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Former Professor Sami Al-arian. (AP)
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| By Israel Insider staff and partners November 9, 2005 |
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A former professor was described by his attorneys as a crusader for the Palestinian cause whose inflammatory words have been twisted by federal prosecutors intent on proving he is a terrorist.
In shared closing arguments Tuesday, attorneys Linda Moreno and William Moffitt said Sami Al-Arian did nothing but speak, write and publish strong words critical of Israel's existence, and advocate a better life for Palestinians.
"It has been a prosecution of his ideas and his beliefs, and that, ladies and gentlemen, is un-American," Moreno told the jury.
Al-Arian, 47, and three co-defendants are accused of being key figures in the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, a terrorist group blamed for hundreds of deaths in Israel, the "West Bank" (Judea and Samaria) and Gaza strip.
Prosecutors say Al-Arian and others used an academic think tank, a Palestinian charity and school founded by Al-Arian in Tampa as fundraising fronts for the PIJ.
The Tampa cell acted as the communications arm of the organization, the government contends, spreading the word and raising money. Prosecutors built their case around hundreds of pages of transcripts, wiretapped phone calls and faxes.
The conversations and correspondence, intercepted from the mid-1990s to about 2003, included discussions about the direction and financing of the PIJ. Other times, the participants appear to celebrate suicide attacks.
Earlier Tuesday, prosecutor Cherie Krigsman wrapped up her closing arguments by telling jurors that the defendants were as much a part of the PIJ as those who strapped on bombs and blew themselves up in crowds.
But Moreno told the jury there is no evidence Al-Arian supported or knew of violent acts. He and the others raised money and sent it overseas for charitable causes and were not associated with the wing of the PIJ that carried out attacks, she said.
Al-Arian's speeches at conferences and his writings about the Palestinian condition have been taken out of context by prosecutors, Moreno said, urging jurors to "reject the government's cruel and cynical interpretation."
Moffitt said the First Amendment protects the former professor's right to express those unpopular views.
Al-Arian was fired by the University of South Florida after he was indicted in 2003.
The defendants are charged with, among other things, operating a criminal enterprise, conspiracy to murder and maim people outside the United States, and conspiracy to provide material support to a terrorist organization.
If convicted, they could each face up to life in prison.
The AP contributed to this report.
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