's the way that the grand jury thing is done. "I don't know" is very hard to make a perjury case out of but it can be done. Then there's "I don't remember" and that's especially good after a period of lockdown because all of the clanging of steel doors and 23 hours per day in a 10'x6', and no real exercise, etc. can really paly tricks with the mind.

You park your lawyer outside the door of the grand jury chambers and insist on your right to consult before answering each and every question. And then you take the Fifth when absolutely necessary and then you go back to jail for a few more months, start over. After awhile the Grand Jury term ends and you go home.

Criminal contempt I never ran across. What's the applicable sentencing guideline for a conviction? Why doesn't he just testify and get it over with?

[HBeachbum]

Why doesn't he just testify and get it over with? Maybe dasddy isn't so innocent as you think?

[Nooneyouknow]

In a just country, we'd be able to sue prosecutors for dishonest, vindictive persecutions like this one.

[Justtellthetruth]

I am so sorry to hear about this further disgrace of our justice system and this abuse of your fathers rights. God be with you and your family.

[checkmoot]

Well, I guess Kromberg doesn't have to worry about being fired by the Bush justice dept. Can't Congress impeach him for what he is doing ? And we have the balls to complain about other countries having political prisoners ? I'm a WW-ll Vet and I am ashamed of what we have done. In that war we fought against this sort of thing. Now we are them.

[ChiMan1]

This is pretty Scary!
I'd be packin my bags for home.
P.S. keep a watch for the Black Helicopters.
See you at the airport. Regards

[avergejoe]

Our prayers are with you.