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September 12, 2003
Judge moves to keep evidence in Tampa terror case from public
By VICKIE CHACHERE
Associated Press Writer
TAMPA, Fla. A federal judge moved Friday to keep information contained in thousands of hours of recorded telephone conversations in a terrorism investigation under wraps by banning the disclosure of the tapes to anyone outside of the case.
U.S. District Judge James Moody agreed with federal prosecutors who said the dissemination of material from wiretaps in the case of former professor Sami Al-Arian and three others could end up in the hands of terrorist organizations or in the press and violate the privacy of some people whose conversations were recorded. Only wiretap evidence presented at trial would be made public under the order.
"We'd hate to find copies of these (computer) discs in the trunk of a car in the Middle East," Assistant U.S. Attorney Terry Zitek said.
Al-Arian and three associates are charged in a 50-count indictment of using an academic think tank at the University of South Florida and a charity for Palestinians as a front to raise money for the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. The case is set to go to trial in January 2005.
Facing charges alongside Al-Arian are Sameeh Hammoudeh, Ghassan Zayed Ballut and Hatim Naji Fariz. Four others, including Ramadan Shallah, the head of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, are also under indictment but have not been arrested. Al-Arian is alleged to be the North American leader of Palestinian Islamic Jihad, which the government says is responsible for more than 100 murders in Israel and its territories.
The government recently declassified the wiretap evidence, allowing Al-Arian to see it as he represents himself in the case, and easing the work of his co-defendants' attorneys, who were in the process of seeking security clearances just to examine it.
Al-Arian, a USF computer engineering professor until he was fired in February after his arrest, objected to the judge's order. He said it would create a "chilling" effect on witnesses who may be afraid to answer his questions if they face sanctions for divulging anything they know of the wiretaps to the public.
He said the information can't be that sensitive if the government declassified the material and doubted the government's concern for the privacy of those who were taped.
"Isn't it ironic the same government that had no qualms about spying on the defendants and their families for over a decade is suddenly concerned about their privacy?" Al-Arian argued.
But Moody said he did not think the order would scare witnesses away and told Al-Arian and defense attorneys they could revisit the matter if it is causing problems in preparing a defense.
"It seems you are objecting because you think whatever the government wants must be bad for you," Moody told Al-Arian. "Why would you want these transcripts out in the public domain? How is that going to be good for you?"
http://www.theledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20030912/APN/309120846
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