FAMILIEN AL-ARIAN: Familiefar Sami ble arrestert i 2003, og siden har han sittet inne.
Foto: USA mot Al-Arian

I STORTINGET: Onsdag ble filmen vist på Stortinget. Bildet viser Nahla, Leila og Abdullah Al-Arian sammen med Ågot Valle.
Foto: Tone Andersen

TO OG ET HALVT ÅR: Sami Al-Arian satt fengslet uten rettssak. I fjor innrømmet han skyld på ett tiltalepunkt og fikk til sammen 57 måneders fengsel.
Foto: USA mot Al-Arian

AKTUELL MED FILM: Den norske dokumentarskaperen Line Halvorsen har fått mye ros for sin nye film.
Foto: Kristin Svorte

SAMI AL-ARIAN er mannen FBI mente var storterrorist, som påtalemyndigheten til slutt klarte å få dømt til 57 måneders fengsel. Den norske filmskaperen Line Halvorsen mener han sitter inne på grunn av meningene sine.

Fredag har hennes kritikerroste film «USA mot Al-Arian» premiere på norske kinoer. Den viser hvordan amerikanske myndigheter har behandlet professoren som satt inne i to og et halvt år før saken hans kom opp for retten. Les hele saken om Al-Arian i Magasinet på nett.

- En rasistisk dommer sto bak, en som haler muslimer og arabare gjennom nye problemer hver gang de blir frikjent. De lover frihet, men man får hele tiden nye anklager mot seg, sier Nahla Al-Arian, Samis kone, som er i Norge i forbindelse med filmpremieren.

MENS ANMELDELSENE over alt har vært glimrende så langt, peker et par anmeldere på at filmen bare viser en side av saken. Igjen får dokumentarsjangeren kritikk for å være for subjektiv. Halvorsen mener det er hennes rett.

-  Det er en subjektiv dokumentar siden jeg fulgte familien, men med statsadvokatens bidrag vises bredden. En dokumentarist har lov til å fortelle fra en side, det er feil å kreve at man skal balansere noe som er ubalansert i utgangspunktet, jeg føler at jeg har rett til å vise overgrep, sier Halvorsen.

- Dette er en politisk sak. Menneskerettighetsorganisasjoner som Amnesty har støttet oss, spesielt når det gjelder fengselsforholdene for far. Amerikanske borgerrettighetsorganisasjoner har også engasjert seg. Men vår sak er en av mange, hver dag vedtas det lover i USA som organisasjonene må kjempe mot, sier Abdullah Al-Arian, den fengslede universitetsprofessorens eldste sønn.

Du kan sende inn spørsmål både til Line Halvorsen og Abdullah Al-Arian til nettmøte. Spørsmålene til Abdullah bør du sende på engelsk.

 
Publisert onsdag 21.02.2007 kl. 10:00, oppdatert 14:18

Send inn spørsmål til nettmøtet her!

Nettmøtet er avsluttet. Les svarene fra Abdullah Al-Arian og Line Halvorsen nedenfor.

det er mye urettferdighet i landet og i store deler av verden


hvorfor vert han EGENTELIG fengsla?
Innsendt av: abdinho

Thank you for your question. Based on our experience, it is easy to see why my father was targeted for persecution. He was not only a prominent advocate on behalf of the Palestinian cause, but he was an effective one at that.

In recent years, he developed strong relationships with political leaders of both parties in an effort to restore the civil rights of American Muslims and finally end the one-sidedness of the discussion on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

Many people wanted my father silenced for his many accomplishments. He was a leader of the American Muslim community and the opposition to those efforts would rather silence him than to engage in open dialogue.

Abdullah
 

Dear Abdullah Al-Arian


I must say I feel racism towards muslims very strongly here in the U.S., and it seems to be an increasing problem. Many "average" Americans are discriminatory towards muslims because of the 9/11 attack. I was born and raised in Grunerlokka, Oslo, Norway, which has, and always has had, a high muslim population. Therefore I know more about Islam than the average non-muslim ion the Western Society, and know of many of your customs and beliefs. I always tell Americans that muslims are not bad at all, and that to generalize 1,5 billion people simply is ridiculous. My question is: Do you often get looks, or feel hostility, towards you when you walk down the street a normal day? And at last, do you think many Americans, or better, non-Muslims, have tendencies to be prejudice?

Martin Eidissen (17), Norwegian citizen, currently living in Appleton, Wisconsin, USA
Innsendt av: Martin Eidissen

Thank you Martin. I appreciate your comments. Life for American Muslims has its share of challenges as well as benefits. There has certainly been a rise of anti-Muslim reactions in the past few years, due mainly to the atmosphere of fear and hysteria promoted by the media and our political leaders.

Nonetheless, there are many good people in America who have expressed their support and sympathy with the civil rights crisis currently engulfing the Arab and Muslim minorities in the U.S. These people are our friends and neighbors. We share with them many meals and attend services at their churches. They have kept the beautiful image of America as a tolerant country that has a history of accepting people from around the world and offering them the freedom to practice their faith.

In spite of the injustices practiced by the current administration and the hate crimes of a small number of bigoted citizens, this is a phase of history that many communities have suffered through, and which have always passed after some struggle.

Abdullah
 

Hva mener du?


USA er Israels eneste sterke venn og beskytter. At USA i det hele tatt engasjerer seg i Israel-palestina konflikten har ingen hensikt lenger, siden de demoniserer den ene parten og favorittiserer den andre. På palestinsk side er det et intenst hat mot Israel og det var jo hovedgrunnlaget til at en del militante organisasjoner ble opprettet. Mektige politiske kretser med stor politisk innflyttelse i USA har med all sqannsynlighet lagt press på amerikanske myndigheter for å stemple palestinske motstandsbevegelser som terrorister. Det er snakk om mektige pro-israelske krefter som påvirker USAs rolle i midtøstenkonflikten. Det er sannsynligvis dette som er årsaken til at proffesor Al-Arin ble arrestert. Al-Arins politiske engasjement i Israel-palestina konflikten har tydeligvis provosert mektige pro-israelske organisasjoner og jødiske lobbyister i hele USA.


Innsendt av: Psykopaten

Thank you for your comments. One thing we noticed during the course of the trial was that this case could never have happened if it were not for the poisonous atmosphere in which we lived for many years. Racism and exclusivism were a part of the media campaign against Muslim and Arab Americans for many years and helped lay the groundwork for the case against my father.

Fortunately, however, in spite of the campaign led by many pro-Israel forces in the media, the American jury was able to judge based only on facts and acquitted my father on all the serious charges related to terror.

Abdullah
 

Hvorfor


Sluttet Abdullah å støtte terror fordi han ble i mot det eller fordi at det ble ulovlig å støtte det i USA?
Innsendt av: Terje

Dear Terje,

As the evidence in the trial showed, my father (Sami Al-Arian, the subject of the article) never supported violence, before or after the designation. He has always spoken out against violence and the killing of innocent civilians anywhere in the world, regardless of race or religion.

Abdullah
 

keep on:)abdullah al arian


i think u should keep on fighting al-arian,for your rihgts.
we are behind u.with love from norway.

Innsendt av: dursun karaman

Thank you very much, Dursun. We are very grateful for such a warm reception that we have received in Norway (in spite of the weather!).

The people here have been wonderful and supportive. They have given us so much faith, hope, and inspiration that such injustice cannot last as long as there are good people around the world who speak out. Your great country has been living proof of that for many years.

Abdullah
 

KInovisning


Hei Line
Blir filmen vist på norske kinoer?

Innsendt av: Anne M.Meyer

Hei Anne,
Filmen har premiere på norske kinoer over hele landet i kveld. Den vil starte i Oslo, Trondheim, Tromsø, Bergen og Fredrikstad, kommer til Stavanger i neste uke, og vil bli på kinoer i flere byer etterhvert.

Line
 

Hva er problemet?


Hva er problemet i denne saken?
Dette er en person som er palestina-aktivist, som støtter finansiering av terror og som har vil utslette Israel.

Hvordan går det an å forsvare slike mennesker? Hvorfor ikke lage en dokumentar om konsekvensene av jødehat, terrorfinansering, selvmordsaksjoner og radikal islam. Det er dette som er de virkelige problemene.
Innsendt av: Bjørn Christian

Since there have been a few questions that have demonstrated a real lack of information on the case, I will address many of them in the body of this answer.

My father, Professor Sami Al-Arian, was arrested in 2003, following a decade-long investigation. He was kept in isolation for over two years, where he was not given adequate access to his lawyers or able to prepare his defense for trial.

Nonetheless, in June 2005, the trial began and lasted for 6 months. The government presented over 80 witnesses, thousands of pages of documents, hundreds of intercepted telephone calls, and the defense did not call a single witness.

In December 2005, after several weeks of deliberations, the jury did not return a single guilty verdict out of over 90 charges. My father's innocence, which he had long maintained, became a matter of public record.

The only thing the trial demonstrated to the American jury that acquitted him was that my father was an activist on behalf of the occupied and displaced Palestinians. His activities were completely non-violent in nature, and he never once supported violence, materially or otherwise. In fact, although the jury failed to agree on some of the charges, they completely agreed that he had no relation to violence whatsoever.

Since his acquittal, however, the government has attempted to continue his imprisonment in unlawful means by renegging on an agreement reached last May that promised his release and immediate deportation to another country.

A rogue prosecutor in another district has since called my father to testify in another case, which is a violation of the agreement. He has refused to testify because he does not want to subject others to the unjust prosecution that he suffered for four years. The prosecutor in this case has made many racist comments and indicated his hatred of Arabs and Muslims.

My father has been on a hunger strike since Jan. 22 to protest his unjust treatment and continuing harassment which has resulted in an indefinite detention.

Abdullah