Florida case deals blow to terror law

TAMPA, FLA.—

In a stinging defeat for U. S. prosecutors, a former Florida professor accused of helping lead a terrorist group that has carried out suicide bombings against Israel was acquitted on nearly half the charges against him yesterday, and the jury deadlocked on the rest. The case against Sami Al- Arian, 47, had been seen as one of the biggest courtroom tests yet of the U. S. Patriot Act’s expanded search-and-surveillance powers.

Federal prosecutors said Al- Arian and his co- defendants acted as the communications arm of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, spreading the word and raising money that went toward the suicide attacks that have killed hundreds.

After a five- month trial and 13 days of deliberations, the jury acquitted Al- Arian of eight of the 17 counts against him, including a key charge of conspiring to maim and murder people overseas. The jurors deadlocked on the others, including charges he aided terrorists.

Al- Arian, a former University of South Florida computer engineering professor, wept after the verdicts, and his attorney, Linda Moreno hugged him. He will return to jail until prosecutors decide whether to retry him. Two co-defendants, Sameeh Hammoudeh and Ghassan Zayed Ballut, were acquitted of all charges. A third, Hatem Naji Fariz, was found not guilty on 24 counts, and jurors deadlocked on the remaining eight.

Al- Arian’s wife, Nahla, said she was “ ecstatic.” “ My husband is an outspoken Palestinian activist who loved this country, believed in the system, and the system did not fail him.”