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| Another Grand Jury Probes Al-Arian |
| 2004-04-22 |
| A new grand jury is investigating Sami Al-Arian, according to a motion filed in U.S. District Court by Al-Arian's attorneys. Claiming prosecutors are abusing the grand jury process, the defense attorneys are asking a federal judge to dismiss an indictment handed up in February 2002 charging Al-Arian and others with providing material support to Palestinian Islamic Jihad, an organization that has claimed responsibility for numerous suicide bombings in Israel. According to the motion, the attorneys, Linda Moreno and William B. Moffit, have learned that prosecutors have subpoenaed witnesses to a grand jury impaneled to investigate Al-Arian. The motion, made public Monday, gives no information about who the witnesses are or what information they can provide to a grand jury. ``It is improper for the government to utilize the grand jury to investigate a pending indictment or to see discovery,'' the motion states. Moffit and U.S. attorney's office spokesman Steve Cole declined to comment Monday on the new grand jury. Prosecutors recently disclosed in court filings that Al- Arian was ``a source of information for a brief period'' for the FBI. Co-defendant Hatim Naji Fariz filed a motion Friday seeking further information about Al-Arian's relationship with the FBI. In that motion, Fariz's public defender, Kevin T. Beck, says he expects to seek a separate trial for his client. |
| Posted by:Dragon Fly |