Retrial for Al-Arian

Wednesday, February 15, 2006

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Sami Al-Arian may be retried in April.

Federal Judge James Moody has set a new trial date for former University of South Florida professor Sami Al-Arian and one of his codefendants.

The trial is scheduled to begin April 8. Al-Arian, 47, and three other men stood trial last year on charges relating to providing financial support to the Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

Two of the men, Sameeh Hammoudeh and Ghassan Zayed Ballut, were acquitted on all of the counts in December. But the jury deadlocked on nine of the charges against Al-Arian and eight of the charges against codefendant Hatem Naji Fariz.

Al-Arian, a Palestinian who was born in Kuwait, has lived in the United States since 1975. He was granted permanent-resident status in 1989 and denied U.S. citizenship in 1996. He was fired from USF in February 2003 shortly after being indicted.

The government alleged the defendants were part of a Tampa terrorist cell that took the lead in determining the structure and goals of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, which the State Department has listed as a terrorist group.

Prosecutors said Al-Arian and other members of the terrorist organization used the university to give them cover as teachers and students, and held meetings under the guise of academic conferences.

Though a trial date has been set, it's still possible the case may not make it to trial.