Sami Omar Al-Hussayen
| Sami Omar Al-Hussayen | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1973 (age 38–39) Saudi Arabia |
| Detained at | Idaho |
| Penalty | acquitted |
| Status | deported |
| Occupation | Professor of Computer Science |
| Children | yes |
Sami Omar Al-Hussayen, also known as Sami Al-Hussayen,[1] a native of Saudi Arabia and former graduate student in Computer Science at the University of Idaho, is a Webmaster who was acquitted of charges that he ran Web sites which supported terrorism.[2] Al-Hussayen was defended online by the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
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[edit] Arrest and Charges
Al-Hussayen was arrested in late February 2003 in the town of Moscow, Idaho.[3]
There were two cases against him - one a federal case and the other an immigration related one.
For the federal case, he was initially charged with seven counts of visa fraud, and four counts of lying to officials.[2] All charges stemmed from his alleged work as a webmaster, as foreign students on student visas in the United States of America are not allowed to work for employers not situated on their campus. Al-Hussayen maintained that the work he did was purely voluntary, and did not get monetary compensation, and thus could not have violated the conditions of his visa.
He pleaded not guilty to all the charges.
In March 2003, it was ruled that Mr. Al-Hussayen should be set free without bail and remain under house arrest until his trial commenced. However, immigration officials detained him for their case and he was transferred to their custody.
[edit] Trials
The immigration hearings took place in the middle of 2003, where Federal judge Anna Ho ruled that Mr. Al-Hussayen was deportable.[4]
In January 2004, he was charged with two counts of conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists using his skills in computers.[2]
In March 2004, he was charged with conspiracy to provide material support to Hamas - through donation links on Web sites he allegedly maintained. His formal indictments can be seen here.[2]
His trial began in April 2004.[5][6] His trial lasted six weeks. The defense called only one witness. He was acquitted of all three terrorism charges, and of three of the eight immigration charges. The jurors deadlocked on the remaining charges, and District Judge Edward Lodge declared a mistrial for those remaining charges.[7]
[edit] Deportation
After his acquittal at the criminal trial, Al-Hussayen was still imprisoned by immigration authorities, and a few weeks later, agreed not to appeal his deportation order if the prosecution agreed not to retry him for the remaining charges.[5] He was deported to Saudi Arabia in July 2004. His wife and three sons traveled back to meet him, rather than await deportation orders. Al-Hussayen currently lives in Riyadh where he works as an instructor at a technical university, while his wife works as a kindergarten teacher.
[edit] Importance of the Case
The Patriot Act authorizes the government to prosecute people if they "provide expert advice or assistance" to terrorist groups, although a January 2004 federal case in California ruled that this violates First and Fifth Amendment rights.[6][8]
The USA Today reported that U.S. District Court Judge Audrey Collins ruled that the Patriot Act's barring "expert advice or assistance" to groups designated foreign terrorist organizations was too vague.[6] The USA Today quoted the director of the Martin Institute for Peace Studies and Conflict Resolution and the Martin School of International Affairs at the University of Idaho, Rand Lewis:
- "We have a law that is shaky at best. My feeling is that Sami is going to be the test case in this."[6]
- "Passive supporters often don't know they're supporting terrorism. So when you get into these gray areas about what people know and what they don't know, I think the law is going to have a difficult time."[6]
In 2009 a federal court of appeals found that former Attorney General John Ashcroft could be sued and held personally responsible for the wrongful detention of material witness Abdullah al-Kidd, an American citizen arrested in 2003 and held for 13 months in maximum security prisons to be used as a witness in the trial of Al-Hussayen.[9] In June 2011, the Supreme Court unanimously decided against allowing John Ashcroft to be sued.[10]
[edit] References
- ^ Afterwords, C-SPAN, October 7, 2011, discussion by Susan Herman of her book, Taking Liberties.
- ^ a b c d "USA v. Sami Omar Al-Hussayen". United States Department of Justice. March 2004. http://news.findlaw.com/hdocs/docs/terrorism/usalhussyn304sind2.pdf. Retrieved 2008-03-25.
- ^ Timothy Egan (April 27, 2004). "Computer Student on Trial Over Muslim Web Site Work". New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B06E4D9113AF934A15757C0A9629C8B63&sec=technology&spon=. Retrieved 2008-03-25. "Mr. Dickinson said he was interviewed by the F.B.I. for several hours after Mr. Hussayen's arrest in February 2003. They kept saying his Ph.D. program was a front and that the person I knew was only the tip of this monstrous iceberg, he said. But I've yet to hear one thing the government has said since then that has made me question his innocence."
- ^ Betsy Z. Russell (April 26, 2003). "Deportation ordered for Saudi student". Spokesman Review. http://www.spokesmanreview.com/pf.asp?date=042603&ID=s1341984. Retrieved 2008-02-05. "A federal immigration judge on Friday ordered Sami Omar Al-Hussayen deported to Saudi Arabia."
- ^ a b Rebecca Boone (March 19, 2008). "Settlement talks fail between al-Kidd, feds". AP Michigan News. http://www.mlive.com/newsflash/michigan/index.ssf?/base/news-52/1205975049210730.xml&storylist=newsmichigan. Retrieved 2008-03-25. "A jury acquitted Al-Hussayen of using his computer skills to foster terrorism and of three immigration violations after an eight-week federal trial. But Al-Hussayen was eventually deported to Saudi Arabia."
- ^ a b c d e "Trial of graduate student could test the Patriot Act". USA Today. April 14, 2004. http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2004-04-14-idaho-case_x.htm. Retrieved 2008-03-25. "Al-Hussayen, who has denied any wrongdoing, has been charged with a Patriot Act provision that a federal judge in California already has ruled threatens both First and Fifth Amendment rights."
- ^ "Judge lets jury see online postings justifying suicide bombings". First Amendment Center. May 14, 2004. http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/%5Cnews.aspx?id=13352. Retrieved 2008-03-25.
- ^ Richard B. Schmitt, Los Angeles Times, "Prosecution by the USA Patriot Act"
- ^ "John Ashcroft can be sued for wrongful detention". The Sydney Morning Herald. 2009-09-05. http://www.smh.com.au/world/john-ashcroft-can-be-sued-for-wrongful-detention-20090905-fbzv.html.
- ^ "Supreme Court: US Muslim Cannot Sue Former Official". Voice of America. 2011-06-01. http://www.voanews.com/english/news/usa/Top-US-Court-Ashcroft-Cannot-Be-Sued-in-2003-Detention-Case-122878419.html.
