Biography
Sami Amin Al-Arian, 61, US permanent resident and former University of South Florida professor, was indicted February 19, 2003 in Tampa on 17 racketeering / material support / money laundering / immigration counts. Pleaded guilty; 57 months federal prison + 36 months supervised release + deportation. Sami Al-Arian was a Palestenian university professor and Muslim advocate who came under investigation and was eventually indicted for controversial terrorism charges, imprisoned and eventually deported to Turkey. He was an anti-Zionist and even supported Palestine's violent revolts against Israel in the 1980s. In 2003, in the midst of the post-9/11 hysteria, Al-Arian among others was charged with racketeering for an islamic paramilitary organization designated as a specialty terrorist organization by the US.
Most of the prosecution's evidence consisted of secret FBI wiretapped recordings of Al-Arian over the last decade. In the end, he agreed to a plea deal pleading guilty to one charge of conspiracy with the attorney general dropping all other charges. He was then sentenced to five years in prison, three years of supervised release, then finally deportation.
He spent most of his time in solitary confinment. Amnesty International called for an investigation based on the inhumane treatment he was getting.