A judge will decide on the list of privileges Al-Arian says will help build his case.
By GRAHAM BRINK
Published August 14, 2003
Sami Al-Arian, defending himself against terrorism charges, awaits trial in a Sumter County prison.
TAMPA - Over the last few months, Sami Al-Arian has asked for a number of changes to his living conditions in federal prison to help him defend himself against charges that he supported terrorism.
Al-Arian, awaiting trial at Coleman Correctional Facility in Sumter County, wants access to a better library, extended visiting hours, unlimited access to audio and videotapes related to his case, unmonitored telephone privileges from 8 a.m. until 10 p.m. and contact visits with prospective witnesses.
Now, federal prosecutors have weighed in, saying Al-Arian should get none of the above. "None of the defendant's allegations are meritorious," they wrote in court documents made public Wednesday. "He has not attempted to informally resolve many of these issues with (prison) staff and not exhausted the administrative remedies made available to him."
A judge will ultimately decide the issue. In the meantime, Al-Arian will have to make do with his current situation.
In another setback for Al-Arian, prison officials recently suspended his "social" phone privileges for 180 days for placing a three-way phone call, a violation of prison rules. He cannot make any calls deemed social in nature. Legal calls are exempt.
Inmates held in the Special Housing Unit where Al-Arian lives receive one social call a month that cannot last more than 15 minutes. All the social calls are monitored.
The court documents don't explain how prison officials determined that Al-Arian placed a three-way call. Prison officials could not be reached for comment.
Federal agents arrested Al-Arian, a former University of South Florida professor, and three other men in February on charges that they supported, promoted and raised money for the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, a terrorist group considered responsible for more than 100 deaths. Federal prosecutors say agents taped thousands of telephone conversations over the past decade - most of them in Arabic - while they had Al-Arian and the other men under surveillance.
Since a judge ordered him held without bail pending his trial, Al-Arian has made numerous complaints about his conditions, including the lack of pencils and his limited access to law books and legal documents. He has also complained that the guards have opened his legal mail outside his presence.
Federal prosecutors wrote in their response that the prison is not obligated to provide Al-Arian with a typewriter, a personal photocopier, Internet access or contact visits with potential witnesses.
Since Al-Arian is representing himself, prison officials must ask the federal prosecutors or the judge to confirm that someone is indeed a potential witness, the documents state. Once that is done, Al-Arian can meet with the person from behind a transparent barrier.
As for library access, Al-Arian already has adequate access to legal material through the basic library in the Special Housing Unit, they wrote. He also failed to specify a specific instance when his legal mail was improperly opened, the prosecutors stated.
