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19.3.24 0023
The W - Current Events & Politics - Sami al-Arian acquitted
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TheBucsFan
TheChiefsFan








Since: 2.1.02

Since last post: 3507 days
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#1 Posted on | Instant Rating: 4.42
From the article (news.yahoo.com):


    A federal jury on Tuesday found a former Florida professor not guilty of funding a banned Islamist group in a verdict likely to be seen as a stiff blow to the U.S. government in its attempts to prosecute terror suspects.

    The jury in Tampa, Florida, took 13 days to deliver its verdict against Sami al-Arian, who along with three co-defendants was accused of raising money for Palestinian group Islamic Jihad.

    ...

    The prosecutors' case during the five-month trial in Tampa was based mostly on thousands of hours of wiretapped telephone calls, intercepted e-mails and faxes and bank records gathered over a decade.

    Federal prosecutors said al-Arian, a former professor at the University of South Florida, ran an Islamic Jihad cell in Tampa with the help of the other three men.


I'm happy to see this acquittal because:

1) Al-Arian was held for more than two years without trial or explanation. He was not allowed to see his family during this time, even.

2) The case against al-Arian was flimsy to begin with. I'm almost 100 percent certain that he did give money to the Jihad, but the claim that he was the leader of a North American terrorist cell never had any ground. This would seem to be confirmed by the fact that this acquittal came despite al-Arian's lawyer not calling on one witness in his client's defense. As for the money, I think al-Arian should be able to give his money to whomever he wishes. There's no proof that he was involved in any anti-American terrorism or planning.

3) Having had the benefit of meeting al-Arian and getting to know his family well, I think he is a very good person who deserves to be with his family. Not to mention his case was used as a chance by U.S. prosecuters and defense leaders to grandstand and gloat over how successful they were in tracking down terrorists. I'm amazed they found a jury that hadn't decided two years ago that the man was guilty.

This is a big loss for the U.S. attorneys, ,as the story says. They put a lot of time and energy into prosecuting this guy and now he's been found not guilty of the most serious charges.
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StaggerLee
Scrapple








Since: 3.10.02
From: Right side of the tracks

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#2 Posted on | Instant Rating: 2.39
The American Legal system works!

Cerebus
Scrapple








Since: 17.11.02

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#3 Posted on | Instant Rating: 2.29
I remember back during the elections last year, Betty Castor had an ad against he opponent (Can't remember the guys name, sorry...) claiming how he was a defender of terrorists while showing a picture of al-Arian. Nice to see this coming back to bite her in the ass.
TheBucsFan
TheChiefsFan








Since: 2.1.02

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#4 Posted on | Instant Rating: 4.42
    Originally posted by Cerebus
    I remember back during the elections last year, Betty Castor had an ad against he opponent (Can't remember the guys name, sorry...) claiming how he was a defender of terrorists while showing a picture of al-Arian. Nice to see this coming back to bite her in the ass.


It was the other way around. Mel Martinez (who won the race for U.S. Senate) attacked Castor because she didn't fire al-Arian while she was president at the University of South Florida, where al-Arian was a computer science professor. And no, last I heard Martinez had not made a comment or taken his stupid accusations back.
Cerebus
Scrapple








Since: 17.11.02

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#5 Posted on | Instant Rating: 2.60
    Originally posted by TheBucsFan
      Originally posted by Cerebus
      I remember back during the elections last year, Betty Castor had an ad against he opponent (Can't remember the guys name, sorry...) claiming how he was a defender of terrorists while showing a picture of al-Arian. Nice to see this coming back to bite her in the ass.


    It was the other way around. Mel Martinez (who won the race for U.S. Senate) attacked Castor because she didn't fire al-Arian while she was president at the University of South Florida, where al-Arian was a computer science professor. And no, last I heard Martinez had not made a comment or taken his stupid accusations back.


My bad, I get those two mixed up... but I did remember the commercial at least.

I didn't vote for either person, for what it's worth.
Big Bad
Scrapple








Since: 4.1.02
From: Dorchester, Ontario

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#6 Posted on | Instant Rating: 4.95
Well, Martinez is the one who's in the Senate for the next five years, so he had the last laugh.



"Oh, gosh, you know, I'm not much on speeches, but it's so gratifying to leave you wallowing in the mess you've made. You're screwed, thank you, bye."
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While I agree that it is ridiculously early, these things start earlier and earlier each year, and you guys have already mentioned it a bit. Anyway, what do you think the major issues will be?
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