Friday, December 01, 2006
Letter Re Sami Al Arian to Gonzalez
From: First United Church of Tampa - firstunitedmail@yahoo.com
Date: December 1, 2006 5:29:01 PM EST
To: melvau@earthlink.net
Subject: Letter Re Sami Al Arian to Gonzalez
Dear friends of human rights:
Please consider signing on to the attached letter to
Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez calling for Sami Al
Arian to be released on April 13, 2007. Sami and Nahla
want to be deported at that time. Please identify your
organization/ congregation and your position there.
Could you please respond by Friday, Dec. 8th? If you
do not feel you can attach your organization's name,
then please sign as a U. S. citizen. To sign on, just
respond back to this e-mail saying you wish to do so.
Thank you very much.
Dr. Warren Clark, Pastor
First United Church (UCC) of Tampa
__________
First United Church of Tampa
7308 E. Fowler Ave.
Tampa, FL 33617
813-988-4321
www.ucctampabay.org
We are an "Open and Affirming" and "Peace with Justice" church, founded in 1885.
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The letter:
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Friends of Human Rights
7308 E. Fowler Ave.
Tampa, Florida, U.S.A. 33617
(813) 246-2741
melvau@earthlink.net
Leadership: Pastor Warren Clark
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales
U.S. Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
Washington, D.C. 20530-0001
Dear Attorney General Gonzales:
We are a group of American citizens including clergy and other religious leaders concerned about the image of the United States in the world, particularly in the Middle East. In December, 2005, a jury found Dr. Sami Al Arian innocent of all violence related charges, and voted 10 to 2 to acquit him on all charges. This was widely reported in the Muslim media as a demonstration of the ability of a Muslim to receive a fair trial in the United States. It was a very positive story for us as a society.
As you know, Dr. Al Arian entered a plea agreement on three very minor charges, and was due to be released on April 13, 2007. Now, Dr. Al Arian is being held for up to 18 additional months for refusing to testify in another grand jury. This could easily happen again, and again, and again. This is potentially a very negative story in the Muslim world. We believe that it is far more beneficial to the interests of the United States that Dr. Al Arian be released and immediately deported on April 13, than to be indefinitely held in custody. The story of his continued incarceration is now getting out internationally, and will soon be prominently featured with the release of a European documentary about Dr. Al Arian’s trials.
As citizens who value human rights, we urge you to review Dr. Al Arian’s case. We request that you consider how important the practice of justice is to our country’s image abroad. If someone like Dr. Al Arian can be seen to receive fair treatment by our Justice Department, it will go a long way toward validating our call for the “Rule of Law” in other, especially Middle Eastern, countries.
