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U.S. To Fly 100 Israelis to Testify Against Al-Arian

HeadlineMay 20, 2005

Now to the case of imprisoned University Professor Sami al Arian. Yesterday, a jury was seated to hear his federal trial on charges of aiding Palestinian terrorists, but his attorneys say they will continue their fight for a change of venue out of Tampa. Al-Arian is a former professor at the University of South Florida. He and his three 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 are not in custody. 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, which is on a State Department list of terrorist organizations. The group is blamed for more than 100 deaths in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Meanwhile, the U.S. government is planning to fly more than 100 Israelis to Florida to testify against al Arian. Haaretz reported this week that the Israeli witnesses will include survivors of attacks, relatives of victims, police investigators, paramedics and forensic investigators. The trial is set to begin June 6 in Tampa.

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