April 15, 2008
I. Dr. Al-Arian Moved from Abusive Facility
II. Reminder about Al-Arian Press Conference Today!
Dr. Al-Arian Moved from Abusive Facility
Immigration officials on Monday afternoon removed Dr. Sami
Al-Arian from the Howard County Detention Center in Maryland to an
undisclosed detention facility. Dr. Al-Arian, who entered the seventh week
of a hunger strike on April 14, had been kept in punitive conditions over
the weekend, denied medical monitoring and forced to endure the harsh
environment of the segregation unit of the detention center.
Yesterday, while in a temporary holdover cell at an Immigration and Customs
Enforcement (ICE) office in Virginia, Dr. Al-Arian was given a brief visit
with family members.
Dr. Al-Arian's daughter, Laila, said officials called the family and offered
them an opportunity to visit with him before he was transferred to another
facility. "We had been requesting a visit since last week, but since he is
constantly moved, we have not seen him in some time. It was especially
urgent because my mother had only seen him once during her trip here and she
is going back to Egypt on Tuesday," she said.
Nahla, the wife of Dr. Al-Arian, said, "We are grateful to the immigration
officials for granting us this visit, and we hope they fulfill their
obligation toward our family and deport Sami as soon as possible so that he
may finally come back to us. It's been more than five years. We just want
this nightmare to end."
Dr. Al-Arian's family reports that the visit lasted thirty minutes and that
they saw met him behind a glass partition. Having not seen him in over two
weeks, they reacted strongly to the toll Dr. Al-Arian's hunger strike has
taken on his body. "He's lost 35 pounds," said his son, Abdullah. "He is far
thinner and weaker than the last time we saw him. I don't know how much more
of this he can take. The government needs to release him, if for nothing
else, than for his life."
Mrs. Al-Arian was also traumatized by witnessing her husband in his current
state. "He looked like he'd been through a concentration camp. We want him
to stop the hunger strike but he feels he has no other choice. This
indefinite imprisonment has torn our family apart. We have had to suffer
through three different release dates without him ever being freed."
The family of Dr. Al-Arian has renewed its call for the government to
release him, as stipulated by the plea agreement. Although he has been
transferred into the custody of immigration authorities, officials have
given no indication if they plan to deport Dr. Al Arian. On March 3, a
federal judge issued a third order for Dr. Al-Arian to testify before a
grand jury. He has continued to refuse to testify, on the basis of a plea
agreement signed with prosecutors that promised him non-cooperation and
expedited deportation.
"It is especially urgent that all supporters of justice for my father become
involved at this critical stage," said Laila Al-Arian. "His life is on the
line. Our government must do the right thing and let him go. We believe that
if they hear from the thousands of concerned citizens and supporters, they
will do the right thing. But there isn't much time."
The Tampa Bay Coalition for Justice and Peace urges all conscientious
individuals and organizations to contact elected officials as well as the
Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security, to demand an
end to the injustice against Dr. Al-Arian once and for all.
TALKING POINTS:
• As of April 11, 2008, Dr. Al-Arian's term of imprisonment has concluded.
The plea agreement stipulates that he be given expedited deportation and as
such, he should be allowed to leave the country immediately.
• Prosecutors in the Eastern District of Virginia have abused the grand jury
process to keep Dr. Al-Arian detained for more than a year beyond his
original sentence. They continue to threaten further action with the latest
court order seeking his testimony.
• The plea agreement removed all standard language that would allow the
government to pursue cooperation. Florida prosecutors have admitted, on the
record, that Dr. Al-Arian explicitly requested non-cooperation, and that
they agreed to his request.
• Dr. Al-Arian has been on a hunger strike since March 3, 2008. For the
first 18 days, he abstained from both food and water. Since then, he has
only taken water. He has lost 35 pounds and his life is in danger. His
release is requested not only on legal grounds, but humanitarian grounds as
well. This case has drawn international attention and has dealt a severe
blow to the United States of America's domestic human rights record. Dr.
Al-Arian is the most prominent political prisoner in the United States and
the only one currently on a hunger strike.
FIND YOUR REPS: Go to the following website to
find your representatives in
the House and
Senate through your zipcode:
http://www.congresshttp://www
ALSO PLEASE WRITE AND FAX:
Honorable Judge Gerald Lee
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia
401 Courthouse Square, Alexandria, VA 22314
Fax: (703) 299-3339
II. Press Conference to Call for the Release of Sami Al-Arian
WHEN: Today, Tuesday, April 15, 11 a.m.
WHAT: Civil rights and Islamic leaders call for release of hunger striking
Palestinian professor Sami Al-Arian
WHERE: The Malcolm X & Dr. Betty Shabazz Memorial
and Education Center, 3940 Broadway.
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