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| Former Professor Pleads Guilty to Supporting Terrorists |
| 2006-04-18 |
| (CNSNews.com) - Former University of South Florida professor Sami Al-Arian has pleaded guilty to conspiring to provide services to the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), a designated terrorist group, in violation of U.S. law, the Justice Department announced Monday. As part of Al-Arian's plea agreement, the government plans to recommend a sentence of 46 to 57 months behind bars, based on a five-year maximum statutory sentence. Following his imprisonment, Al-Arian agreed to be deported to another country by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. "We have a responsibility not to allow our nation to be a safe haven for those who provide assistance to the activity of terrorists," said Attorney General Alberto Gonzales in a statement. Al-Arian has been in U.S. custody since he was arrested on Feb. 20, 2003. He lived in the United States for about 30 years. "Sami Al-Arian has already spent significant time behind bars and will now lose the right to live in the country he calls home as a result of his confessed criminal conduct on behalf of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, which is the same conduct he steadfastly denied in public statements over the last decade," said Gonzales. Al-Arian admitted guilt to count four of the indictment against him -- conspiracy to make or receive contributions of funds, goods or services to or for the benefit of PIJ. President Bill Clinton issued an executive order in January 1995, banning certain transactions with groups and individuals who were "specially designated terrorists." Those included PIJ, Sheik Abd Al Aziz Awda and Fathi Shiqaqi and later, Ramadan Shallah. Al-Arian admits he provided services for the PIJ in 1995 after he knew the group was designated a terrorist organization and while he was a professor at the University of South Florida. In the plea deal, Al-Arian admits he knew the PIJ used acts of violence to achieve its objectives. Despite this, he continued to help the organization by filing official paperwork to obtain immigration benefits for PIJ associate Bashir Nafi and hiding the terrorist associations of individuals linked to the group. Al-Arian also admits to helping PIJ associate Mazen al-Najjar in a federal court proceeding where al-Najjar and Nafi both committed perjury, claiming they were not associated with the PIJ. Also, in late 1995, when Ramadam Shallah, co-conspirator and former director of Al-Arian's "think tank," the World and Islam Studies Enterprise (WISE), was named the new secretary general of the PIJ, Al-Arian lied to the media, claiming he knew nothing of Shallah's association with PIJ. "The United States stands committed to bringing terrorists and their supporters to justice," said Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher of the Criminal Division in a statement. "Al-Arian has now admitted providing assistance to help the Palestinian Islamic Jihad -- a specially designated terrorist organization with deadly goals -- as the government has alleged from the start," said Fisher. "Because of the painstaking work of the prosecutors and agents who pursued this case, Al-Arian has now confessed to helping terrorists do their work from his base here in the United States -- a base he is no longer able to maintain," said U.S. Attorney Paul I. Perez of the Middle District of Florida in a statement. Al-Arian was acquitted of eight of the 18 counts against him after a six-month trial on Dec. 6, 2005. The jury deadlocked on three of the four most serious conspiracy charges against him. |
| Posted by:Steve |
| #18 Al-Arian should be sharing the same cell as Lynn Stewart - they can sleep together. |
| Posted by: Duh! 2006-04-18 14:54 |
| #17 Just add his name to a sex offender registry. That should take care of the problem. |
| Posted by: john 2006-04-18 13:41 |
| #16 46 to 57 months ???? WTF! Why isn't this camel rider going to be hung? |
| Posted by: Clavish Ebbomotch7773 2006-04-18 13:38 |
| #15 #9, OT, yes, but interestingly related to how the musselman can't get their acts sync. like e.g., with the more "modern" muslims in Malaysia, many wouldn't know about exactly what their own book contains ; some were denying the moon landing while others claimed that Armstrong converted on hearing the Azan while call on the Moon, haha. The "inside job-no plane on the Pentagon" as been heavily promoted by various arabo-muslim channels.." matter is also being moronically denied by a kackling mossie commentor called 'Observer'. But one thing they share always, archaic muslims or "modern" ones, is the state of brainwashed ideological bigotry and denial. They can therefore only stay backward. |
| Posted by: Duh! 2006-04-18 13:30 |
| #14 He's going to get credit for time served, so his future sentence is probably two months. |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2006-04-18 12:58 |
| #13 Hopefully he gets married to the man with the most cigarettes and learns that fist can be a verb. |
| Posted by: DarthVader 2006-04-18 12:29 |
| #12 This guy is worthless as a blow up civilians type of Jihadi. He is probably best suited as a professor in another country. Hugo Shuvass would probably welcome this guy. |
| Posted by: Mike N. 2006-04-18 11:41 |
| #11 Sorry. Screwed the link up. |
| Posted by: Perfesser 2006-04-18 11:26 |
| #10 I never have been any good at sarcasm. Sigh. Here's' a pretty good writeup. |
| Posted by: Perfesser 2006-04-18 11:24 |
| #9 I'm sure he can get a tenured position at An-Najah Death Cult U. But he better be prepared to pray five times a day, every day without fail in ShariaNation. |
| Posted by: Seafarious 2006-04-18 11:13 |
| #8 In a related manner, many mossies still believe that Neil Armstrong never landed(no Apollo did!) on the Moon BUT if he had really converted(as wrongly claimed for decades afterwards), watch the torrents of acceptance than man really did land on the Moon! OT : Duh!, a few years ago, before the airing of a very fun and well-made "mockumentary" about Stanley Kubrick having directed the faked moon-landings clips, there was mention by the introducing commentator (Alexandre Adler, whose storytelling is just magnificent btw) of the fact that this particular conspiracy theory is supported and propagated (presumably with Gulf oil money) by muslim orgs... because one hadith explicitely sez that "islam will last until man walks on the moon" (that is, forever, from a 7th century perspective). Thus, the moon landings HAVE to be fake. Just as the Meyssan "9-11 inside job-no plane on the Pentagon" as been heavily promoted by various arabo-muslim channels, including the very official late Zayed institute, or the various holocaust deniers being offered hefty sums of money to keep them going and published, I'm pretty sure the web of financing of various conspiracy theorists could be traced to the ME (and yet God know how much I enjoy PCT). Damn you, you hapless yankees, you put yet another hole in the Master Religion(tm)'s intellectual design... |
| Posted by: anonymous5089 2006-04-18 11:11 |
| #7 IF he doesn't fall in the shower at prison I hope they ship his ass to Gaza. |
| Posted by: Cyber Sarge 2006-04-18 11:03 |
| #6 it'll be appropriate if he has to live in the hell he helped create. No Zam-Zam for you! |
| Posted by: Frank G 2006-04-18 10:56 |
| #5 He's lived in the US for 30 years. Presumably he'll be deported back to his previous country of citizenship/residency. Which likely means either Jordan (West Bank) or Egypt (Gaza Strip). Despite his connections with Islamic Jihad, he won't enjoy either place, nor the PA if his old friends insist he join them there. At his great age, and accustomed to being Caliph in his surroundings as he no doubt had become, he isn't likely to try to sneak back in across the Mexican border. I can live with this outcome. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2006-04-18 10:41 |
| #4 In a related manner, many mossies still believe that Neil Armstrong never landed(no Apollo did!) on the Moon BUT if he had really converted(as wrongly claimed for decades afterwards), watch the torrents of acceptance than man really did land on the Moon! |
| Posted by: Duh! 2006-04-18 10:16 |
| #3 nimble makes a decent point and may be worse than that because the dems may even weaken the law further and appt prosecuters who won't face down terrorists because of PC concerns |
| Posted by: mhw 2006-04-18 09:45 |
| #2 He very possibly wasn't innocent but the government clearly couldn't PROVE he was guilty. This is another defeat for the law enforcement method of combatting terrorism. Given that law enforcement is the preferredmethod of the Democrats and they are going to win the presidency sooner or later, this does not bode well for us. |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2006-04-18 09:23 |
| #1 Well, I guess he really WAS innocent. |
| Posted by: Perfesser 2006-04-18 09:12 |