Evidentiary Phase Completed In Trial Of Sami Al-Arian, Others
Published: Nov 2, 2005
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TAMPA - -- Closing arguments in the terror-support trial of Sami Al-Arian and three other men are scheduled to begin Monday, and jurors could start deliberating the men's fate later next week.
An FBI agent called to rebut testimony by the wife of one of the defendants ended the evidentiary phase of the trial Tuesday afternoon.
Al-Arian, Ghassan Ballut, Hatim Fariz and Sameeh Hammoudeh are charged with four conspiracy counts, including racketeering, providing material support for terrorists and conspiring to commit murder abroad. Prosecutors say they helped organize and finance the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, a terrorist group responsible for more than 100 deaths in attacks in Israel and the occupied territories.
The men could face life in prison if convicted.
The trial, which began June 5, centers on hundreds of intercepted telephone calls and faxes between 1994 and 2003. They show the men discussing Islamic Jihad attacks, coordinating fundraising and money transfers and, in Al-Arian's case, devising a plan to ease a financial crisis in the Islamic Jihad after Iran cut off its funding in 1994.
In addition, videotapes and photographs show all the defendants except Hammoudeh at conferences where speakers extolled the Islamic Jihad and the group's logo adorned the stage.
To convict, jurors must find that the men knew their activities would advance the Islamic Jihad's violence and other illegal activities. Defense attorneys say any money raised here went to charity, and if any of that was connected to the Islamic Jihad, it was for the group's nonviolent activities.
Al-Arian and Ballut called no defense witnesses. Al-Arian's attorneys argue that his actions were protected by the First Amendment and that many of the acts prosecutors point to came before laws banning material support and other contact with terrorist groups.
Hammoudeh's father, Taha Hammoudeh, traveled from the West Bank to testify that money his son sent to him went to orphans and a school for the blind. During cross-examination, prosecutors emphasized the indirect way the money was sent to the Middle East, relying on couriers to deliver the money to Hammoudeh, who then forwarded it to the charities instead of making direct donations.
Hatim Fariz called only his wife, Manal Ramadan, who testified about their family life. Defense attorney Kevin Beck had said earlier that he hoped to "humanize" his client for the jury.
But FBI agent Amy Pittman, the trial's final witness, contradicted much of Ramadan's claims that she knew nothing about her husband's fundraising activities. Pittman interviewed Ramadan the day her husband was arrested in 2003. Pittman's report of that interview said Ramadan called Fariz "very particular" about fundraising and he had testimonials from Palestine attesting to his charitable work.
