Judge admits evidence from computers in Al-Arian case
Prosecutors say it shows the intent of the defendants, charged with raising money for terrorist activities.
By MEG LAUGHLIN
Published June 28, 2005
TAMPA - Prosecutors in the trial of Sami Al-Arian won a key battle Monday when the judge admitted into evidence information taken from the computers of Al-Arian and three co-defendants.
Prosecutors said the information, taken from Web sites, was pivotal to their case because it showed the intent of the defendants, charged with raising money for terrorist activities.
The question of admissibility turned what had been another day of dry testimony into a pitched debate on a major point in the prosecution's case.
At issue was information taken from the defendants' computers, specifically information from Web sites about a terrorist organization in the occupied territories and Israel.
The debate focused on what the Web site information would show.
Prosecutor Terry Zitek said it would show "what they learned - what knowledge they had in their heads."
This was important, he said, because it went to the issue of defendants' "knowledge and intent" when they raised money for the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, a terrorist organization.
Defense attorney Kevin Beck disagreed, saying information from Web sites on the defendants' computers was merely "hearsay."
He said it should not be admitted into evidence because it did not mean defendants "read and adopted it."
The judge's ruling on the Web site information was particularly important to the case because of a decision he made last August.
In that ruling, U.S. District Judge James S. Moody said it would not be enough for the government to show that the four defendants raised money for an organization that claimed responsibility for terrorist acts in the occupied territories and Israel.
Instead, Moody said, the prosecution must show that the defendants had a "specific intent," knowing their support would further the illegal activities of the organization.
The judge wrote, "a jury could infer a special intent if a defendant knows that the organization continues to commit illegal acts and the defendant provides funds to that organization knowing the organization can use the funds for any purpose it chooses."
Zitek argued that the Web site information would show what the defendants knew about illegal activity when they raised money that went to the PIJ.
Defense attorney William Moffitt argued: "You can get sent stuff on the Net you didn't ask for."
Ultimately, Moody ruled to admit the Web site information.
"The government has to prove that the defendants had intent or knowledge, and to do that it has to show what knowledge is available to them," the judge said.
Besides, he said, defense attorneys could make their arguments against the Web site information during cross-examination of the witnesses. Minutes after Moody's ruling, Zitek showed the jury a color photo of Fathi Shikaki, downloaded onto defendant Hatem Fariz's computer in 2001. Until he was killed in 1995, Shikaki was the leader of the PIJ.
In cross-examination today, defense attorneys will question an FBI witness about Web site information on Shikaki and the PIJ.