Dr. Al-Arian Transferred to Virginia

Dr. Al-Arian Transferred to Virginia
Tampa Bay Coalition for Justice and Peace
March 18, 2008

ALEXANDRIA, Va.-- Yesterday, Dr. Sami Al-Arian was transferred from
the Federal Medical Center in Butner, NC back to the local jail
in Warsaw, Virginia where he was held previously, to comply with a
judge's March 3 order granting him immunity for a THIRD grand jury
appearance. Today is the 17th day of a water and food strike that Dr.
Al-Arian began to protest persistent harassment and psychological
torture by the Department of Justice. He has since lost 29 pounds.

Dr. Al-Arian is being asked to testify before yet another grand jury
less than three weeks before his scheduled release date. His attorneys
have advised Dr. Al-Arian not to testify, as the plea agreement signed
with prosecutors in April 2006 removed the possibility of cooperation.
Additionally, these grand jury subpoenas are a trap intended to
prolong Dr. Al-Arian's imprisonment long after his promised release date.

If he testifies, he is to be charged with perjury, facing years of
additional prison time. If he is convicted of criminal contempt for
not testifying, Dr. Al-Arian faces a minimum of five years in prison.
These efforts to convict Dr. Al-Arian in a wholly separate case (more
than two years after he was acquitted by a federal jury) are clearly a
last-ditch, vindictive effort on behalf of the Justice Department, led
by a rogue prosecutor who has made bigoted statements against Muslims,
to punish Dr. Al-Arian for his acquittal. The Department of Justice
must keep the prom! ise it made to Dr. Al-Arian in his plea agreement
and release him on April 7, when his current sentence is up.

Members of Dr. Al-Arian's family visited him last weekend at the
prison medical facility where he was being held in Butner, North
Carolina. They observed the effects of the hunger strike on Dr.
Al-Arian, noting symptoms of severe dehydration. As of Monday, Dr.
Al-Arian was examined by a doctor only one time in nearly a week. The
government refuses to allow an outside doctor to examine Dr. Al-Arian
despite requests by his attorneys, family members, and thousands of
supporters. Butner Medical Center received thousands of telephone
calls from concerned people from across the country and around the
world.

TAKE ACTION

Given that Dr. Al-Arian has been on a hunger strike since March 3,
2008 we urgently ask all conscientious and justice-seeking individuals
to FAX OR WRITE Judge Gerald Lee to ask for an immediate end to Dr.
Al-Arian's suffering.

1- Honorable Judge Gerald Lee
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia
401 Courthouse Square,
Alexandria, VA 22314
Fax: (703) 299-3339

OTHER CONTACTS

2- Attorney General Michael Mukasey
Department of Justice
U.S. Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC
20530-0001
Fax Number: (202) 307-6777

E-mails to the
Department of Justice, including the Attorney General,
may be sent to
AskDOJ @ usdoj.gov.

3- The Honorable John Conyers, Jr
2426 Rayburn Building
Washington, DC 20515
(202) 225-5126
(202) 225-0072 Fax
John.Conyers @ mail.house.gov

4- Senator Patrick Leahy
433 Russell Senate Office Building
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510
(299029)224- 4242
senator_leahy @ leahy.senate.gov

Congressman Keith Ellison
5th Congressional
District - Minnesota
Phone: (202) 225-4755
Fax: 202-225-4886

Email: Rick Jauert, Communications Director
rick.jauert @ mail.house.gov

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