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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Peter Dierks who wrote (682394)	5/16/2005 12:35:25 PM
From: Proud_Infidel	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 769670

Jury selection set for ex-professor Sami Al-Arian accused of aiding Palestinian terrorists Monday, May 16, 2005 Posted: 10:34 AM EDT (1434 GMT) TAMPA, Florida (AP) -- The University of South Florida professor was already secretly under investigation by FBI foreign intelligence agents when a 1995 bombing in the Gaza Strip killed eight people, including an American student. Sami Al-Arian was well known for his contributions on behalf of Palestinian rights -- establishing an Islamic academic think tank, a school, a mosque and a charity -- but authorities wondered whether the true nature of his work was to finance terrorist attacks in Israel. The former computer science professor and three others now are going to be tried on charges they helped fund the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the terrorist group that carried out the bombing. Jury selection was to begin Monday, and it was expected to last through Wednesday. The trial could begin early next month. Lawyers for Al-Arian and the federal public defender's office contend the jury pool has been tainted by pretrial publicity, and have asked for a change of venue. Attorneys William Moffitt and Linda Moreno said Al-Arian could not get a fair trial, citing Al-Arian's emergence as a high-profile issue in last year's U.S. Senate campaign. Democrat Betty Castor, former president of the University of South Florida, was criticized for not firing Al-Arian. Her opponent, Mel Martinez, won despite counter allegations that powerful Republicans associated with Al-Arian in hopes of winning Muslim votes in Florida. Both sides used Al-Arian's image and discussed the case in televised campaign ads. The defense also has cited questionnaires filled out by potential jurors indicating they had already made up their minds that Al-Arian was guilty. District Judge James Moody planned to wait until potential jurors were questioned before making a decision. But, he has already started scouting possible alternative locations for the trial, which is expected to last six months. Al-Arian and his co-defendants face a 53-count indictment that includes charges of racketeering, conspiracy and providing material support to terrorists. Five other men have been indicted but have not been arrested. Prosecutors allege the men used an Islamic academic think tank and a Palestinian charity founded by Al-Arian as fund-raising fronts for the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. The group is blamed for more than 100 deaths in attacks in Israel, the West bank and Gaza Strip. American student Alisa Flatow was among eight victims killed in the April 9, 1995, terrorist attack at the Israeli settlement of Kfar Darom.