News/Events

The Penn Muslim Law Students' Association, Penn Law Dean's Speakers Fund, CAIR-Pennsylvania, and the Penn Middle East Center present . . .

USA vs AL-ARIAN
Film Screening and Q&A

When :  Wednesday, January 30, 2008, 7:00-9:00 p.m.

Where:  University of Pennsylvania Law School (3400 Chestnut Street); Gittis 214
             Free and open to the public
Featuring: Regina Austin, Moderator, William A. Schnader Professor of Law, Penn Law

                Linda Moreno*, Sami Al-Arian's Trial Attorney (Tentative)
                Laila Al-Arian, Journalist and Sami Al-Arian's Daughter
                Justin Peyton, Director of Civil Rights, CAIR-PA

The documentary will be followed by a short talk and Q&A session led by Linda Moreno, one of Dr. Al-Arian's attorneys.

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USA vs. Al-Arian is an award-winning documentary about the legal nightmare of an American Palestinian activist accused of supporting terrorism, and the devastating impact of the PATRIOT Act on the American justice system.  The documentary is a disturbing film on freedom of speech in post-9/11 America and political persecution.  The film follows the arrest and trial of Sami Al-Arian, an Arab-American university professor accused of supporting a terrorist organization abroad.  For two-and-a-half years, Dr. Al-Arian was held in solitary confinement, denied basic privileges, and given limited access to his attorneys.  This is a nightmare come to life, as a man is prosecuted for his beliefs rather than his actions.

"Mr. Al-Arian was not directly linked to any of the violent acts that we showed during the trial.  Nonetheless, it did not make his role any less."
-U.S. Attorney Paul I. Perez

http://www.usavsalarian.com