Jamie Wilson in Washington
Monday June 6, 2005
The Guardian
Sami al-Arian is used to mixing in elite political circles. The University of Florida professor met leading politicians such as Bill Clinton and George Bush in his role as the most high-profile advocate of the Palestinian cause in America. He was even invited to White House briefings.
But for more than two years, Dr Arian has been consorting in rather less rarefied company, in the maximum-security federal penitentiary in Coleman, Florida.
The professor of computer engineering goes on trial today in what is being billed as the most important terrorism case in the United States since September 11.
Prosecutors claim that Dr Arian, and three other Arab-Americans who will be in the dock with him, commanded an Islamic Jihad cell that flourished in Tampa and infiltrated the University of South Florida. The group is said to have helped finance a series of attacks in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and Israel in which more than 100 people died, including at least one American.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,12271,1499936,00.html