March 20, 2007
Friends,
Dr. Sami Al-Arian is about to die at the hands of the US government. His situation has been blacked out by the media since his acquittal by a Florida jury of terrorist acts, more than a year and a half ago. He has never been released from custody. Then US government 'promised' that he would be released and allowed to return to Palestine with his family. Since that time the government has thrown ridiculous demands at him, re unrelated grand jury questions which he has refused to answer. Each refusal as you are aware, results in more prison time.
58 days ago Dr. Al-Arian began a water only fast. He has diabetes. His body functions are beginning to shut down. We are demanding that the US government to release him before he dies in prison.
PLEASE SEND THIS APPEAL FAR AND WIDE TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW, TO EVERY ORGANIZATION WITH A MAILING LIST AND TO YOUR LOCAL MEDIA.
Thank You.
Rhoda Shapiro
March 20, 2007
ACTION ALERT
URGENT: SAVE SAMI AL-ARIAN'S LIFE, DEMAND HIS IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Al-Awda, The Palestine Right to Return Coalition calls on all people of conscience to demand that Dr. Sami Al-Arian is immediately freed from his political imprisonment. Dr. Al-Arian is a Palestinian former University of Florida professor currently on his 58th day of a water-only hunger strike. He is protesting his maltreatment by the U.S.
Department of Justice (DOJ) which violated an earlier plea agreement that absolved Dr. Al-Arian from any further cooperation with the government. According to his lawyer, the DOJ wanted Dr. Al-Arian to testify before a grand jury in Virginia. When he refused, citing his plea agreement, he was sentenced up to 18 months in jail.
Dr. Al-Arian is currently being held at a medical facility in North Carolina. Family members who recently visited him reported that he had lost 53 pounds, equivalent to more than 25 percent of his body weight. He is no longer able to walk or stand on his own.
More information on Dr. Al-Arian's ordeal can be found in the transcript of a recent interview with his wife, Nahla Al-Arian:
http://www.democracynow.org/ article.pl? sid=07/03/16/1410255
ACTION
We ask all people of conscience to demand the immediate release and end to Dr. Al- Arian's suffering.
Call, Email and Write:
1- Attorney General Alberto Gonzales
Department of Justice
U.S. Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20530-0001
Fax Number: (202) 307-6777
Email: AskDOJ@usdoj. gov
2- The Honorable John Conyers, Jr
2426 Rayburn Building
Washington, DC 20515
(202) 225-5126
(202) 225-0072 Fax
Email: AskDOJ@ mail.house. gov
3- Senator Patrick Leahy
433 Russell Senate Office Building
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510
(299029)224- 4242
Email: AskDOJ@ leahy.senate. gov
4- Honorable Judge Gerald Lee
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of
Virginia
401 Courthouse Square, Alexandria, VA 22314
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Al-Awda, The Palestine Right to Return Coalition
PO Box 131352
Carlsbad, CA 92013, USA
Tel: 760-685-3243
Fax: 360-933-3568
E-mail: info@al-awda. org
WWW: http://al-awda. org
Al-Awda, The Palestine Right to Return Coalition (PRRC) is the largest network of grassroots activists and students dedicated to Palestinian human rights. We are a not for profit tax-exempt educational and charitable 501(c)(3) organization as defined by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) of the United States of America. Under IRS guidelines,
your donations to PRRC are tax-deductible. http://www.al-awda.org/donate.html
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