How to listen to 20,000 hours' worth of secret federal recordings? "Set priorities," a judge advises, and lets a paralegal help.
By GRAHAM BRINK
Published August 28, 2003
TAMPA - From the start of his case, Sami Al-Arian wanted access to all the audio tapes secretly recorded during the investigation that led to his arrest.
Now, with his wish granted comes the next hurdle: How to listen to the more than 20,000 hours of conversations before the start of his trial in January 2005 on charges that he aided terrorists.
Al-Arian, a former University of South Florida professor, pointed out in a court hearing Wednesday that he could listen to the conversations for 10 hours a day and it would still take nearly six years to get through them all.
Federal Magistrate Judge Thomas McCoun acknowledged that listening to every tape and examining every document in the case was a "near-impossible task." He encouraged Al-Arian, who is representing himself, and the attorneys for his three co-defendants to "set priorities," a theme he repeated throughout the one-hour hearing.
McCoun allowed the lawyers to hire a paralegal to help them and Al-Arian sift through the evidence. He also told Al-Arian that provisions will be made for him to listen to the tapes at Coleman Correctional Facility, where he remains held without bail.
"You'll have to make decisions here real soon as to priorities," McCoun said. "I know you don't want to wait in Coleman for three years for your trial."
Federal agents arrested Al-Arian 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.
The government quickly declassified the more than 200 conversations listed specifically in the indictment, paving the way for the defendants to listen and analyze them. But the remaining conversations - more than 20,000 hours' worth - remained classified.
The defense attorneys and Al-Arian argued that the classified tapes could contain information that helps exonerate the defendants or casts a different light on the allegations in the indictment.
On Wednesday, prosecutor Walter "Terry" Furr announced that officials with the Department of Justice had decided to declassify the tapes. They will be converted to a digital format and made available to the defendants in batches over the next three months, he said.
The move negated the need for the defense attorneys or the interpreters to apply for security clearance to listen to the tapes. It also prevented a potential appeal on the grounds that the defense did not have access to all the evidence.
"We appreciate your efforts," McCoun told the prosecutors, adding that he knew granting access to the entire set of tapes was not "an easy task."
McCoun also addressed several of Al-Arian's complaints about access to other evidence. Al-Arian had filed several court motions about prison officials opening his mail and limiting his access to the law library and writing materials. Al-Arian also complained that he is only brought to Tampa once or twice a month for six hours at a time to review the tangible evidence in the case, including financial records seized by agents in various raids.
McCoun denied many of Al-Arian's requests.
"These are the facts of life when (defendants) represent themselves," McCoun said.
The judge encouraged him to work through the proper prison channels and to use the prison commissary to buy supplies. Al-Arian responded that the commissary he has access to does not sell items like envelopes.
A few times, the back-and-forth became testy. McCoun gave Al-Arian a tongue lashing for repeatedly interrupting him. Al-Arian spoke in a soft voice but would not back down on a few issues.
At one point, the judge asked Al-Arian whether the prison had given him pens to write with. Al-Arian had complained for months that he only received a few small pencils each week.
"You better be very careful about how you answer this question," McCoun said, pointing a finger at Al-Arian.
After a pause, Al-Arian answered that yes, he had received the pens.
"So we've moved beyond the pencil conundrum," McCoun said.
Al-Arian was scheduled to spend the rest of the day reviewing evidence brought to his holding cell at the courthouse. McCoun told the assistant U.S. marshals to make sure to take off Al-Arian's handcuffs and leg shackles to make it easier for him to move around in the cell.
