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Letter to the editor

Prosecutor drops scary names but offers little evidence

By MEG LAUGHLIN
Published June 6, 2005

Israel. Murder. Tampa cell. Pure PIJ.

Those were the terms Assistant U.S. Attorney Terry Furr kept repeating in the first two hours of his opening statement this morning in the federal terrorism trial of former USF professor Sami Al-Arian.

If followers of the case expected clear connections to be made between the defendants and the charges during the first half of the opener, they were not getting what they anticipated - though that may happen in the coming days of the trial, when evidence is actually presented.

What observers got, instead, was a hodgepodge of names, dates and descriptions of killings in Israel and constant reminders that the PIJ, or Palestine Islamic Jihad, was responsible and that the defendants ran the U.S. branch out of Tampa.

Prosecutor Furr said the group in Tampa raised money for the orphans and families of suicide bombers in Israel, as well as some associated "detainees." He called this money a way "to buy loyalty," but did not explain how this money went to the heart of the case against the defendants - how such a use shows that they conspired to materially aid terrorists.

Al-Arian, 47, and three co-defendants face a 53-count indictment that includes charges of providing material support to terrorists, racketeering and conspiracy. Five other men have been indicted but have not been arrested. The trial is expected to last six months.

Opening statements are scheduled to continue this afternoon.

[Last modified June 6, 2005, 15:14:02]