Por (Meerkat) on December 08, 2005 (Suggest removal)

Color the federal government stupid for not making an airtight case against Al-Arian. Sometimes it appears to want to lose to avoid martyrdom & expand political correctness. Tampa must have had too few Jews in the jury pool; in Miami or New York City Al-Arian would have never walked.

Por (David Reese) on December 08, 2005 (Suggest removal)

When will the law schools of this country start teaching that you can not drag a trial out?  If the prosecutors can not present their evidence in two weeks, the case is too complicated.  The jurors will not be able to sort out all the information.  Or the case is too circumstantial for a guilty verdict.  This case was a political statement where the government tried to release too much information instead of trying to convict someone. In a long trial, the jurors start to feel as they are being punished and start to sympathize with the person(s) on trial. If the government decides to retry anyone, I hope they limit the trial to two weeks.  If it takes longer to present their evidence, just drop the case and save us money.

Por (Derek) on December 08, 2005 (Suggest removal)

This man was a tenured professor (why!?!?) at USF.  No other professor at USF was advocating and relaying anti-Semitic messages and ideals to their students in the extent Al-Arian was.  The Jews I’m sure are livid about this decision, as the Arabs have terrorized and hated the Jews since Israel was created.  We need to look at the Arabs, not blame ourselves. As far as I’m concerned, there’s a LINE that’s drawn between free speech, and giving money to terrorist organizations to kill people. I hope he’s never allowed to live or teach in this country again.

Por (Derek) on December 08, 2005 (Suggest removal)

Also, what’s all this crap in the media and on here about a “win” for Civil Rights?  A win for civil rights is when someone who was accused of something wrong, or a group of people who are treated unfairly, are acquitted, or the problem is rectified.  A good case is Brown v. the Board of Education.  This is NOT a civil case regarding free speech, are you NUTS?  This man was actively engaged in hate messages towards the Jewish community and funneling money through bogus terro…er “arab student” organizations.  Wake up people, before the bombs go off over here.  And as long as Genshaft is President, that terrorist will never work at USF again.

Por (Bill S) on December 08, 2005 (Suggest removal)

$10 million the Feds wasted on this case.

Where is the Anthrax killers Mr. FBI??????

I find it unbelievable that people are attacking the jury as “old farts”. They remind me of the Young Republicans that support the Iraqi Invasion but will not sign up in the Army to go fight in Iraq. Their idea of fighting terrorist is taking hard Business Ed courses.

Por (The next) on December 08, 2005 (Suggest removal)

And to this guy who signed his post “alternate juror”: I hope you really weren’t because judging from your post, you can’t spell very well, can’t punctuate, or form a complete sentence.  Therefore you lack the education to be an “alternate juror” if it’s really you.  Thank god you weren’t on the real jury, it seems it met its quota of idiots already.

Just wait till something else happens in this country.  We should have put him in jail, when something is going to happen, everyone will just blame Bush, instead of themselves, for letting a terrorist walk free. I heard he’s going to live with Michael and OJ.

Por (SAM MUSTAFA) on December 08, 2005 (Suggest removal)

I can’t believe all the bigots on this board. The government had tens of millions of dollars to spend, plus the help of the media who all but convicted these men for trying to talk about what the Jews were doing to the Palestinians. The powerful Jewish lobby pushed america into the war with Iraq and now wants to use American courts to get rid of people who are educating Americans about the crimes Isreal is comming against Palestinians. God bless this jury for not getting sucked in.

Por (Jumana) on December 09, 2005 (Suggest removal)

Derek,

Almost every detail you have used in your comments about the trial is inaccurate. I suggest you read up on the trial a bit better and maybe look to another source besides the Tampa Tribune. I cannot blame you for your ignorance because the media for the most part, was very biased when covering the trial, and failed to give their readers and viewers an accurate recap of the trial. The jurors saw all of the “evidence” in those boxes and boxes you were referring and they made their decision. If you don’t accept that verdict thats fine. It is our right in this country to agree to disagree but your repetetive hateful remarks against Sami and muslims in general prove that you are extremely intolerant and racist.

Por (A Human Being) on December 10, 2005 (Suggest removal)

Ok, so before submitting in my post I decided to see what other people had commented. Amazing how much rasicim, bigotry and pure ignorance/arrogance is posted here.

You would think that the powerful US goverment,(with the FBI, CIA, many dollars, many confiscated tapes, surveillances, witnesses, media coverage, over a decade in time….this list could go on…) would be able to convice a jury to convict a man on such serious counts.

And not just Al-Arian, there were three other men in this trial. And why wasn’t anyone convicted, I guess its mainly because they were innocent. Not a single dot was able to be connected.

Por (A Human Being) on December 10, 2005 (Suggest removal)

Now when I read the comments on how he and others should “be deported, sent back to where the came from etc.” it really aggravates me.

Because everyone has come from somewhere else. If not you then a family member before you. The rightful citizens of North America are no longer here in the numbers at the time when your forefathers came here (they’ve been killed)(and I’m talking about the Native Indian Americans)

Face it we are all immigrants from one place or anther, to tell anyone living here to leave is like telling everyone to leave and crumbling exactly what this nation was built on.

Por (A Human Being) on December 10, 2005 (Suggest removal)

Try to look past your own personal beliefs, and lets concentrate on locking up sexual abusers, druggies, robbers and those who deserve to be in jail, by direct connection, thier actions and not their beliefs.

Por (juror) on December 14, 2005 (Suggest removal)

I was one of the jurors that voted Sami Al-Arian and Hatem Fariz guilty on several counts. I can sleep at night knowing I saw all of the evidence and my votes were based upon that evidence.
Other jurors did not agree but that is their right. Incidentally…we were not all “old farts” as someone suggested earlier.

Por (Witness Who Wasn't) on January 01, 2006 (Suggest removal)

As someone who was on the witness list and then not called because of a deal to shorten the trial, I strongly disagree with the verdict.  However, I do not believe it is the jury’s fault.  They worked with what they had.  It was the government’s presentation that lost the case.  Had they not focused so much on the bombings in Israel, where jurors may not have been able to directly relate, and instead showed more of what Sami and others were doing in this country to contribute to those bombings, there may have been a conviction.  Personally, I feel that there was other, more damning evidence that should have been presented.  The FBI had it.  But, the prosecutor didn’t use it.

Por (Paul Johnson) on January 16, 2006 (Suggest removal)

I being a retired Military man believe that Justice was not done in this case.  Al Arian and all of his co-defendants should be deported immediately to the countries from where thay came…Immediately”

Por (Sleeping in Tampa) on January 25, 2006 (Suggest removal)

I set in that juror box for six months. Jurors ages 20 - 60’s.  Until you have walked in our shoes, I think you should not be so critical.  Most WERE educated. I did NOT state that I personally felt he was not guilty but I respect ALL the jurors conclusions.  BEYOND A REASONABLE DOUBT (with the info provided). I hope all of you, along with myself, pray that the just outcome will come.  This is not over.  I pray anyone that has based an opinion previously does NOT serve.  I also wish I could have seen the information the government did not present and hear from those witnesses that wrote that they did not appear.  P.S. BOTH sides were an equal part of selecting the jurors.

Por (Martin Tasso) on May 30, 2007 (Suggest removal)

Sami al-Arian is guilty—and the terror-conspiring professor admits it.
reads the agreement al-Arian signed. That’s a far cry from the claim—he is innocent.
In short, he does not dispute the crux of the conspiracy and terrorism-abetting allegations made against him—allegations which he now agrees the government could prove beyond reasonable doubt in a court of law if the prosecution were to go forward.

Por (Lana Shami) on December 22, 2007 (Suggest removal)

Its not over till he’s finally back home with his family where he belongs and has been deprived for way too long!!
They can never make up those lost days to him and his family what a shame!

Por (Joan Cantori) on September 03, 2008 (Suggest removal)

My husband Lou who died in May would have been so happy to hear this good news.  I want to say Ramadan Kareem to the Al-Arian family.  Joan Cantori