U.S. media is widely reporting that Palestinian Islamic Jihad leader Sami Al-Arian has been released from prison pending his trial on charges of reusing to testify before a grand jury. According to one report:
A former Florida professor once accused of being a leading Palestinian terrorist was released from custody Tuesday for the first time in more than five years.Sami Al-Arian was being held by immigration officials as he awaited trial on charges of refusing to testify before a grand jury about a cluster of Muslim organizations in northern Virginia. A federal judge on several occasions has expressed skepticism about the government’s contempt charges, and last week ordered immigration authorities to explain by Tuesday afternoon why they were continuing to hold Al-Arian. He was released hours before the judge’s deadline. Al-Arian will be on home detention at his daughter’s residence in Virginia while he awaits trial.
Numerous prior posts have discussed Al-Arian, his relationship the International Institute of Islamic Thought and his support by the U.S. Muslim Brotherhood which today celebrated his release.